''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

, produced by

David Merrick David Merrick (born David Lee Margoulis; November 27, 1911 – April 25, 2000) was an American theatrical producer who won a number of Tony Awards. Life and career Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick gradua ...

, music and lyrics by

Harold Rome Harold Jacob "Hecky" Rome (May 27, 1908 – October 26, 1993) was an American composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater. Biography Rome was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hartford Public High School. Originally, he ch ...

, and book by

Jerome Weidman Jerome Weidman (April 4, 1913, New York City – October 6, 1998, New York City) was an American playwright and novelist. He collaborated with George Abbott on the book for the musical ''Fiorello!'' with music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldo ...

, based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut of 19-year-old

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

, who was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

. The story is set in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Garment District in 1937, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and the songs utilize traditional Jewish harmonies evocative of the setting and the period of the show.

Background

In the album ''

Just for the Record Just for the Record may refer to: * "Just for the Record" (''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)''), a 1969 episode of the British television series * ''Just for the Record'' (Barbara Mandrell album), 1979 * ''Just for the Record'' (Ray Stevens albu ...

'', Streisand recalls, "My first audition for the show was on the morning after Thanksgiving in 1961. Since the action took place in the 1930s, I showed up in a '30s fur coat that I'd bought in a thrift shop for $10. I sang three songs, including my new standby "

A Sleepin' Bee "A Sleepin' Bee" is a popular song composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Arlen and Truman Capote. It was introduced in the musical '' House of Flowers'' (1954) and performed by Diahann Carroll. While ''House of Flowers'' was a flop, "A Sleepin' ...

". They asked me to come back and gave me "

Miss Marmelstein "Miss Marmelstein" is a song composed by Harold Rome, first introduced by Barbra Streisand in the Broadway musical ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale''. The young secretary Miss Marmelstein is a supporting role in the show; in the song she laments ...

" to learn for my second audition a few hours later." Harold Rome said, "The 'Miss Marmelstein' number was written before the casting of Barbra Streisand in the role, but her part was then enlarged. Somebody is that good ... you try to use them as much as possible."

Productions

The 1951 film with the same title is based very loosely on the original novel. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on March 22, 1962. Directed by

Arthur Laurents Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II, ...

and choreographed by

Herbert Ross Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in theater and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He is known for directing ...

, it starred

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s. Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...

as Harry Bogen. In addition to Streisand in the small role of Bogen's secretary, Miss Marmelstein, the supporting cast included

Lillian Roth Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 – May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress. Her life story was told in the 1955 film ''I'll Cry Tomorrow'', in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...

as Mrs. Bogen and

Marilyn Cooper Marilyn Cooper (December 14, 1934 – April 22, 2009) was an American actress known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage. Life and career Born in New York City, Cooper made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the chorus of '' Mr. Wonderfu ...

as Ruthie Rivkin, with

Harold Lang Harold Lang (December 21, 1920 – July 26, 1985) was an American dancer, singer and actor. Life and career Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco Ballet in 1938 and then goi ...

, Bambi Linn, Ken LeRoy, and

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley C ...

. On October 1, it transferred to

The Broadway Theatre The Broadway Theatre (formerly Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss's Broadway Theatre, Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre, and Ciné Roma) is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 1681 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway (near 53rd Street (Manhatta ...

, where it closed on December 9 after a total run of two previews and 300 performances. Gould and Streisand later married. In 1991, the American Jewish Theatre staged a revival directed and choreographed by Richard Sabellico. The production starred Evan Pappas as Bogen,

Carolee Carmello Carolee Ann Carmello (born September 1, 1962) is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for playing the role of Maple LaMarsh on the television series ''Remember WENN'' (1996–1998). She is a three-time T ...

as Ruthie, Jim Brachitta as Teddy, and

Vicki Lewis Vicki Lewis (born March 17, 1960) is an American singer and actress of film, stage, and television. She is best known for her role as Beth in the NBC sitcom ''NewsRadio''. Personal life Lewis was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter ...

as Miss Marmelstein. It was nominated for the

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

as Best Revival, and Best Actor in a Musical for Pappas. In 2002, Arcola Theatre in London, a former clothes factory, produced the show for its second anniversary. The director was Mehmet Ergen with co-director William Galinsky.

Plot

Harry Bogen is an ambitious, unscrupulous young businessman in the 1930s New York City garment industry. He will stop at nothing to get to the top: he lies to his mother and his long-suffering girlfriend, Ruthie Rivkin, who try to help him become a better person, but he embezzles company funds from Apex Modes and betrays his friends and partners. Harry leaves Ruthie to take up with Martha Mills, a gold-digging dancer in Club Rio Rhumba, as tough and hard as the diamonds Harry rewards her with. But Harry goes bankrupt and loses his fairweather friends. Only his mother and Ruthie stand by him, but there is a surprising ally to re-emerge from the past.

Songs

;Act I * Overture * I'm Not a Well Man - Miss Marmelstein and Mr. Pulvermacher * The Way Things Are - Harry Bogen * When Gemini Meets Capricorn - Ruthie Rivkin and Harry Bogen * Momma, Momma, Momma - Harry Bogen and Mrs. Bogen * The Sound of Money - Harry Bogen, Martha Mills, Mitzi, Mario and Eddie * The Family Way - Mrs. Bogen, Harry Bogen, Ruthie Rivkin, Teddy Asch, Blanche Bushkin and Meyer Bushkin * Too Soon - Mrs. Bogen * Who Knows? - Ruthie Rivkin * Have I Told You Lately? - Blanche Bushkin and Meyer Bushkin * Ballad of the Garment Trade - Miss Marmelstein, Ruthie Rivkin, Blanche Bushkin, Harry Bogen, Teddy Asch, Meyer Bushkin and Company ;Act II * A Gift Today - Sheldon Bushkin, Harry Bogen, Mrs. Bogen, Blanche Bushkin, Meyer Bushkin and Ruthie Rivkin *

- Miss Marmelstein * The Sound of Money (Reprise) - Harry Bogen * A Funny Thing Happened - Ruthie Rivkin and Harry Bogen * What's in It for Me? - Teddy Asch and Martha Mills * What Are They Doing to Us Now? - Miss Marmelstein, Buggo, Tootsie Maltz, Manette, Gail, Miss Springer and Creditors * Eat a Little Something - Mrs. Bogen and Harry Bogen * Epilogue - The Company

Recording

The

original cast recording Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. According to Gary Marmorstein, "Columbia badly wanted Harold Rome's ''I Can Get it For You Wholesale''. As an inducement to Rome oddardLieberson offered to record the twenty-fifth anniversary version of his International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union show ''Pins and Needles''."

Goddard Lieberson Goddard Lieberson (April 5, 1911 – May 29, 1977) was the president of Columbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and again from 1973 to 1975. He became president of the Recording Industry Association of America in 1964. He was also a composer, and ...

, who produced the ''Wholesale'' cast album for Columbia Records, signed Streisand to a contract, and her first solo album was released two months after the show closed.

Response

The musical garnered mixed reviews and lost money despite a run of 300 performances. As theatre historian

Ken Mandelbaum Ken Mandelbaum is a Jewish American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents at ...

noted, ''

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' may refer to: * ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (book), a 1952 book written by Shepherd Mead and the inspiration for the musical of the same name. * ''How to Succeed in Bu ...

'' had opened five months earlier with a similar, but more palatable, story. J. Pierrepont Finch is a much more "cuddly betrayer... and audiences were less willing to confront ''Wholesale's'' unflinching portrayal of Harry's little world of "men and ulcers on parade... that shouldn't detract from the fact that it was a daring and distinctive musical.".

Howard Taubman Hyman Howard Taubman (July 4, 1907 – January 8, 1996) was an American music critic, theater critic, and author. Biography Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended DeWitt Clinton High School and then won a four-year scholarship to Cornell University, ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the show generated a "lot of momentum" and added, "It is spirited in its appreciation of the garment-trade milieu, and both winning and tearfully sentimental in its treatment of Jewish folks and some of their Bronx folkways." He thought the score was pleasant, using "folklife motifs to distill the flavor of Jewish life." Saving the most lavish praise for last, he wrote that Streisand was the "evening's find... a girl with an oafish expression, a loud irascible voice and an arpeggiated laugh. Miss Streisand is a natural comedienne." The ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' critic observed, "''Wholesale'' relies heavily on Jewish folk and speech ways. But as comedy, Jewish dialect is in awkward transition, no longer funny and not yet English. Harold Rome's score is drab and his lyrics resemble either singing dialogue or nursery rhymes... Harold Lang and Sheree North make a scorching sex rite out of 'What's In It for Me?'... Barbra Streisand trips the show into stray laughs. For the rest, ''Wholesale'' is as quiet as Seventh Avenue on

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

.""Delousing of Harry Bogen,"
''Time Magazine'', March 30, 1962

Notes

References

*''Guinness Who's Who of Stage Musicals'', editor Colin Larkin,

*''Playbill'' from the Shubert Theatre

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing, ''I Can Get It For You Wholesale''Detailed description and analysis of the showInformation from Stage Agent
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Can Get It For You Wholesale 1962 musicals Musicals based on novels Broadway musicals Musicals about the Great Depression