My Favorite Year (musical)
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''My Favorite Year'' 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 Dougherty Joseph Dougherty is an American television producer, writer, and director. He has written for such television series as ''Thirtysomething'', for which he won an Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for ...
, music by
Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', whi ...
, and lyrics by
Lynn Ahrens Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Awa ...
. It is based on the 1982 film of the same name.


Production history

The musical opened on Broadway at
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
's
Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...
on December 10, 1992 and closed on January 10, 1993 after 36 performances and 45 previews. The cast included Evan Pappas,
Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
,
Tom Mardirosian Tom Mardirosian (born December 14, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for playing Agamemnon Busmalis in the HBO show '' Oz'' and Agt. Kristos Koutris in the HBO show ''The Wire''. Mardirosian was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, the s ...
,
Katie Finneran Katie Finneran (born January 22, 1971) is an American actress best known for her Tony Award-winning performances in the Broadway play ''Noises Off'' in 2002, and the musical '' Promises, Promises'' in 2010.
,
Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...
(in her Broadway debut),
Josh Mostel Joshua Mostel (born December 21, 1946) is an American actor with numerous film and Broadway credits. The son of Zero Mostel, he is best known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), ''Harry and Tonto'' (1974) ...
, and
Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
, who reprised the role of Benjy's mother she had played in the film. The show was directed by
Ron Lagomarsino Ron Lagomarsino is an American film, theatre and television director. Life and education Lagomarsino is from San Francisco, California. He is an alumnus of Santa Clara University and Tisch School of the Arts. Directing credits His television cre ...
and choreographed by
Thommie Walsh Thomas Joseph "Thommie" Walsh III (March 15, 1950 – June 16, 2007) was an American dancer, choreographer, director, and author. Biography Thommie Walsh was born in Auburn, New York, and began to study dance at age five at the Irma Baker Schoo ...
, with scenic design by Thomas Lynch, costume design by
Patricia Zipprodt Patricia Zipprodt (February 24, 1925 – July 17, 1999) was an American costume designer. She was known for her technique of painting fabrics and thoroughly researching a project's subject matter, especially when it was a period piece. During a c ...
, and lighting design 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 ...
, with associate lighting designer
Peggy Eisenhauer Peggy Eisenhauer is an American lighting designer for both theatre and films. She has designed or co-designed some 41 Broadway productions and frequently collaborates with Jules Fisher. Career Peggy Eisenhauer was raised in Nyack, New York. She ...
. The creative team constantly reworked the troubled production during previews. ''My Favorite Year'' received mixed-to-negative reviews. ''The New York Timess
Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is current ...
called the musical "a missed opportunity, a bustling but too frequently flat musical that suffers from another vogue of the 1950s, an identity crisis," and disapproved of the melodramatic turn taken in the show's second act. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine wrote that is a "barren Broadway musical." An original cast recording was released on the
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 ...
label. In March 2007, ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' revealed that Flaherty and Ahrens were "reworking the show with an eye on a new Broadway production." Flaherty said that "In hindsight, I think our decision to paint the musical in somewhat darker colors was a mistake." Among the revisions made to the show are two new songs, incorporated into a March 2007 production of the show at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Chicago. Musicals Tonight! in New York City presented a staged concert in April 2003. The York Theatre Company Musicals in Mufti in New York City presented a staged concert in December 2014. Lynn Ahrens reminisced about the first time Andrea Martin sang "Professional Showbizness Comedy": "It bombed.... By the time we got done with our rewrites...she stopped the show."Gordon, David
"Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty Recall Memories of 'My Favorite Year'"
theatermania.com, December 5, 2014


Cast


Plot

In the 1950s, Benjy Stone (a
Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
-type), is a sketch writer for a live television variety show starring King Kaiser (a
Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 â€“ February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950†...
-type) ("Twenty Million People"). Signed for a guest appearance is Alan Swann (an
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
-type), a one-time movie idol whose career was disrupted by his addiction to alcohol and loose women. Benjy writes a sketch for Swann about a Musketeer and a princess being captured ("The Musketeer Sketch"). The task of keeping him sober and celibate until airtime falls to Benjy, who soon finds himself involved in a sequence of shenanigans. Various characters, including Benjy's pushy mother Belle Steinberg Carroca and Alan Swann's estranged daughter Tess, complicate Benjy's task. The other writers, Sy, Alice and Herb, add to the chaos.


Differences from the original film

* In the film, there is a subplot surrounding King Kaiser angering Karl Rojeck, a corrupt union boss with a comedy sketch depicting Rojek as a stereotypical gangster. Neither the character of Rojeck nor the sketch that angered him is included in the plot of the musical. * In the film's epilogue, Benjy relates that Swann agreed to visit his daughter Tess in person; in the musical, Tess invites Swann to an award ceremony, and they meet there. They also reunite in the final song. * The Musketeer sketch is minor to the plot in the film; in the musical, it is central to the plot, being that it is the sketch Benjy wrote for Swann. Four of the show's songs are dedicated to it.


Songs

;Act I * "Twenty Million People" – Benjy and Company * "Larger Than Life" – Benjy * "The Musketeer Sketch" – Benjy, Sy, King, Alice, K.C., Leo and Herb * "Waldorf Suite" – Benjy, Offstage Chorus * "Rookie in the Ring" – Belle * "Manhattan" – Alan and Ensemble * "Naked in Bethesda Fountain" – Sy, Alice, Leo, Herb and K.C. * "The Gospel According to King" – King, Alan and Ensemble * "The Musketeer Sketch Rehearsal" – Musketeers, Benjy, and Alan * "Funny / The Duck Joke" – K. C. and Alice * "The Musketeer Sketch Rehearsal Part II" – King, Alan and Ensemble * "Welcome to Brooklyn" – Morty, Rookie, Belle, Sadie, Benjy, Alan and Neighbors * "If the World Were Like the Movies" – Alan ;Act II * "Exits" – Alan * "Shut Up and Dance" – K.C., Benjy, Offstage Chorus * "Professional Showbizness Comedy" – Alice, King and Ensemble * "The Lights Come Up" – Alan and Benjy * "Maxford House" – Maxford House Girls * "The Musketeer Sketch Finale" – King and Ensemble * "My Favorite Year" – Benjy and Company The album,= ''My Favorite Year (Original Broadway Cast Recording)'' was released in 1993 with
Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...
,
Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
and
Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
on
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 ...
.


Awards and nominations


Original Broadway production


References


External links

*
Plot at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
*
My Favorite Year
' at the Music Theatre International website {{DEFAULTSORT:My Favorite Year 1992 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on films Musicals by Lynn Ahrens Musicals by Stephen Flaherty Plays set in New York City Tony Award-winning musicals