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Joseph Stein

JOSEPH STEIN  (1912 - 2010)

 Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC  


Joseph Stein was born in New York City on May 30th 1912. After graduating he worked as a psychiatric social worker. In his spare time he wrote comedy sketches. He met Zero Mostel who got him work writing material for people such as Phil Silvers and Jackie Gleason. He joined the team writing for the television programme "Your Show Of Shows" - the rest of the team were: Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. In the 1950s he was asked to write a Broadway show about Pennsylvania - one that would do for Pennysilvania what the musical "Oklahoma" had done for that State. The result was "Plain And Fancy". It ran for 461 shows on Broadway. Every year since 1986 it has been produced at the Round Barn Theatre, Amish Acres, Indianna where it has now clocked up over 3,000 performances (as of 2010). His greatest success was "Fiddler On The Roof" for which he also wrote the screenplay. When "No No Nanette" proved to be a big success he was asked to rewrite the book for "Irene" but it did not do well before getting to Broadway - it became a success after President Nixon had seen it in a Washington try-out and said he liked it. The star of the show Debbie Reynolds lost her voice and as the understudy was not ready to take over Ms Reynolds went on with the show's director - John Gielgud - reading her lines off stage whilst she mimed to them! Joseph Stein was married three times - his first wife,Sadie, died and they had three sons. His second marriage ended in divorce. Elisa his third wife was a psychotherapist. Joseph Stein died aged 98 on October 24th 2010 after a fall at home.

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below is a list of Joseph Stein's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 Baker's Wife, The         Body Beautiful, The         Carmelina         Enter Laughing         Enter Laughing         Fiddler On The Roof         Irene         Juno         King of Hearts         Mr Wonderful         Mrs Gibbons' Boys         Plain and Fancy         Rags         So Long, 174th Street         Take Me Along         Zorba

Baker's Wife, The

Baker's Wife, The
Aimable has opened a bakers shop in a small French village in the 1930s. He has a much younger wife - Genevieve. Amongst the people in town that day is the local Marquis with his chauffeur, Dominique. Dominique mistakes Genevieve for the baker's daughter - but she tells him that she is a happily married woman. Later that night she runs away with the chauffeur and they take the marquis' Peugeot. Aimable bereft with the loss of his wife refuses to make bread. The villagers know the only way he will make it again is if they find and return Genevieve to him

Notes:
Music And lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; book by Joseph Stein. Based on the film "La Femme de la Boulanger" screenplay by Marcel Pagnol

1st Produced:
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles    11 May 1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   tht-891

Music:
Broadway cast recording: Take Home Tunes (891) 1976

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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Body Beautiful, The

Body Beautiful, The
A rich and handsome Dartmouth graduate wants to box his was to glory. However he falls in love with a girl who disAproves of boxing

Notes:
Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; Book by Joseph Stein And Will Glickman

1st Produced:
Broadway Theater, New York    23 Jan 1958

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, NY, 1957   blue-pear-1006

Music:
Original cast recording: Blue Pear (1006)

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

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Carmelina

Carmelina
Carmelita tells her daughter Gia that her father was an American soldier who died in the War. She spurns the advances of cafe owner Vittorio because she wants to remain true to her American husband. The truth is she has no idea which of three Gis was the father of Gia. Then the three veterans turn up having comeback to Italy to see where they had been fighting.

Notes:
Written by Alan Jay Lerner And Joseph Stein; music by Burton Lane; lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner

1st Produced:
St James Theater, New York    08 Apr 1979

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   THT-CD-9224

Music:
Original cast recording: Orginal Cast Records (THT CD 9224) 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

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Enter Laughing

Synopsis:
David Kolowitz is stage struck. He has several girl friends and his parents want him to marry a druggist. But he leaves and sets off for Broadway. The only way he can get on stage is to pay for the privilege of being the leading man in a production. The leading lady sets her sights on him. David is no actor and on his first night everything that can go wrong does

Notes:
Based on the book "Enter Laughing" by Carl Reiner

1st Produced:
Henry Millers Theatre, New York    13 Mar 1963

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 1963   -

Music:
-

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

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Enter Laughing

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Music And lyrics by Stan Daniels; book by Joseph Stein. Based on the play by Joseph Stein And the book by Carl Reiner

1st Produced:
York Theatre At St Peters, New York    10 Sep 2008

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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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Fiddler On The Roof

Fiddler On The Roof
Setting: Anatevka, a small village in Russia. 1905, on the eve of the Russian Revolution. The much-loved musical tale of a Jewish family in Tsarist Russia facing emotional turmoil and physical upheaval. At the heart of the family, and the story, is Tevye, an old-fashioned father who wants to see his daughters married in the traditional Jewish way.

Notes:
Book by Joseph Stein; Based on stories by Sholom Aleichem; Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

1st Produced:
Imperial Theatre, NY    22 Sep 1964

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Limelight Editions, 2004   82876-51430-2

Music:
Original cast recording: RCA (82876-51430-2) 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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Irene

Irene
Irene works in her widow mother's music shop. She is sent to tune the piano of wealthy Donald Marshall III and despite their different backgrounds they fall in love. Irene posses as a countess to promote the fashion designs of couturier Madame Lucy - who is really a man. She urges society women to shop at Madame Lucy's. When this succeeds she wants to give up her masquerade but Donald wants her to keep on being a "countess"

Notes:
Music by Harry Tierney; Charles Gaynor; Otis Clements; lyrics by Joseph McCarthy; Charles Gaynor; Otis Clements; book by Joseph Stein. Based on the musical book by James Montgomery

1st Produced:
Minskoff Theatre, New York    13 Mar 1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   col-32266

Music:
Original cast recording of revised version: Columbia (32266) 1973

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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Juno

Juno
Dublin in the 1920s. The Boyle family "Captain" Jack, his wife Juno and son Johnny and daughter Mary live in squalor in a tenement building. Jack drinks all day, Johnny has been injured fighting for the IRA. The two women work and provide for the family. One day a school teacher turns up and says that they have come into a fortune. Jack uses credit to do up the tenement. Meanwhile in the hopes of getting hold of the money the school teacher - Charles - courts Mary. When Charles realises that he made a mistake when drafting the will and that the Boyles will get nothing - he leaves for London. Things fall apart Jack has everything reposed. The IRA execute Johnny. Mary is pregnant by Charles.

Notes:
Music by Marc Blitzstein; lyrics by Marc Blitzstein; book by Joseph Stein

1st Produced:
Winter Garden Theater, New York    09 Mar 1959

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York   fa-2134

Music:
Original cast recording: Fynsworth Alley (FA-2134) 1959

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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King of Hearts

King of Hearts
1918. The War is nearly over. In a French village an enormous bomb has failed to go off. Private Johnny Perkins has been left behind to defuse it whilst all the villagers have escaped to the country. Only the inmates of the local lunatic asylum have stayed behind and when they get out they declare Johnny their King - the King of Hearts

Notes:
Music by Peter Link; lyrics by Jacob Brackman; book by Joseph Stein

1st Produced:
Minskoff Theater, New York    22 Oct 1978

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   THT-9225

Music:
Original cast recording: Original Cast Records (THT 9225) 1978

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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Mr Wonderful

Mr Wonderful
The struggles of a show biz entertainer

Notes:
Music by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener And George Weiss; Lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener And George Weiss; Book by Joseph Stein And Will Glickman

1st Produced:
Broadway Theatre, NY    22 Mar 1956

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   mr-wonderful

Music:
-

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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Mrs Gibbons' Boys

Synopsis:
Mrs Gibbons' sons - one on probation and two in prison. Mrs Gibbons is being romanced by the clerk at the Gas Company. The two boys in prison break out - they miss their mother. They plan to rob the Gas Company before going on the run. But Mrs Gibbons sends them back to prison.

Notes:
written with Will Glickman

1st Produced:
Music Box, New York    07 May 1949

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York, 1958   -

Music:
-

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Plain and Fancy

Plain and Fancy
A New York couple drive to Lancaster Pa. They plan to sell some land they own there which is in the Amish section of the county. What follows is a clash between the two cultures.

Notes:
Music by Albert Hague; lyrics by Arnold B Horwitt; book by Will Glickman; book by Joseph Stein

1st Produced:
Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York    27 Jan 1955

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York   764762

Music:
Original cast recording: Angel (764762) 1955

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:  19            Female:  11            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Rags

Rags
A Jewish mother and her son flee Russia for America. Her husband had gone on ahead some years before but has never communicated with her. Arriving in New York they are forced to take lowly jobs in one of the sweatshops.

Notes:
Music by Charles Strouse; lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; book by Joseph Stein

1st Produced:
Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York    21 Aug 1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: Sony (42657) 1986

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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So Long, 174th Street

So Long, 174th Street
based on Joseph Stein's play, from the semi-autobiographical novel by Carl Reiner. The show is about the journey of young aspiring actor David Kolowitz as he tries to free himself from overly protective parents and girlfriends, while struggling to meet the challenge of a lack of talent in 1930s New York City

Notes:
Music by Stan Daniels; lyrics by Stan Daniels; book by Joseph Stein. Aka Enter Laughing - The Musical

1st Produced:
Harkness Theater, New York    27 Apr 1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: Original Cast Records (9341) 1980

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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Take Me Along

Take Me Along
Nat Miller the owner of a small town newspaper has won a new fire engine for the town. He has doubts that he is as wonderful as his family and the towns folk say he is

Notes:
Written by Robert Russell And Joseph Stein; music And lyrics by Bob Merrill

1st Produced:
Shubert Theater, New York    22 Oct 1959

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: RCA (51050) 1959

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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Zorba

Zorba
A murder, a mine disaster and suicide. The carefree Zorba woos the courtesan Madame Hortense. His master and friend - the uptight Nikos woos a beautiful widow. And they dance

Notes:
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb; Book by Joseph Stein; Adapated from "Zorba the Greek" by Nikos Kazantzakis

1st Produced:
Imperial Theater, New York    17 Nov 1968

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Hire only: musicals@samuelfrench.com,    -

Music:
Original cast recording: Capitol (92053) 1968

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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