''Minnie's Boys'' 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
Arthur Marx
Arthur Julius Marx (July 21, 1921April 14, 2011) was an American writer, the son of entertainer Groucho Marx and his first wife, Ruth Johnson.
Marx spent his early years accompanying his father around vaudeville circuits in the United States a ...
(
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
's son) and
Robert Fisher, music by
Larry Grossman, and lyrics by
Hal Hackady
Harold Clayton MacHackady (February 10, 1922 – October 12, 2015), best known as Hal Hackady, and sometimes credited as Hal Hackaday, was an American lyricist, librettist and screenwriter.
Life
He was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 192 ...
.
It provides a behind-the-scenes look at the early days of the
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
and their relationship with their mother
Minnie Marx
Minnie Marx (born Miene Schönberg, 9 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was the mother and manager of the Marx Brothers, a family of vaudevillains, Broadway and film actors and was also the sister of comedian and vaudeville star Al Shean.
Ear ...
, the driving force behind their ultimate success.
Production
There was a long preview period lasting for sixty-four performances, during which the creators constantly tinkered with the troubled show. The original choreographer,
Patricia Birch
Patricia Birch (born October 16, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, film director, and theatre director.
Early life
Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Birch began her career as a dancer in Broadway musicals, including ''Brigadoon (musical), ...
, was replaced and "...there were rumors about replacing Shelley Winters..." The musical had mixed to negative reviews, "although Walter Kerr...enjoyed it."
The musical opened on
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 ...
at the
Imperial Theatre
The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed ...
officially on March 26, 1970 and closed on May 30, 1970 after 80 performances. The musical was directed by
Stanley Prager
Stanley Prager (January 8, 1917 – January 18, 1972) was an American actor and a television and theatre director.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production ''The Skin of O ...
and
choreographed by
Marc Breaux
Marc Breaux (November 3, 1924 – November 19, 2013) was an American choreographer and occasional film director best known for his work on musical films of the 1960s and 1970s. Most of his well-known work was in collaboration with Dee Dee Wood to ...
, with scenic design by Peter Wexler, costume design by
Donald Brooks
Donald Brooks (January 9, 1928 – August 1, 2005) was an American fashion designer and creator of the "American Look" founded in the 1950s and 1960s. He had an immense passion for stage and film, designing well over 3500 costumes. His effo ...
and lighting by
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) is an American lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 300 productions over the course of his 50-year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive ...
.
[''Minnie's Boys'']
Playbill (vault), retrieved May 8, 2019[ Kerr, Walter]
Kerr on ‘Minnie's Boys’"
''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 ...
'', April 5, 1970
The cast featured
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...
as Minnie Marx,
Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen (born March 7, 1947) is an American stage and screen character actor. He is best known for playing Ira Fried in '' The Sopranos''.
Career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with S ...
as
Julius "Groucho" Marx, Daniel Fortus as
Adolph "Harpo" Marx, Irwin Pearl as
Leonard "Chico" Marx, Alvin Kupperman as
Herbert "Zeppo" Marx, and Gary Raucher as
Milton "Gummo" Marx.
[ Stadlen won both the 1970 ]Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945â ...
and 1970 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 ...
for Outstanding Performance in a Musical.
The score's song "Mama, a Rainbow" has become a standard for cabaret performers, and was recorded by Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and fr ...
and Jim Nabors
James Thurston Nabors (June 12, 1930 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and comedian, widely known for his signature character, Gomer Pyle.
Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica nightclub, an ...
soon after the show opened. In the show the song is performed by Harpo,[ whose screen and stage persona was always silent.
An original cast album was released by Project Three Records, although the cast album was originally scheduled to be recorded and released by RCA Victor.
Groucho Marx received a playbill credit as the show's advisor; after the show closed, it was revealed that Groucho had made no real contributions, and had basically been paid off so that he would not raise any legal objections to the production.
During its brief run, Groucho did help promote the musical by appearing on the '']Dick Cavett Show
''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:
* ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning''
* ABC prime time, Tuesdays, ...
'' with Shelley Winters and the five young actors who portrayed the Marx boys in the show.
The show received a 2008 revival staging under the direction of Stuart Ross
Stuart Ross is a Canadian fiction writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor.
Ross was born in Toronto's north end in 1959 and grew up in the Borough of North York. He began writing at a very young age and was first published at age ...
at Off-Broadway's York Theatre Company
York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each se ...
. The cast included Erik Liberman
Erik Liberman is an American actor, author, and director.
Early life and education
Liberman was born in Miami, the son of social worker Marsha and Havana-born vision scientist and author Jacob. He attended New World School of the Arts, where he ...
, Pamela Myers
Pamela Myers (born July 15, 1947, Hamilton, Ohio) is an American actress who made her Broadway debut as Marta in Stephen Sondheim's musical '' Company'', in which she introduced the song "Another Hundred People". She was nominated for a 1971 T ...
, Jim Walton
James Carr Walton (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, currently the heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. As of October 2022, Walton was the seventeenth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$61 b ...
, Dan Bogart, Ryan Duncan, Nick Gaswirth, Beth Glover, Don Mayo, Nancy McCall, Emily Shoolin, Kelly Sullivan, and Stuart Zagnit.
Casts
Source:
Song list
Source:["''Minnie's Boys'' Synopsis and Musical Numbers"]
guidetomusicaltheatre.com, retrieved May 8, 2019
;Act I
* "Five Growing Boys"—Minnie and Neighbors
* "Rich Is"—Al Shean and The Marx Family
* "More Precious Far"—Julie, Herbie, Adolph, Minnie
* "Four Nightingales"—Julie, Herbie, Adolph
* "Underneath It All"—Maxie and Girls
* "Mama, a Rainbow"—Adolph and Minnie
* "You Don't Have to Do It for Me"—Minnie, Julie, Leonard, Adolph, Herbie
* "If You Wind Me Up"—Minnie, Julie, Herbie, Adolph, Leonard
* "Where Was I When They Passed Out Luck?"—Julie, Herbie, Adolph, Leonard
;Act II
* "You Remind Me of You"—Julie and Mrs. McNish
* "Minnie's Boys"—Minnie and Company
* "Be Happy"—Minnie, Adolph, Leonard, Herbie, Miltie
* "The Act"—Julie, Herbie, Adolph, Leonard, Minnie
* "Finale"—Company
;Cut prior to opening
* "Empty"—Frenchie
* "Guess Where I'm Going"
* "Stage Door Johnny"—Girls
* "The Smell of Christmas"—Julie, Leo, Herbie, Adolph
* "They Give Me Love"—Minnie
* "You're Getting Younger Every Day"—Minnie and Frenchie
* "I'll Say She Is"
;Added to later productions
* "Philadelphia"—Minnie
References
External links
''Minnie's Boys''
at the Internet Broadway Database
The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...
*Roger Ebert interviews Groucho Marx about ''Minnie's Boys'
{{authority control
1970 musicals
Broadway musicals
Cultural depictions of the Marx Brothers