my favorite musical
not a Brodway Queen. (not that...)
Wonderful Town
In 1940 the comedy My Sister Eileen was produced on Broadway. Written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, it was based on the autobiographical stories of Ruth McKenney published in The New Yorker magazine in the 1930s. The plot revolved around two sisters, Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, hoping to find a place for their talents in New York City. In 1942 the play was made into a film also called My Sister Eileen, starring Rosalind Russell. Several musical versions of the play were discussed and worked on until the rights were acquired by Robert Fryer. Fryer took it to director George Abbot. Fields and Chodorov adapted their play into a libretto and Leroy Anderson and Arnold Horwitt wrote the score. However the score did not please Fryer, the playwrights or Rosalind Russell, who had agreed to star in her first Broadway musical (at age forty one). Five weeks before rehearsals were due to begin, Abbot asked Bernstein to bolster the score with some numbers. He declined but offered to compose a new score in conjunction with Adolph Green and Betty Comden. Abott agreed and when Jerome Robbins came on board it became a reunion for those who had worked on On the Town. Wonderful Town had rave out of town tryout reviews and hit New York City's Winter Garden Theatre on February 25th 1953. Broadway critics raved calling it the best musical since Guys and Dolls. Russell also received the best print of her career.
Wonderful Town 2003
NYTimes Theater Review:
"This "Wonderful Town" captivates in ways achieved by no other new production this fall. For one thing, there's something irresistible about the show's starry-eyed vision of New York. It's the most lighthearted of Bernstein's three big Manhattan musicals (the others are "On the Town" and "West Side Story"), and it artfully melds urban jitters and jive ("Swing," "Conquering New York") with a wistful, melodic romanticism ("Ohio," "A Little Bit in Love").
Betty Comden and Adolph Green's lyrics percolate with the show-off spunk you associate with being brash, bright and eager to impress. The wisecracking book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov (based on their play "My Sister Eileen," which was adapted from stories by Ruth McKenney and filmed with Russell in 1942) bubbles with both vintage wit and a callow optimism.
Some of the references (Major Bowes, anyone?) fly over the heads of contemporary audiences. But there's nothing stale about the show's giddy infatuation with a city. As the more wryly affectionate new musical "Avenue Q" demonstrates, the young and ambitious are still willing to rough it for a chance at success in New York City.
Manhattan has never looked as innocent as it does in "Wonderful Town," a show in which even hookers and muggers are cute. But it's the gaze of undiluted love that makes it appear that way."
One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man: another favorite song from the show
NOW THE FIRST WAY TO LOSE A MAN --
YOU’VE MET A CHARMING FELLOW AND YOU’RE OUT FOR A SPIN.
THE MOTOR FAILS AND HE JUST WEARS A HELPLESS GRIN,
DON’T BAT YOUR EYES AND SAY, “WHAT A ROMANTIC SPOT WE’RE IN.”
Just get out, crawl under the car, tell him it’s the gasket and fix it in two seconds flat with a bobby pin.
THAT’S A GOOD WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
HE TAKES YOU TO A BASEBALL GAME,
YOU SIT KNEE TO KNEE.
HE SAYS, “THE NEXT MAN UP AT BAT WILL BUNT, YOU’LL SEE.”
DON’T SAY, “OOOH, WHAT’S A BUNT? THIS GAME’S TOO HARD FOR LITTLE ME.”
Just say, “Bunt? Are you nuts?!! With no outs, two men on base, and a left-handed batter coming up, you’ll walk right into a triple play just like it happened in the fifth game of the World Series in 1923.”
THAT’S A SURE WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
A SURE SURE SURE SURE WAY TO LOSE A MAN,
A SPLENDID WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
JUST THROW YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN HIS FACE,
HE’LL NEVER TRY FOR SECOND BASE.
Ninety-eight ways to go.
THE THIRD WAY TO LOSE A MAN --
THE LIFE-GUARD AT THE BEACH THAT ALL THE GIRLIES ADORE
SWIMS BRAVELY OUT TO SAVE YOU THROUGH THE OCEAN’S ROAR,
DON’T SAY, “OH, THANKS, I WOULD HAVE DROWNED IN JUST ONE SECOND MORE.”
Just push his head under water and yell, “Last one in is a rotten egg” and race him back to shore!
THAT’S A SWELL WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
YOU’VE FOUND YOUR PERFECT MATE AND IT’S BEEN LOVE FROM THE START.
HE WHISPERS, “YOU’RE THE ONE TO WHO I GIVE MY HEART.”
DON’T SAY, “I LOVE YOU TOO, MY DEAR, LET’S NEVER NEVER PART.”
Just say, “I’m afraid you’ve made a grammatical error -- it’s not ‘To who I give my heart,’ it's ‘To whom I give my heart’ -- You see, with the use of the preposition ‘to,’ ‘who’ becomes the indirect object, making the use of ‘whom’ imperative which I can easily show you by drawing a simple chart” --
THAT’S A FINE WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
A FINE FINE FINE FINE WAY TO LOSE A MAN,
A DANDY WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
JUST BE MORE WELL-INFORMED THAN HE,
YOU’LL NEVER HEAR “O, PROMISE ME.”
JUST SHOW HIM WHERE HIS GRAMMAR ERRS,
THEN MARK YOUR TOWELS “HERS” AND “HERS.”
YES, GIRLS, YOU TOO CAN LOSE YOUR MAN,
IF YOU WILL USE RUTH SHERWOOD’S PLAN:
ONE HUNDRED EASY WAYS TO LOSE A MAN!
Wonderful Town
|
In 1940 the comedy My Sister Eileen was produced on Broadway. Written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, it was based on the autobiographical stories of Ruth McKenney published in The New Yorker magazine in the 1930s. The plot revolved around two sisters, Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, hoping to find a place for their talents in New York City. In 1942 the play was made into a film also called My Sister Eileen, starring Rosalind Russell. Several musical versions of the play were discussed and worked on until the rights were acquired by Robert Fryer. Fryer took it to director George Abbot. Fields and Chodorov adapted their play into a libretto and Leroy Anderson and Arnold Horwitt wrote the score. However the score did not please Fryer, the playwrights or Rosalind Russell, who had agreed to star in her first Broadway musical (at age forty one). Five weeks before rehearsals were due to begin, Abbot asked Bernstein to bolster the score with some numbers. He declined but offered to compose a new score in conjunction with Adolph Green and Betty Comden. Abott agreed and when Jerome Robbins came on board it became a reunion for those who had worked on On the Town. Wonderful Town had rave out of town tryout reviews and hit New York City's Winter Garden Theatre on February 25th 1953. Broadway critics raved calling it the best musical since Guys and Dolls. Russell also received the best print of her career.
Wonderful Town 2003
|
NYTimes Theater Review:
"This "Wonderful Town" captivates in ways achieved by no other new production this fall. For one thing, there's something irresistible about the show's starry-eyed vision of New York. It's the most lighthearted of Bernstein's three big Manhattan musicals (the others are "On the Town" and "West Side Story"), and it artfully melds urban jitters and jive ("Swing," "Conquering New York") with a wistful, melodic romanticism ("Ohio," "A Little Bit in Love").
Betty Comden and Adolph Green's lyrics percolate with the show-off spunk you associate with being brash, bright and eager to impress. The wisecracking book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov (based on their play "My Sister Eileen," which was adapted from stories by Ruth McKenney and filmed with Russell in 1942) bubbles with both vintage wit and a callow optimism.
Some of the references (Major Bowes, anyone?) fly over the heads of contemporary audiences. But there's nothing stale about the show's giddy infatuation with a city. As the more wryly affectionate new musical "Avenue Q" demonstrates, the young and ambitious are still willing to rough it for a chance at success in New York City.
Manhattan has never looked as innocent as it does in "Wonderful Town," a show in which even hookers and muggers are cute. But it's the gaze of undiluted love that makes it appear that way."
One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man: another favorite song from the show
NOW THE FIRST WAY TO LOSE A MAN --
YOU’VE MET A CHARMING FELLOW AND YOU’RE OUT FOR A SPIN.
THE MOTOR FAILS AND HE JUST WEARS A HELPLESS GRIN,
DON’T BAT YOUR EYES AND SAY, “WHAT A ROMANTIC SPOT WE’RE IN.”
Just get out, crawl under the car, tell him it’s the gasket and fix it in two seconds flat with a bobby pin.
THAT’S A GOOD WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
HE TAKES YOU TO A BASEBALL GAME,
YOU SIT KNEE TO KNEE.
HE SAYS, “THE NEXT MAN UP AT BAT WILL BUNT, YOU’LL SEE.”
DON’T SAY, “OOOH, WHAT’S A BUNT? THIS GAME’S TOO HARD FOR LITTLE ME.”
Just say, “Bunt? Are you nuts?!! With no outs, two men on base, and a left-handed batter coming up, you’ll walk right into a triple play just like it happened in the fifth game of the World Series in 1923.”
THAT’S A SURE WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
A SURE SURE SURE SURE WAY TO LOSE A MAN,
A SPLENDID WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
JUST THROW YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN HIS FACE,
HE’LL NEVER TRY FOR SECOND BASE.
Ninety-eight ways to go.
THE THIRD WAY TO LOSE A MAN --
THE LIFE-GUARD AT THE BEACH THAT ALL THE GIRLIES ADORE
SWIMS BRAVELY OUT TO SAVE YOU THROUGH THE OCEAN’S ROAR,
DON’T SAY, “OH, THANKS, I WOULD HAVE DROWNED IN JUST ONE SECOND MORE.”
Just push his head under water and yell, “Last one in is a rotten egg” and race him back to shore!
THAT’S A SWELL WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
YOU’VE FOUND YOUR PERFECT MATE AND IT’S BEEN LOVE FROM THE START.
HE WHISPERS, “YOU’RE THE ONE TO WHO I GIVE MY HEART.”
DON’T SAY, “I LOVE YOU TOO, MY DEAR, LET’S NEVER NEVER PART.”
Just say, “I’m afraid you’ve made a grammatical error -- it’s not ‘To who I give my heart,’ it's ‘To whom I give my heart’ -- You see, with the use of the preposition ‘to,’ ‘who’ becomes the indirect object, making the use of ‘whom’ imperative which I can easily show you by drawing a simple chart” --
THAT’S A FINE WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
A FINE FINE FINE FINE WAY TO LOSE A MAN,
A DANDY WAY TO LOSE A MAN.
JUST BE MORE WELL-INFORMED THAN HE,
YOU’LL NEVER HEAR “O, PROMISE ME.”
JUST SHOW HIM WHERE HIS GRAMMAR ERRS,
THEN MARK YOUR TOWELS “HERS” AND “HERS.”
YES, GIRLS, YOU TOO CAN LOSE YOUR MAN,
IF YOU WILL USE RUTH SHERWOOD’S PLAN:
ONE HUNDRED EASY WAYS TO LOSE A MAN!
