''Oh, Captain!'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

based on the 1953 film ''

The Captain's Paradise ''The Captain's Paradise'' is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and starring Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo and Celia Johnson. Guinness plays the captain of a passenger ship that travels regularly between Gibr ...

'' with music and lyrics by

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans the ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

and the book by Al Morgan and

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

. The basis of the musical was the 1953 film ''

'', which had been written by

Alec Coppel Alec Coppel (17 September 1907 – 22 January 1972) was an Australian-born screenwriter, novelist and playwright. He spent the majority of his career in London and Hollywood, specialising in light thrillers, mysteries and sex comedies. He is best ...

and

Nicholas Phipps William Nicholas Foskett Phipps (23 June 1913 – 11 April 1980) was a British actor and writer who appeared in stage roles between 1932 and 1967 and more than thirty films between 1940 and 1970. He wrote West End plays, songs and sketches for ...

. The musical updated the film's Gibraltar and Algiers setting to London and Paris. The production was dismissed by the critics as a "tired businessman's show", but the cast and choreography were much praised. A 5-minute dance sequence between

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play '' The Odd Couple'' by Neil Si ...

(in the title role) and prima ballerina

Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...

is called "the best five minutes in the show" by

Ken Mandelbaum Ken Mandelbaum is a Jewish American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents a ...

Background

There was talk of adapting the movie into a musical as early as 1955.

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

was mentioned as a possible star and

Lindsay and Crouse Lindsay and Crouse was the writing team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, who collaborated famously on a succession of Broadway plays and musicals for 27 years during the mid 20th century. Their first collaboration was the rewriting of the bo ...

as possible adaptors. Later

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

was offered the job as composer and David Wayne was mooted as a possible star.

Productions

''Oh, Captain!'' 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 ...

at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) on February 4, 1958, and closed on July 19, 1958, after 192 performances. The musical was directed by

, with set and lighting design by

Jo Mielziner Joseph "Jo" Mielziner (March 19, 1901 – March 15, 1976) was an American theatrical scenic design, scenic, and lighting design, lighting designer born in Paris, France. He was described as "the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Br ...

, costumes by

Miles White Miles E. White (July 27, 1914 – February 17, 2000) was a top costume designer of Broadway musicals for 25 years. He is known in the entertainment industry for his well rendered, prolific, imaginative and witty designs. He won recognition, in ...

, hair design by Ernest Adler, dances and musical numbers created by James Starbuck, and musical director Jay Blackton. The original cast included

as Captain Henry St. James,

Abbe Lane Abbe Lane (born Francine Lassman; December 14, 1931) is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader ...

, Susan Johnson, Jackie McKeever,

Edward Platt Edward Cuthbert Platt (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the Chief in the 1965–70 NBC/ CBS television series: ''Get Smart''. With his deep voice and mature appearance, he played an ...

Paul Valentine Paul Valentine (born William Daixel; March 23, 1919 – January 27, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was married to Lili St. Cyr from 1946 to 1950 and danced opposite her on stage. Biography Born in New York City he was e ...

, and Stanley Carlson. Abbe Lane was under contract to a rival studio, which refused to allow her to record the original cast album. Her songs were recorded by

Eileen Rodgers Eileen Rodgers (July 10, 1930 – July 13, 2003) was an American singer and Broadway performer. Career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1930, she began her career as a nightclub performer, later singing as lead vocalist with Charlie Spivak ...

. Lane did record two of her numbers on one of her subsequent solo albums. Hollywood musical star

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

made her Broadway debut when she replaced Lane for the last week of the Broadway run in July 1958. Ram's Head, the Stanford theatrical society, produced the show in 1962, starring Laurence Guittard.

42nd Street Moon 42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern Californi ...

(San Francisco) presented it in a staged concert in 2003.

Songs

; Act I * "A Very Proper Town" – Captain Henry St. James and the Company * "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Gives Him Simple Joys)" – Mrs. Maud St. James and Captain Henry St. James * "A Very Proper Week" – The English Townspeople * "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Leads Him Down to the Sea)" – Captain Henry St. James, Enrico Manzoni and the Crew * "Captain Henry St. James" – The Crew of the S.S. Paradise * "The Dock Dance" – The Dockworkers * "Three Paradises" – Captain Henry St. James * "Surprise" – Mrs. Maud St. James and the Neighbors * "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Puts Him in Paree)" – Captain Henry St. James * "Hey Madame" – Captain Henry St. James and Lisa * "Femininity" – Bobo * "It's Never Quite the Same" – Enrico Manzoni and the Crew * "It's Never Quite the Same" (Reprise) – Mrs. Maud St. James, Enrico Manzoni and the Crew * "We're Not Children" – Mrs. Maud St. James and the Spaniard * "Give it All You Got" – Mae and the Tourists * "Love is Hell" – Mae and the Ladies of the Ensemble * "Keep It Simple" – Bobo and Her Dancing Companions ; Act II * "The Morning Music of Montmartre" – Mae and the People of Montmartre * "You Don't Know Him" – Bobo and Mrs. Maud St. James * "I've Been There and I'm Back" – Enrico Manzoni and Captain Henry St. James * "Double Standard" – Bobo and Mrs. Maud St. James * "All the Time" – Captain Henry St. James * "You're So Right for Me" – Enrico Manzoni and Bobo * "All the Time" (Reprise) – Mrs. Maud St. James * "Finale" – The Entire Company "All the Time" was recorded by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

and appeared on the 1958 album ''

Johnny's Greatest Hits ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'' is a compilation album by vocalist Johnny Mathis that was released by Columbia Records on March 17, 1958, and has been described as the "original greatest-hits package". The LP collected all but one of the songs from ...

''.

Critical response

Frank Aston of the '' World Telegram and Sun'' said of the show, "splendiferous, gaudy. songful, comical, dancing joy that happens none too often!, José Ferrer's production of Oh, Captain! had smooth sailing all the way. It was the outstanding musical success of the Philadelphia season, and found New Yorkers equally eager to absorb its high spirits and salty humours. With no aim other than entertainment, it instantly became one of Broadway's biggest hits and seems securely berthed at the Alvin Theatre for many months to come.""'Oh, Captain' Plot, Songs"
GuideToMusicalTheatre.com. Retrieved December 30, 2011

Background

Productions

Songs

Critical response

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links