''Hallelujah, Baby!'' 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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with music by

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by

Arthur Laurents Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. With a career spanning seven decades he received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, a Drama Desk Award, ...

. The show is "a chronicle of the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

struggle for equality during the irst half of the20th century."Chastang, Carol
"Review: 'Say Hallelujah!'"
seeingblack.com, January 7, 2005 The musical premiered on Broadway in 1967 and made a young

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (; born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. After beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, she garnered acclaim for her role in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a T ...

a star. It won the

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

. In 2004, Laurents restaged the show twice with the same cast, in Washington D.C at the Arena Stage and at the

George Street Playhouse George Street Playhouse is a theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the city's Civic Square, New Brunswick, Civic Square government and theater district and resident at the newly built New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. The GSP is o ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, in order to update and streamline the story for modern sensibilities, and potentially move to New York for a full revival. The score was updated by Adolph Green's daughter,

Amanda Green Amanda Green (born December 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. In 2021, she was elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the first woman to hold the role in the Guild's 100-year history. Early life and edu ...

. Critics noted that although the score and performances were entertaining and had its merits, the book was still too outdated.

Synopsis

Georgina is a talented, beautiful and ambitious

woman, determined to have a career. Overcoming many obstacles, she rises to stardom. She makes her way through the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and the beginning of the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

movement. Her mother advises her to "keep her place" as a maid on a

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

estate, but Georgina negotiates the blocks to stardom from her negative and opportunistic mother. She encounters the racism that pervades society and show business. Two men vie for Georgina's attention. Harvey, who is white, is able to provide opportunities for her. Her fiancé, Clem, who is a black train porter, cannot help her on her journey. By the 1950s, she is a successful singer in an expensive night club. However, Clem, who became an Army captain and then a civil rights

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, challenges Georgina's life goals.

Original cast and characters

Musical numbers

;Act 1 *Prologue - Georgina *Back in the Kitchen - Momma *My Own Morning - Georgina *The Slice - Clem and Provers *Farewell, Farewell - Calhoun, Betty Loo, Captain Yankee, Georgina, and Harvey *Feet Do Yo' Stuff - Georgina, Chorines, Tip, and Tap *Watch My Dust - Clem *Smile, Smile - Clem, Georgina, and Momma *Witches' Brew - Georgina, Mary, Ethel, and Company *Breadline Dance - Bums *Another Day - Harvey, Clem, Mary, and Georgina *I Wanted to Change Him - Georgina *Being Good Isn't Good Enough - Georgina ;Act 2 *Dance Drill - Tip, Tap and G.I.s *Talking to Yourself - Georgina, Clem, and Harvey *Limbo Dance - Night Club Patrons *Hallelujah Baby! - Georgina, Tip, and Tap *Not Mine - Harvey *I Don't Know Where She Got It - Momma, Clem, and Harvey *Now's the Time - Georgina *Now's the Time (Reprise) - Company "Witches Brew" had a tune that was recycled from "Call Me Savage," a song from a prior musical '' Fade Out – Fade In'' and was originally sung by Carol Burnett.

Productions

The musical opened on Broadway at the

Martin Beck Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburg ...

on April 26, 1967, and closed on January 13, 1968, after 293 performances and 22 previews. It was directed by Burt Shevelove, choreographed by Kevin Carlisle, musical direction by Buster Davis, orchestrations by Peter Matz, with scenic design by William and Jean Eckart, costumes by Irene Sharaff and lighting by Tharon Musser. The production won five

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

(out of nine nominations), including Best Musical, and Uggams and Hayman won the Tonys for Best Actress and Best Featured Actress, respectively, for their performances. This remains the only show to win the Tony for Best Musical after it closed.

Laurents' recollections

Arthur Laurents felt that "the original production was too soft in its take on black social progress during the first six decades or so of the twentieth century. It was originally written with

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

in mind. When the steely Horne opted out of the project, it was rewritten to suit the more youthful and bubbly Leslie Uggams." In the 2004 production, Laurents attempted "to add levels of darker intensity.... However, the music and lyrics are in the infectiously bright and bubbly style of musical comedy, and his efforts in this area reduce the charm and good spirits of the show without adding much of significance in the way of depth or insight." According to Laurents, after Lena Horne declined to do the show, "What we should have done is abandon the show.... Instead it was rewriten for a woman who is one of the nicest women I have ever met in the theatre, Leslie Uggams,--and, God knows, she has a beautiful voice ... she was good, but it wasn't that original show. The show lost its edge, and I must say I lost interest in it."Bryer, Jackson R. and Richard Allan Davison (2005). ''The Art of the American Musical: Conversations with the Creators'', Rutgers University Press. , p. 133

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Washington D.C production

References

Information about the musical

External links

*

* ttp://stageagent.com/Shows/View/1625 ''Hallelujah, Baby!''at Stageagent.com {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Hallelujah, Baby!'' , list = {{TonyAwardBestMusical 1947-1975 {{TonyAward MusicalScore 1947-1975 1967 musicals Broadway musicals Original musicals Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award–winning musicals Musicals by Jule Styne Musicals by Betty Comden and Adolph Green Musicals set in the 1930s Musicals set in the 1940s Musicals set in the 1950s Musicals by Arthur Laurents