''The Body Beautiful'' 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

Joseph Stein Joseph Stein (May 30, 1912 – October 24, 2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and '' Zorba''. Biography Born in New York City to Jewish parents, Charles and Emma ...

and

Will Glickman Will Glickman (March 7, 1910 – March 11, 1983) was an American playwright who frequently collaborated with Joseph Stein. Glickman made his Broadway debut in 1948 with sketches he and Stein wrote for the revue ''Lend an Ear''. The two went on to ...

, lyrics by

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was bo ...

, and music by

Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the Tony A ...

. The first collaboration by Harnick and Bock, and the only one to have a contemporary setting, its plot focuses on a wealthy

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

graduate who aspires to be a prize-winning boxer and the girl he loves who disapproves of his ambitions. His fight manager must cope with uninspired fighters, two ex-wives and a new girlfriend. After a tryout at the

Erlanger Theatre The Erlanger Theatre was a live-performance theater at the northwest corner of 21st and Market Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1927 by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndi ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 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 ...

production, directed by George Schaefer and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

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 ...

, opened on January 23, 1958, at

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 ran for 60 performances. The cast included

Mindy Carson Mindy Carson is an American former traditional pop vocalist. She was heard often on radio during the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Carson grew up in the Bronx, graduating from James Monroe High School. After graduation, she took a position as typ ...

, Steve Forrest,

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait ...

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

, William Hickey, and

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...

. Journalist

Dorothy Kilgallen Dorothy Mae Kilgallen (July 3, 1913 – November 8, 1965) was an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist. After spending two semesters at the College of New Rochelle, she started her career shortly before her 18th birth ...

and her husband

Richard Kollmar Richard Tompkins Kollmar (December 31, 1910 – January 7, 1971), also known professionally as Dick Kollmar, was an American stage, radio, film and television actor, television personality and Broadway producer. Kollmar was the husband of jo ...

co-produced the short-run musical, along with Albert W. Selden. Kilgallen, very visible due to her appearances as a panelist on network TV's ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'', and her fellow panelists made mention of ''The Body Beautiful'' on various episodes of the game show during this time period. In fact, during one live telecast of the Sunday-night staple on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

, a well-built man named Ed Becker, one of the cast members of the ill-fated musical, appeared as a contestant with his line identified as "chorus boy." Becker stumped Kilgallen and the rest of the panel much to the delight of host

John Charles Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly (February 20, 1914 – February 24, 1991) was an American journalist, host, radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show, game show host, best known for his work on the CBS panel ...

. Despite the failure of ''The Body Beautiful'', its score captured the attention of theatrical director

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...

and producer

Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

. They hired the songwriting team of Harnick and Bock for their next project, the politically themed ''

Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman and ...

'', which proved to be a hit.Information from NYPL.org
/ref> Its success paved the way for a creative team including Prince to pitch ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' to financial backers with songs from Harnick and Bock as an important part of the pitch. Upon that show's Broadway premiere in September 1964, it became an overnight sensation, was presented in many foreign countries and eventually became a staple of Jewish culture throughout the world.

Song list

;Act I *Where Are They? *The Body Beautiful *Pffft! *Fair Warning *Leave Well Enough Alone *Blonde Blues *Blonde Blues Dance *Uh-Huh, Oh Yeah! *All of These and More *Nobility *The Body Beautiful (Reprise) ;Act II *Summer Is *The Honeymoon is Over *Just My Luck *All of These and More (Reprise) *Art of Conversation *Gloria *A Relatively Simple Affair *Finale

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing

Clip from ''What's My Line'' with the "chorus boy"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Body Beautiful, The 1958 musicals Broadway musicals Boxing mass media Musicals by Jerry Bock Musicals by Sheldon Harnick Musicals by Joseph Stein