Bravo Giovanni is a musical

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 A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham

Ronny Graham

Ronny Graham was an American actor and theatre director, composer, lyricist, and writer.Graham was born Ronald Montcrief Stringer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born to vaudeville performers Florence and Thomas Graham Stringer . Graham...

, and music by Milton Schafer. It is based upon the novel, "The Crime of Giovanni Venturi", by Howard Shaw (Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1959).

Its hero is Giovanni Venturi, the owner of a small, family-style trattoria

Trattoria

A trattoria is an Italian-style eating establishment, less formal than a ristorante, but more formal than an osteria. There are generally no printed menus, the service is casual, wine is sold by the decanter rather than the bottle, prices are low, and the emphasis is on a steady clientele rather...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. When a branch of the upscale Uriti restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 chain

Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...

 opens up next door and threatens him with bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

, his friend Amadeo suggests he tunnel from his basement to the Uriti basement kitchen, steal food from the dumbwaiter

Dumbwaiter (elevator)

Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators intended to carry objects rather than people. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial and private buildings, are often connected between two floors...

, and serve it in his place at reduced prices in order to stay competitive.

After three previews, the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production, directed by Stanley Prager

Stanley Prager

Stanley Prager was an American actor and a television and theatre director.Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production The Skin of Our Teeth in 1942...

 and choreographed by Carol Haney

Carol Haney

Carol Haney was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award for her role in The Pajama Game...

, opened on May 19, 1962 at the Broadhurst Theatre

Broadhurst Theatre

The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...

, where it ran for 76 performances. The cast included Cesare Siepi

Cesare Siepi

Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...

, Michele Lee

Michele Lee

Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...

, David Opatoshu

David Opatoshu

David Opatoshu was an American film, stage and television actor. He was born as David Opatovsky in New York City, where he was reared and educated. His father was the Yiddish writer, Joseph Opatoshu.-Television:...

, George S. Irving

George S. Irving

George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...

, Maria Karnilova

Maria Karnilova

Maria Karnilova was an American actress.Born as Maria Kasnilovich in Hartford, Connecticut, Maria Karnilova made her Broadway debut in Call Me Mister in 1946...

, Lainie Kazan

Lainie Kazan

Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer.-Personal life:Kazan was born Lanie Levine in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of a Russian Ashkenazi Jewish father who worked as a bookie and a Turkish Sephardic Jewish mother, Carole, whom Kazan has described as "neurotic, fragile and...

, Larry Fuller

Larry Fuller

Larry Fuller is an American choreographer, theatre director, dancer, and actor.Fuller began his career as a dancer/actor, appearing on Broadway in Carousel, The Music Man, Kean, Bravo Giovanni, and Funny Girl...

, and Baayork Lee

Baayork Lee

Baayork Lee is an Asian-American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author.-Early life and career:Lee was born in New York City's Chinatown to an Indian mother and Chinese father...

.

The show received Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 nominations for Best Composer and Lyricist, Best Choreography, and Best Conductor and Musical Director.

An original cast recording was released by Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

.

Song list

Act I

• Rome
• Uriti
• Breachy's Law
• I'm All I've Got
• The Argument
• Signora Pandolfi
• The Kangaroo
• If I Were the Man
• Steady, Steady
• We Won't Discuss It
• Ah, Camminare

Act II

• Breachy's Law (Reprise)
• Uriti Kitchen
• Virtue Arrivederci
• Bravo, Giovanni
• One Little World Apart
• Connubiality
• Miranda

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing