''Mayor'' 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 ...

with a book by

Warren Leight Warren Donald Leight (; born January 17, 1957) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and '' Lights Out'' and as the showrunner for ''In ...

and music and lyrics by Charles Strouse. It is based on the memoir by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and depicts a single day in the life of the city's mayor. The musical ran on Broadway in 1985 after an Off-Broadway run.

Overview

Real-life personalities who are portrayed in the musical include

Cardinal John O'Connor John Joseph O'Connor (January 15, 1920 – May 3, 2000) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1984 until his death in 2000, and was made a cardinal in 1985. He previously served as a U.S ...

, Bess Myerson,

Leona Leona is a female given name derived from the Latin word ''leo'' for "lion". People and fictional characters named Leona include: People *Leona (wrestler) (born 1980), Japanese professional wrestler *Leona Aglukkaq, Canadian politician *Leona B ...

and

Harry Helmsley Harry Brakmann Helmsley (March 4, 1909 – January 4, 1997) was an American real estate billionaire whose company, Helmsley-Spear, became one of the country's biggest property holders, owning the Empire State Building and many of New York's most ...

, Carol Bellamy, Harrison J. Goldin,

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

Abraham Beame Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy. ...

and

Sue Simmons Sue Simmons (born May 27, 1942) is an American retired news anchor who was best known for being the lead female anchor at WNBC in New York City from 1980 to 2012. Her contract with WNBC expired in June 2012 and WNBC announced that it would not ren ...

. The play, called an "exuberant, witty cabaret revue" has a "distinctly New York brand of humor and the local political joke", according to an article in ''The Washington Post''. The article went on to note several in-jokes, such as "the hysterical monologue on the city's absurd ritual of alternate-side parking, whereby owners double-park their cars several hours a day because of street-sweeping rules?"Hornblower, Margot
"Celebrating Chutzpah"
''The Washington Post'', May 14, 1985 Keith Curran, who was in the original cast, (as Harry Helmsley) directed a production of the musical at the Ruth Foreman Theatre West (

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...

) in January 1988, saying: "It tells 'a sort of morality tale for Koch, like A Christmas Carol... Koch is visited by the spirit of Fiorello LaGuardia and threatened with losing the city. There is a lot of redemption in this show, but it takes a very harsh look at New York and how hard it is to live there."Jack, Carolyn
"'Mayor' Finds A Fitting Winter Stay At Foreman West"
''SunSentinel'', January 22, 1988 Strouse said that he wanted to write a musical that "filtered New York sounds through it." The musical has music "alternating contemporary pop with ragtime, jazz and other styles, each carefully chosen to evoke a mood or characterize a class of people illustrative of New York."

Production

The

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production was directed by Jeffrey B. Moss and choreographed by Strouse's wife, Barbara Siman. It opened on May 13, 1985 at the Top of the Gate in Greenwich Village and ran for 185 performances." "Mayor' Off-Broadway"
lortel.org, accessed November 12, 2015Beaufort, John

''The Christian Science Monitor'', May 15, 1985 The cast included

Lenny Wolpe Lenny Wolpe (born March 25, 1951) is an American musical theatre actor who has appeared in Broadway musicals including ''Wicked'' and ''The Drowsy Chaperone''. Early life Wolpe was born in Newburgh, New York. Wolpe majored in American history a ...

as the Mayor and Nancy Giles, Ken Jennings,

Ilene Kristen Ilene Kristen (born Ilene Schatz; July 30, 1952) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Delia Ryan in the ABC soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' (1975–1979, 1982–1983, 1986–1989) and her Emmy-nominated performances as Roxy Bal ...

, Douglas Bernstein, Marlon J. Caffey,

Keith Curran Keith Curran is an American playwright and actor. Curran grew up in Boston. He had nightmares as a child and used that experience, as well as his desire to have a child, as a basis for his 1989 stage play ''Dalton's Back''. The play juxtaposes sce ...

and Kathryn McAteer in supporting roles. On October 23, 1985 the production moved to Broadway at the Latin Quarter, where it ran to January 5, 1986 for another 70 performances." 'Mayor' Broadway"
playbillvault.com, accessed November 11, 2015 John Sloman replaced Keith Curran. The production received nominations for the 1986

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

: Outstanding Book of a Musical; Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (McAteer); and Outstanding Music. A cast album was released on the Harbinger label.

Song list

;Act I *"Mayor" - Mayor Koch *"You Can Be a New Yorker Too!" - Businessman, Out of Towner, Bicycle Messenger and Company *You're Not the Mayor *Mayor (Reprise) *March of the Yuppies *Hootspa *Coalition *What You See Is What You Get ;Act II *In the Park *Ballad *I Want to Be the Mayor *Subway: The Last "I Love New York" Song *Ballad (Reprise) *Testimonial Dinner: Good Times *We Are One (I'll Never Leave You) *How'm I Doin' *Mayor (Reprise) *"My City" - Company

Critical reception

Frank Rich, in his review of the Off-Broadway production for '' The New York Times'', called the musical a "modest new cabaret musical adapted from Mr. Koch's memoirs..." and wrote: "In the sharper segments, most of them in Act II, Mr. Strouse and Mr. Leight make some funny (if rarely rude) observations about their hero and his city.... Mr. Strouse's serviceable score has a peppy show-biz lilt to it, but the lyrics to songs like 'March of the Yuppies,' 'How'm I Doin'?' and 'Hootspa' (for "chutzpah") are often as predictable as their titles."Rich, Frank
"Theater: 'Mayor,' Koch In A Cabaret Version"
''New York Times'', May 14, 1985

Notes

References

''Mayor'' at CharlesStrouse.com

External links

Lortel Archives entryInternet Broadway Database entry
{{Charles Strouse 1985 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Musicals by Charles Strouse