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Best Of Times
Synopsis:
Composer and lyricist Jerry Herman could be the man for whom the term showtune" was coined. His songs are mostly upbeat, big-grin-and-high-kick numbers which cry out for full chorus-line backing," wrote Nick Curtis in The London Evening Standard. "The prevailing tone is remorselessly optimistic," noted Jeremy Kingston in The Times. "A product of Broadway the way it used to be, Herman is very much in the business of cheering people up. Even if you have got only a moderately sardonic cast of mind, there are times when the breeziness and chin-up optimism can be wearing. Still, the songs are melodious, and every so often the humor in them takes wing. Much must be forgiven the man who can rhyme 'life is peachy' with 'Don Ameche,"' wrote John Gross in The Sunday Telegraph.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
revue
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Dear World
Paris - and oil has been discovered under it. the best place to drill is at the Cafe Francis in the Chaillot district. But the owner will not sell. the bosses of the big corporation force innocent Julian to go there and plant a bomb. But Julian becomes friendly with the people at the cafe - a juggler, a handsome waiter Nina the pretty waitress, a deaf mute who loves dancing and the Countess aurelia - known as the Madwoman Of Chaillot. Julian does not plant the bomb and tries to kill himself. the deaf mute rescues him and brings him unconscious into the cafe. When he comes to he thinks Nina is an angel. He is determined to try and kill himself again as he is fearful of the big corporation. the Countess prevents him. then someone arrives from the Corporation and tries to take Julian but the Countess throws him out. Julian goes to hide in the flat of the Countess - whilst she goes to consult the Sewerman. then together with the Madwoman of Montmartre and the Madwoman of the Flea Market she hatches a plan to rid the world of evil people.
Notes:
Original Playwright - Jean Giraudoux (the Madwoman of Chaillot); book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert e Lee, music by Jerry Herman
1st Produced:
Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York 25240
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
Original cast recording: Sony (48220) 1969
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
adaptation Musical
Parts:
Male: 9 Female: 4 Other: extras
Further Reference:
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From A-Z
Synopsis:
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Notes:
Music by Jay Brower; Jonathan Tunick; lrics by Jerry Herman And ten others; book by Woody Allen; Herbert Farjeon; Nina Warner Hook
1st Produced:
Plymouth Theatre, New York 20 Apr /1960
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Grand Tour, The
France, 1940. Jacobowsky, a Polish Jewish intellectual, has been one step ahead of the Nazis for years. Stjerbinsky, an aristocratic, anti-semitic Polish colonel, is desperately trying to get to England. Jacobowsky has purchased a car, but he doesnt know how to drive. The Colonel knows how to drive, but has no car. ??When the two meet at a Paris hotel, they agree to join forces in order to escape the approaching Nazis. Together with the Colonels girlfriend, Marianne, they begin their perilous journey on the road to freedom. ??
Notes:
Music by Jerry Herman; Lyrics by Jerry Herman; Book by Michael Stewart And Mark Bramble; Based upon the original play "Jacobowsky And the Colonel" by Franz Werfel; Based upon the American play "Jacobowsky And the Colonel" by S. N. Behrman
1st Produced:
Palace Theater, New York 11 Jan 1979
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
Original cast recording: Broadway Redux (Fa-2139) 1979
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 5 Other: with doubling
Further Reference:
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Hello Dolly!
Based on the Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, Hello, Dolly! tells the story of Dolly Levi, a young, widowed matchmaker, who dips into everybody's business, uniting lovers whilst coming up with the best match in the world for the wealthy Horace Vandergelder - herself!
Notes:
book by Michael Stewart; music And lyrics by Jerry Herman
1st Produced:
St James Theatre, New York 16 Jan 1964
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (82876-51431-2) 1964
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 5 Other: ensemble
Further Reference:
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I Feel Wonderful
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Theatre De Lys, New York 18 Oct 1954
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Jerry's Girls
Featuring songs from classic musicals including Hello Dolly, Mame, Mack and Mabel and La Cage Aux Folles, Jerrys Girls brings together an all-female cast to celebrate Jerrys special gift for writing songs that capture the true spirit of the great American musical, honouring the legacy of the multi Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of some of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time.
Notes:
Music And lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Larry Alford; Jerry Herman
1st Produced:
Onstage nightclub, NY 03 Jun 1985
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
Original cast recording: TeR (1083) 1984
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical cabaret
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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La Cage Aux Folles
gay couple Georges and albin run a transvestite night club on the French Riviera
Notes:
Music by Jerry Herman; Lyrics by Jerry Herman; Book by Harvey Fierstein; Based on the play "La Cage Aux Folles" by Jean Poiret
1st Produced:
Palace Theatre, NY 21 Aug 1983
Organisations:
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1st Published:
http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2749/la-cage-aux-folles 978-0573703317
Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (4824) 1983
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest
Parts:
Male: 10 Female: 8 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Mack And Mabel
1938 Mack Sennett returns to his old studios in Brooklyn where a talkie is being produced. He remembers the old days of the silent film and the day when a young woman from the local delicatessen delivered a sandwich to the studio back in 1911. It was Mabel Normand. the actress who had ordered the sandwich could not pay for it and Mabel lost her temper. Mack thought that she showed promise as an actress and offered her a movie contract
Notes:
Music And lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Michael Stewart
1st Produced:
Majestic Theatre, New York 06 Oct 1974
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Madame Aphrodite
Synopsis:
Madame aphrodite lives alone in a shabby apartment. She hates her neighbours whom she thinks have been unkind to her. She makes a beauty ointment out of items in her kitchen which she wants to sell to them by way of revenge. She gets the extremely good looking but naive young man Barney to sell it on her behalf. He sells some to Rosemary a shy young girl. She and Barney fall in love and as Rosemary feels so much better she believes it is the cream. Madame aphrodite confesses it is a fake.
Notes:
Music And lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Tad Mosel. Televised 1953
1st Produced:
New York 1962
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Mame
This fabulously successful hit hardly needs introduction. Besides being the source for one of America's most popular musicals, aUNTIe MaMe set a standard for Broadway comedy that's been sought after ever since. "auntie Mame was a handsome, sparkling, scatterbrained and warm-hearted lady who brightened the American landscape from 1928 to the immediate past by her whimsical gaiety, her slightly madcap adventures and her devotion to her young nephew, who grew up to be Patrick Dennis. Through fortunes that rose and fell and a pleasant but brief marriage to a likable Southerner, who had the bad luck to tumble down from the Matterhorn, auntie Mame's chief concern was that nephew, whom she raised. . .[the play's] central figure is a woman of spirit, innate kindness and undefeatable courage. . ."-NY Post.
Notes:
Music And lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Jerome Lawrence; Robert e Lee
1st Produced:
Winter Garden Theatre, New York 24 May 1966
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
Original cast recording: Columbia (CK-3000) 1966
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: 25 Female: 12 Other: 3 boys (these include numerous bit parts, and extensive doubling is possible): 20 total
Further Reference:
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Milk And Honey
Ruth Stein is visiting Israel with a widow's group. She keeps running into Phil arkin another American who is visiting his daughter. Phil invites Ruth to come and stay with him at his daughter's farm. they fall in love. However, there is a problem although long separated he is still married. they attend a local wedding and leave to be together. Later Ruth has second thoughts and leaves for Tel aviv. Phil follows and tries to find her. as she boards a plane back to the US he tells her he will go to Paris and beg his wife for a divorce
Notes:
Book by Don Appell; Music by Jerry Herman; Lyrics by Jerry Herman
1st Produced:
Martin Beck Theater, New York 10 Oct 1961
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (61997) 1961
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Miss Spectacular
a young woman leaves her Midwest home town and heads for Las Vegas hoping for fame and fortune as a chorus girl
Notes:
Music, lyrics And book by Jerry Herman
1st Produced:
Unproduced -
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
Studio cast recording: DRG (12995) 1999
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Parade
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Notes:
Music, lyrics And book by Jerry Herman
1st Produced:
Players Theatre, New York 20 Jan 1960
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
Original cast recording: Decca (440 064 738-2) 1960
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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