''Oh, Captain!'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, 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, ...

based on the 1953 film '' The Captain's Paradise'' 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 composing-songwriting duo with Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a half of a composing-songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, specializing himself in writing lyrics for film songs. On music Livingston ...

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 Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...

. The basis of the musical was the 1953 film '' The Captain's Paradise'', which had been written by Alec Coppel and Nicholas Phipps. 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 (in the title role) and prima ballerina Alexandra Danilova is called "the best five minutes in the show" by Ken Mandelbaum.

Background

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

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

was mentioned as a possible star and

Lindsay and Crouse Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

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. Merrill was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. His ...

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

Productions

''Oh, Captain!'' opened on Broadway 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, costumes by Miles White, hair design by Ernest Adler, dances and musical numbers created by James Starbuck, and musical director Jay Blackton. The original cast included Tony Randall as Captain Henry St. James, Abbe Lane, Susan Johnson, Jackie McKeever, Edward Platt, Paul Valentine, 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. 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 C ...

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."'Oh, Captain!', 2003"
42ndstmoon.org. Retrieved July 17, 2013. 42nd Street Moon (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. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

and appeared on the 1958 album '' Johnny's Greatest Hits''.

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

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

* {{Alec Coppel Broadway musicals 1958 musicals Musicals based on films Musicals set in London Musicals set in Paris