Cry for Us All 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 William Alfred

William Alfred

William Alfred was a playwright and Professor of English literature at Harvard University.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Alfred served in the Army tank corps in World War II, received a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1948, and received an M.A. in English from Harvard in 1949. He earned his Ph.D...

 and Albert Marre

Albert Marre

Albert Marre is an American director and producer in the theatre.Born in New York City, Marre made his Broadway debut as an actor and associate director of the 1950 revival of John Vanbrugh's Restoration comedy The Relapse...

, lyrics by Alfred and Phyllis Robinson

Phyllis Robinson

Phyllis Kenner Robinson was an advertising executive - a copywriter who helped create numerous notable ad campaigns...

, and music by Mitch Leigh

Mitch Leigh

Mitch Leigh is an American musical theatre composer and theatrical producer best known for the musical Man Of La Mancha.-Biography:Leigh was born in Brooklyn, New York) as Irwin Michnick...

. In response to poor advance sales, the title was
briefly changed to Who to Love; but the change was abandoned before the
play arrived in New York.

A sentimental melodrama

Melodrama

The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...

 adapted from Alfred's 1966 hit 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...

 play, Hogan's Goat

Hogan's Goat

Hogan's Goat is an award-winning 1965 play by William Alfred.The blank-verse drama concerns a mayoral contest between Irish Americans in Brooklyn, New York in 1890. The play's focus is on the personal life of Matthew Stanton, the dynamic leader of the Sixth Ward, who hopes to unseat corrupt...

, it's set in 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...

 in May 1890, when the borough still had its own mayor and power-hungry chieftains battled each other for control of the Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 community. Matt Stanton becomes a protege of the mayor, steals his mistress, and appears to be on his way to a big power grab until his wife interferes with his plans with a few ideas of her own.

After eighteen 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 Marre, opened on April 8, 1970 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 only nine performances. Conductor Herbert Grossman

Herbert Grossman

Herbert Grossman was an American conductor who was chiefly known for his work within opera and musical theatre.-Early life and education:...

 served as Music Director. The cast included Joan Diener

Joan Diener

Joan Diener was an American theatre actress and singer with a three-and-a-half-octave range.Born in Columbus, Ohio, Diener majored in psychology at Sarah Lawrence College and moonlighted as an actress while still a student...

, Helen Gallagher

Helen Gallagher

Helen Gallagher is an American actress, dancer, singer and makeup artist.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York for several years until the Wall Street crash which heralded the Great Depression, and her family moved to the Bronx. Her parents separated and she was...

, Tommy Rall

Tommy Rall

Thomas Edward "Tommy" Rall is an American ballet dancer, tap dancer and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies...

, Steve Arlen, Dolores Wilson

Dolores Wilson

Dolores Mae Wilson was an American coloratura soprano who had an active international opera career from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. Beginning her career with major theatres in Europe, she performed in six seasons at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City during the 1950s...

, Paul Ukena

Paul Ukena

Paul Ukena was an American operatic baritone who had an active career during the 1950s through the 1970s...

, and Robert Weede

Robert Weede

-Biography:Born Robert Wiedefeld in Baltimore, Maryland, Weede studied voice at the Eastman School of Music and in Milan. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1937, as Tonio in Pagliacci...

, who earned a 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...

 nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. The show's set design scored a nod as well.

An original cast recording was released on the TS1000 label. A CD was released by Kritzerland.

Song List

• See No Evil
• The End of My Race
• How Are Ya Since?
• The Mayor's Chair
• The Cruelty Man
• The Verandah Waltz
• Home Free All
• The Broken Heart, or The Wages of Sin
• The Confessional
• Who to Love if Not a Stranger?
• Cry for Us All
• Swing Your Bag
• Call In to Her
• That Slavery Is Love
• I Lost It
• Aggie, Oh Aggie
• The Leg of the Duck
• This Cornucopian Land
• How Are Ya Since? (Reprise)
• The Broken Heart, or The Wages of Sin (Reprise)
• Cry for Us All (Reprise)