Bar Mitzvah Boy (musical)
Encyclopedia
Bar Mitzvah Boy is a musical
with a book by Jack Rosenthal
, lyrics by Don Black, and music by Jule Styne
.
Based on Rosenthal's award-winning 1976 BBC1
teleplay of the same name
, it focuses on young Eliot Green who, filled with apprehension, escapes from the synagogue
where he is about to make his bar mitzvah
, much to the dismay of his middle class
parents, who have invested their savings in a lavish party to celebrate their son's coming of age
.
The West End
production opened on 31 October 1978 at Her Majesty's Theatre
, where it ran for 78 performances. The cast included Barry Angel, Joyce Blair
, Zelah Clarke
, Leonie Cosman, Ray C. Davis, Gordon Faith, Ashley Knight, Benny Lee, Barry Martin, Vivienne Martin, Harry Towb
, Kerry Shale
and Peter Whitman. CBS
released an original cast recording.
The Americanized
adaptation by Martin Gottfried
changed the setting from 1970s Britain
to 1946 Brooklyn
, but its central story remained the same.
The off-Broadway
production, directed by Robert Kalfin, opened on June 10, 1987 at the American Jewish Theater of the 92nd Street Y
. The cast included Peter Smith as Eliot, with Larry Keith, Mary Gutzi, Mary Stout, Michael Cone, Michael Callan
, Eleanor Reissa, Daniel Marcus, Kimberly Stern, and Reuben Schafer.
A reading was held on January 26, 2007 at the Chelsea Studios, New York City, directed by Stafford Arima
and featuring Faith Prince
, Daniel Reichard and Peter Friedman
.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
, lyrics by Don Black, and music by Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
.
Based on Rosenthal's award-winning 1976 BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
teleplay of the same name
Bar Mitzvah Boy
Bar Mitzvah Boy is a British television play, written by Jack Rosenthal and originally transmitted in the Play for Today anthology series on BBC1...
, it focuses on young Eliot Green who, filled with apprehension, escapes from the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
where he is about to make his bar mitzvah
B'nai Mitzvah
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah are Jewish coming of age rituals. According to Jewish law, when Jewish boys reach 13, they become responsible for their actions and become a Bar Mitzvah . The age for girls is 12...
, much to the dismay of his middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
parents, who have invested their savings in a lavish party to celebrate their son's coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
.
The West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production opened on 31 October 1978 at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, where it ran for 78 performances. The cast included Barry Angel, Joyce Blair
Joyce Blair
Joyce Blair was an English actress and dancer. She was the sister of Lionel Blair, with whom she often performed...
, Zelah Clarke
Zelah Clarke
Zelah Clarke is a television and film actress.She began to work as a television actor in 1972, and her roles include Ceinwen Lloyd in How Green Was My Valley and Susan Nipper in Dombey and Son...
, Leonie Cosman, Ray C. Davis, Gordon Faith, Ashley Knight, Benny Lee, Barry Martin, Vivienne Martin, Harry Towb
Harry Towb
Harry Towb was a Northern Irish actor.-Early life and career:Towb's father was Russian and his mother was Irish. He attended the Finiston School and Technical College, Belfast...
, Kerry Shale
Kerry Shale
Kerry Shale is a UK-based actor, writer and voice-over artist. He is married to Suzanne Shale, a former Oxford University law don, now a specialist in the field of medical ethics.-Theatre:...
and Peter Whitman. CBS
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
released an original cast recording.
The Americanized
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
adaptation by Martin Gottfried
Martin Gottfried
-Early career:Gottfried is a 1959 graduate of Columbia College in New York City, and attended Columbia Law School for three semesters, next spending one year with U.S. Army Military Intelligence...
changed the setting from 1970s Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to 1946 Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, but its central story remained the same.
The off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production, directed by Robert Kalfin, opened on June 10, 1987 at the American Jewish Theater of the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
. The cast included Peter Smith as Eliot, with Larry Keith, Mary Gutzi, Mary Stout, Michael Cone, Michael Callan
Michael Callan
Not to be confused with Michael Callen.Michael Callan is an American actor.Born Martin Harris Calinieff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Callan began his career as Mickey Calin, and it was with this name he appeared on Broadway in The Boy Friend , Catch a Star , and West Side Story .Callan's film...
, Eleanor Reissa, Daniel Marcus, Kimberly Stern, and Reuben Schafer.
A reading was held on January 26, 2007 at the Chelsea Studios, New York City, directed by Stafford Arima
Stafford Arima
Stafford Arima is a Canadian-born theatre director. Arima studied at York University in Toronto where he was the recipient of the Dean's Prize for Excellence in Creative Work.Arima is directing Carrie Stafford Arima is a Canadian-born theatre director. Arima studied at York University in Toronto...
and featuring Faith Prince
Faith Prince
Faith Prince is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work on Broadway. Prince has won the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical and received three Tony nominations.-Life and career:...
, Daniel Reichard and Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman is an American stage, film and television actor.Born in New York City, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University before making his Broadway debut in The Great God Brown in 1972...
.
Song list
- Why?
- If Only A Little Bit Sticks
- The Bar Mitzvah of Eliot Green
- This Time Tomorrow
- Thou Shalt Not
- The Harolds Of This World
- We've Done Alright
- Simchas
- You Wouldn't Be You
- Rita's Request
- Where is the Music Coming From?
- The Sun Shines Out of Your Eyes
- I've Just Begun