''King of Hearts'' is a 1978

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 ( ...

, lyrics by

Jacob Brackman Jacob Brackman (born 1943) is an American writer, journalist, and musical lyricist. After graduating from Harvard University in 1965, he went to work for ''Newsweek'' as a journalist. He remained there for six months and was then hired by ''The ...

, and music by

Peter Link Peter Link is an American composer, lyricist, music producer, stage director, and presently CEO/Creative Director of Watchfire Music, an on-line Inspirational record company and music store. During his career, which spans over 40 years, he has ...

, orchestrated by Bill Brohn. It is based on the 1966

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

of the same name.

Synopsis

Set in the

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

al French town of DuTemps in September 1918, shortly before the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, its

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

is Private Johnny Perkins, whose mission is to defuse a bomb intended to destroy the entire village. All the local residents have fled, leaving behind only the cheerful inmates of the

insane asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

, who happily take over the town and proclaim Johnny their King of Hearts. The show raises the question of who is more insane, the asylum's patients or those who wage war.

Background

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 was directed and choreographed by

Ron Field Ron Field (October 18, 1933 – February 6, 1989) was an American choreographer, dancer, and director. Life and career Field was born in New York City, New York where he made his Broadway debut as a child in ''Lady in the Dark'' (1941) with Ge ...

. After a Boston tryout at the Colonial Theatre and six Broadway previews, it opened on October 22, 1978 at the

Minskoff Theatre The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization and is named ...

and ran for 48 performances. The cast included

Don Scardino Donald Joseph Scardino (born February 17, 1949) is an American television director and producer and a former actor. Career Acting Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents, Dorothy Denny Scardino and Charles Scardino. His f ...

as Johnny and

Pamela Blair Pamela Blair (born December 5, 1949), known as Pam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for originating the role of "Val" in the musical ''A Chorus Line'' and several appearances on American soap operas. Early life and career ...

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama '' The Shawshank Redemption'' ...

, and

Millicent Martin Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer, and comedian. She was the lone female singer of topical songs on the weekly BBC Television satire show ''That Was the Week That Was'' known as TW3 (1962–1963), a ...

in supporting roles.

Santo Loquasto Santo Richard Loquasto (born July 26, 1944) is an American production designer, scenic designer, and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. His work has included the films ''Big'', ''Radio Days'', '' Cafe Society'', ''Blue Jasmine'', ''D ...

designed the sets.

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

was in the midst of a three-month-long newspaper strike when the musical opened, and the lack of advertising and print reviews might have contributed to its quick demise. Of it, musical theatre historian Ken Mandelbaum recalls, "its score was only so-so; its theme (the insane are somehow "saner" than the sane) had a '60s feel; and its cast was not particularly distinctive." Critic and musical historian

Peter Filichia Peter Filichia (born 1946) is the former New York-based theater critic for ''The Star-Ledger'' newspaper in Newark, New Jersey and New Jersey's television station News 12, as well as for ''The Asbury Park Press'' . In addition, Filichia has two ...

calls it a "noble failure". Two recordings of the score have been released: one, released on the Original Cast label, featuring the original Broadway cast and another with the 1982

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

cast. In 2002 the Goodspeed revival, directed by Gabriel Barre, used the script as the authors, librettist Steve Tesich and songwriters Link and Brackman first intended, before other "doctors" were brought in.Playbill, Nov 2002
/ref>

Song list

; Act I * "A Stain on the Name (of St. Anne's)" – Inmates * "Deja Vu" – Madeleine * "Promenade (The Transformation)" – Inmates * "Turn Around" – Madeleine and Inmates * "Nothing, Only Love" – Jeunefille, Johnny and Madeleine * "King of Hearts" – Demosthenes, Jeunefille, Raoul, Madeleine and Inmates * "Close Upon the Hour" – Johnny * "A Brand New Day (The Coronation)" – DuBac, Johnny and Inmates ; Act II * "Le Grand Cirque de Provence" – Raoul and Inmates * "Hey, Look at Me, Mrs. Draba" – Johnny * "Going Home Tomorrow" – Soldiers * "Somewhere is Here" – Madeleine * "Nothing, Only Love" (Reprise) – Raoul, Madeleine, Jeunefille and Johnny * "March, March, March" – Johnny and Inmates

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway Production

References

External links

* {{Joseph Stein 1978 musicals Fiction set in 1918 France in fiction Broadway musicals Musicals based on films Musicals by Joseph Stein