Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. ...
, lyrics by Don Black, and music by Jule Styne.
Based on Rosenthal's award-winning 1976
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
teleplay of the same name, it focuses on young Eliot Green who, filled with apprehension, escapes from the synagogue where he is about to make his bar mitzvah, much to the dismay of his
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
parents, who have invested their savings in a lavish party to celebrate their son's coming of age.
The West End production opened on 31 October 1978 at
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...
, where it ran for 78 performances. The cast included Barry Angel,
Joyce Blair
Joyce Blair (born Joyce Ogus; 4 November 1932 – 19 August 2006) was an English actress and dancer. She was the younger sister of Lionel Blair, with whom she often performed.
Early life and education
Blair was born in London, as the daughter ...
Ashley Knight
Ashley Knight (born 19 August 1959 in Sutton, Surrey, England) is a British actor notable for child roles including Young Claudius in ''I Claudius''; Jim Hawkins in ''Treasure Island'', and Ken in ''Metal Mickey''. His film appearances included ...
Harry Towb
Harry Towb (27 July 1925 – 24 July 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland.
Early life and career
Towb was born in Larne, County Antrim, to a Russian-Jewish father and an Irish-Jewish mother; he once claimed he was the only Jew ever born ...
,
Kerry Shale
Kerry Shale is a Canadian actor and writer based in London, England.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shale, Kerry
Living people
20th-century British male actors
20th-century Ca ...
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 Entertainm ...
released an
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 ...
. It was choreographed by Peter Gennaro and directed by
Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.''
Life and career
Charnin was born in New York ...
.
The
Americanized
Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...
adaptation by
Martin Gottfried
Martin Gottfried (October 9, 1933 – March 6, 2014) was an American critic, columnist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.
Biography
Early career
Gottfried was a 1959 graduate of Columbia College in New York City, and attended Columb ...
changed the setting from 1970s
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
to 1946
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, but its central story remained the same.
The off-Broadway production, directed by Robert Kalfin, opened on June 10, 1987 at the American Jewish Theater of the 92nd Street Y. The cast included Peter Smith as Eliot, with
Larry Keith
Larry Keith (March 4, 1931 – July 17, 2010) was an American actor who was a cast member on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' and was the first American to play the role of Henry Higgins in the Broadway production of ''My Fair Lady''.F ...
, Mary Gutzi, Mary Stout, Michael Cone,
Michael Callan
Michael Callan (born Martin Harris Calinieff; November 22, 1935 – October 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in ''West Side Story'' on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably ' ...
, Eleanor Reissa, Daniel Marcus, Kimberly Stern, and Reuben Schafer.
A reading was held on January 26, 2007 at the Chelsea Studios, New York City, directed by
Stafford Arima
Stafford Arima (born March 14, 1969) is a Canadian-born theatre director. Arima studied at York University in Toronto, where he was the recipient of the Dean's Prize for Excellence in Creative Work. He is a member of the SDC ( Stage Directors and ...
and featuring
Faith Prince
Faith Prince (born August 6, 1957) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award as Best Actress in ''Guys and Dolls'' in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations.
Life ...
*Why?
*If Only A Little Bit Sticks
*The Bar Mitzvah of Eliot Green
*This Time Tomorrow
*Thou Shalt Not
*The Harolds Of This World
*We've Done Alright
*Simchas
*You Wouldn't Be You
*Rita's Request
*Where is the Music Coming From?
*The Sun Shines Out of Your Eyes
*I've Just Begun