''Wildcat'' 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

N. Richard Nash Nathan Richard Nusbaum (June 8, 1913 – December 11, 2000), known as N. Richard Nash, was an American writer and dramatist best known for writing Broadway shows, including '' The Rainmaker''. Early life Nash was born Nathan Richard Nusbau ...

, lyrics by

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come". With ...

, and music by

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

. The original production 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 ...

in 1960, starring a 49-year-old

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

in her only Broadway show. The show introduced the song " Hey, Look Me Over", which was subsequently performed as a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

by several musicians.

Background and production

Nash had envisioned the main character of Wildy as a woman in her late 20s, and was forced to rewrite the role when

expressed interest not only in playing it but financing the project as well.

Desilu Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...

, the company owned by Ball and her soon-to-be ex-husband

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

, ultimately invested $360,000 in the show in exchange for 36% of the net profits, the rights to the original cast recording (ultimately released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

), and television rights for musical numbers to be included in a special titled ''Lucy Goes to Broadway'', a project that eventually was scrapped. Ball also was permitted to choose her leading man.

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

's salary demands and heavy film schedule eliminated him from the running, and

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and '' Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

Jock Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...

, and

Gene Barry Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass, June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films ''The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of The World ...

were considered before she selected

Keith Andes Keith Andes (born John Charles Andes, July 12, 1920 – November 11, 2005) was an American film, radio, musical theater, stage and television actor. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Andes, Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

Michael Kidd Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, stron ...

, who co-produced with Nash, directed and choreographed, and he got songwriters Coleman and Leigh on board. It was Leigh's second Broadway production (following 1954's

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

with

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

) and Coleman's Broadway debut. The Philadelphia tryout opened on October 29, 1960 to a glowing review from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', but local critics were less enthusiastic. The scheduled Broadway opening had to be postponed when trucks hauling the sets and costumes to New York were stranded on the New Jersey Turnpike for several days by a major blizzard. After two previews, the show opened on December 16 at the

Alvin Theatre The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for ...

. The cast included

Paula Stewart Paula Stewart (born Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer, April 9, 1929) is an American stage, film and television actress mostly known for performing in bit parts and supporting roles. Early years Stewart's father was Dr. Walter Zürndorfer and her moth ...

and

Swen Swenson Swen Swenson (January 23, 1930 - June 23, 1993) was a Broadway dancer and singer. Born in Inwood, Iowa, Swenson was trained by dancer Mira Rostova and at the School of American Ballet. Openly gay, he had featured and co-starring roles on Broadway ...

, with

Valerie Harper Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rhod ...

among the chorus members.

Vivian Vance Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress and singer best known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outst ...

, Ball's costar from ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'', was in the opening night audience and was photographed giving the star a congratulatory hug backstage after the show. Hampered by lukewarm reviews and Ball's lingering illness, it ran for only 171 performances. Ball quickly realized audiences had come expecting to see her Lucy Ricardo persona and began mugging and ad-libbing to bring her characterization closer to that of the zany housewife she had portrayed in ''I Love Lucy''. It was clearly Ball who was drawing the crowds, and when she fell ill and demands for refunds ran high, the producers announced plans to close the show for a week in late March 1961 to allow her to recover her strength. The closure came sooner than planned when Ball, suffering from a virus and chronic fatigue, departed for Florida on February 8. She returned two weeks later, but on April 22 she collapsed on stage. It was decided the show would close for nine weeks at the end of May and reopen once its star had recovered fully, but May 24 proved to be her final performance as the musicians' union insisted on members of the orchestra being paid during the shutdowns. This ultimately made it infeasible for the production to remain active, forcing it to close permanently on June 3, 1961. ''Wildcat'' was Ball's only appearance in a Broadway production. She previously had been cast in the

Bartlett Cormack Edward Bartlett Cormack (March 19, 1898 – September 16, 1942) was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and producer best known for his 1927 Broadway play ''The Racket'', and for working with Howard Hughes and Cecil B. DeMille on sev ...

play ''Hey Diddle Diddle'', a comedy that premiered in Princeton, New Jersey on January 21, 1937. Ball played the part of Julie Tucker, "one of three roommates coping with neurotic directors, confused executives, and grasping stars who interfere with the girls' ability to get ahead." The play received good reviews, but there were problems, chiefly with its star

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the son of the ...

; the play was scheduled to open on Broadway at the

Vanderbilt Theatre The Vanderbilt Theatre was a New York City Broadway theatre, designed by architect Eugene De Rosa for producer Lyle Andrews. It opened in 1918,Toni Lamond Patricia Lamond Lawman AM (born 29 March 1932), professionally known as Toni Lamond, is an Australian vaudevillian, cabaret performer, singer, actress, dancer, and comedian. She has had a successful career spanning some 80 years, both locally ...

opened at

Princess Theatre, Melbourne The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...

on July 19, 1963. The production employed British actor Gordon Boyd and Canadian actress Norah Halliday to play Joe Dynamite and Janie, respectively, among a cast of 82 performers. The Australian production reinstated the cut song "Ain't It Sad, Ain't It Mean" as a duet for Wildcat and Sookie. The show closed September 14, 1963.

Plot

Wildcat "Wildy" Jackson arrives in 1912 in Centavo City with dreams of striking

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

but with neither capital nor know-how to help her accomplish her goal. Joe Dynamite, the most successful crew foreman in the territory, finds her ruggedness appealing and agrees to work with her if she can prove ownership to her claimed land and hire a crew. She finds owned by a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

, but Joe is certain the property is dry. Wildy attempts to lure him with her female charms, but when he still rejects her plans she has him falsely arrested, then released into her custody. A grateful Joe agrees to start work on the project but abandons it once he discovers it was Wildy who had him jailed. Left high and literally dry by her partner and crew, Wildy resorts to desperate measures to strike a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

-sized gusher.

Songs

;Act I * I Hear - Townspeople * Hey, Look Me Over - Wildy and Jane * Wildcat(*) - Wildy and Townspeople * You've Come Home - Joe * That's What I Want for Janie(*) - Wildy * What Takes My Fancy - Wildy and Sookie * You're a Liar - Wildy and Joe * One Day We Dance - Hank and Jane * Give a Little Whistle and I'll Be There - Wildy, Joe, The Crew and Townspeople * Tall Hope - Tattoo, Oney, Sadie, Matt and Crew (*) Song cut sometime after opening night. ;Act II * Tippy Tippy Toes - Wildy and Countess * El Sombrero - * Corduroy Road * You've Come Home (Reprise) - Joe

Cast

Lucille Ball Paula Stewart Wildcat Ed Sullivan Show 1961

*Wildcat Jackson—

*Jane Jackson--

*Sheriff Sam Gore—Howard Fischer *Barney—Ken Ayers *Luke—Anthony Saverino *Countess Emily O'Brien—Edith King *Joe Dynamite--

*Hank--

Clifford David Clifford David (June 30, 1928 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and coach. His career began in the 1950s, with early live television appearances leading to roles in Broadway musicals. He also played character roles in tele ...

*Miguel—HF Green *Sookie—Don Tomkins *Matt--

Charles Braswell Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

*Corky—Bill Linton *Oney--

*Sandy—Ray Mason *Tattoo—Bill Walker *Cisco—Al Lanti *Postman—Bill Richards *Inez—Marsha Wagner *Blonde—Wendy Nickerson

References

Bibliography

*Brady, Kathleen. "Lucille the Life of Lucille Ball" (2011) Open Road Integrated Media, *Sanders, Coyne Steven and Gilbert, Tom. ''Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz'' (2003), William Morrow and Company, , pp. 202–220

External links

*
Plot and production information at guidetomusicaltheatre
{{Authority control 1960 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Cy Coleman Original musicals Plays set in the 1910s Works about petroleum Works by N. Richard Nash