Dear World
Encyclopedia
Dear World is a Broadway
musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence
and Robert E. Lee
and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
. With its opening, Herman became the only composer
-lyricist
in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway. It starred Angela Lansbury
, who won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 1969 for her performance as the Countess Aurelia.
Based on Jean Giraudoux
's play The Madwoman of Chaillot
as adapted by Maurice Valency
, it focuses on the Countess Aurelia, Constance and Gabrielle, who deviously scheme to stop businessmen from drilling for oil in the Parisian neighbourhood of Chaillot. The forces of idealism
, love
and poetry
win over those of greed, materialism
and science
.
's assistant, was hired as director (her first time), but resigned shortly thereafter, reportedly due to "artistic differences" with the musical's star, Angela Lansbury, and the authors. Peter Glenville
was then hired, however, he resigned following negative reviews during tryouts in Boston, MA. The show's final director, Joe Layton, was then hired, also replacing the choreographer Donald Saddler
.
Directed and choreographed by Joe Layton
, the production opened on Broadway
at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
on February 6, 1969, where it ran for 132 performances.
A revised version was produced at Goodspeed Musicals
in November-December 2000, with Sally Ann Howes
as Aurelia. This version had a revised book by David Thompson
plus three songs written after the musical closed. A concert version was staged by 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco September 6-24, 2000. This production used the revision by Herman, Lawrence and Lee.
A further revised version was produced at the Sundance Theatre in June - August 2002 with Maureen McGovern
playing Aurelia. Thompson had revised his previous revision of the book.
, directly under a bistro
. The Countess Aurelia (known as The Madwoman of Chaillot) lives in the bistro's basement, driven mad because of a lost lover and reminiscing about her past. When the corporation decides to blow up the bistro to get the oil, a young executive, Julian, helps to foil the plan because he has fallen in love with Nina, the bistro's waitress. Aurelia lures the corporation executives to the underground in the sewer system.
Act II
† Added in the Goodspeed (2000) and Sundance (2002) versions
called Lansbury's showstopper number "I Don't Want to Know" "banal." Clive Barnes
in the New York Times (February 7, 1969) did give Lansbury a positive review: "The minor miracle is Miss Lansbury...no connoisseur of musical comedy can afford to miss Miss Lansbury's performance. It is lovely." Sally Ann Howes and the majority of critics now believe that the Herman score is of such high quality that with a revised book it could be successful.
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...
musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence
Jerome Lawrence
Jerome Lawrence was an American playwright and author.-Life and career:Lawrence was born Jerome Lawrence Schwartz in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Sarah , a poet, and Samuel Schwartz, a printer. He worked for several small newspapers as a reporter/editor before moving into radio as a writer for CBS....
and Robert E. Lee
Robert Edwin Lee
Robert Edwin Lee was an American playwright and lyricist. With his writing partner, Jerome Lawrence, Lee worked for Armed Forces Radio during World War II; Lawrence and Lee became the most prolific writing partnership in radio, with such long-running series as Favorite Story among others.-Life and...
and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
. With its opening, Herman became the only composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
-lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway. It starred Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, who won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 1969 for her performance as the Countess Aurelia.
Based on Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
's play The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities...
as adapted by Maurice Valency
Maurice Valency
Maurice Valency was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, best known for his award winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux and Friedrich Duerrenmatt. He wrote several original plays, but is best known for his adaptations of...
, it focuses on the Countess Aurelia, Constance and Gabrielle, who deviously scheme to stop businessmen from drilling for oil in the Parisian neighbourhood of Chaillot. The forces of idealism
Idealism
In philosophy, idealism is the family of views which assert that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing...
, love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
win over those of greed, materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
.
Productions and background
The musical had a notably troubled preview period that included multiple changes to the script and score. Lucia Victor, Gower ChampionGower Champion
Gower Carlyle Champion was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.-Early years:Champion was born in Geneva, Illinois, the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Carlisle. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School...
's assistant, was hired as director (her first time), but resigned shortly thereafter, reportedly due to "artistic differences" with the musical's star, Angela Lansbury, and the authors. Peter Glenville
Peter Glenville
Peter Glenville , born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne, was an English film and stage actor and director.-Biography:...
was then hired, however, he resigned following negative reviews during tryouts in Boston, MA. The show's final director, Joe Layton, was then hired, also replacing the choreographer Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler is an American choreographer, dancer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Van Nuys, California, Saddler studied dance at an early age to regain his strength after a bout of scarlet fever...
.
Directed and choreographed by Joe Layton
Joe Layton
Joe Layton was an American director and choreographer known primarily for his work on Broadway.-Biography:Born Joseph Lichtman in Brooklyn, New York, Layton began his career as a dancer in Wonderful Town , and he appeared uncredited in the ensemble of the original live TV production of Rodgers and...
, the production opened on 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...
at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
Mark Hellinger Theatre
The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theater, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church...
on February 6, 1969, where it ran for 132 performances.
Subsequent productions
Originally conceived as a chamber musical, Dear World fell victim to a massive production that effectively overwhelmed the simplicity of the original tale. After the Broadway closing, Herman, Lawrence, and Lee rewrote the show, restoring the intimacy they felt had been undermined on Broadway.A revised version was produced at Goodspeed Musicals
Goodspeed Musicals
Goodspeed Musicals, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, was formed in 1959 to restore the Goodspeed Opera House, located in East Haddam, Connecticut, to its original Victorian appearance. Each year, Goodspeed...
in November-December 2000, with Sally Ann Howes
Sally Ann Howes
Sally Ann Howes is a British actress and singer, who currently holds dual British-American citizenship. Her career on stage, screen and television has spanned over six decades...
as Aurelia. This version had a revised book by David Thompson
David Thompson
David Thompson may refer to:In exploration:*David Thompson , founder of the first European settlement in New Hampshire, United States...
plus three songs written after the musical closed. A concert version was staged by 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco September 6-24, 2000. This production used the revision by Herman, Lawrence and Lee.
A further revised version was produced at the Sundance Theatre in June - August 2002 with Maureen McGovern
Maureen McGovern
Maureen Therese McGovern is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her premier renditions of the Oscar winning songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974.-Early life:McGovern was...
playing Aurelia. Thompson had revised his previous revision of the book.
Plot
A corporation has discovered oil under the streets of ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, directly under a bistro
Bistro
A bistro, sometimes spelled bistrot, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. Home cooking with robust earthy dishes, and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet are typical...
. The Countess Aurelia (known as The Madwoman of Chaillot) lives in the bistro's basement, driven mad because of a lost lover and reminiscing about her past. When the corporation decides to blow up the bistro to get the oil, a young executive, Julian, helps to foil the plan because he has fallen in love with Nina, the bistro's waitress. Aurelia lures the corporation executives to the underground in the sewer system.
Song List
Act I- "A Sensible Woman †
- "The Spring Of Next Year" -- The Chairman of The Board, The Prospector and The Corporation
- "Each Tomorrow Morning" -- Countess Aurelia and All
- "I Don't Want To Know" -- Countess Aurelia
- "I've Never Said I Love You" -- Nina
- "Just A Little Bit More" - The Chairman of the Board and the Corporation
- "Garbage" -- The Sewerman, Countess Aurelia, Gabrielle, Constance and All
- "Dear World" -- Countess Aurelia and All
Act II
- "Kiss Her Now" -- Countess Aurelia
- "Memory" -- Constance
- "Pearls" -- Countess Aurelia and Gabrielle
- "Dickie" -- Gabrielle
- "Voices" -- Constance
- "Thoughts" -- Countess Aurelia
- "And I Was Beautiful" -- Countess Aurelia
- "Each Tomorrow Morning" (Reprise) Julian
- "One Person" -- Countess Aurelia and All
- "Finale" -- Company
† Added in the Goodspeed (2000) and Sundance (2002) versions
Character and cast
- Countess Aurelia (The Madwoman of Chaillot) – Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
- Gabrielle (The Madwoman of Montmarte) – Jane Connell
- Constance (The Madwoman of the Flea Market) – Carmen Mathews
- The Sewerman – Milo O'SheaMilo O'Shea-Early life:He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street...
- Julian – Kurt Peterson
- The Chairman - William Larsen
- Nina – Pamela Hall
Awards and nominations
Tony AwardTony 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...
- Best Actress in a Musical – Angela Lansbury (winner)
- Best Scenic Design – Oliver Smith (nominee)
Critical response
The show received mostly negative reviews, with many critics seemingly personally offended by selling tickets to the troubled show. The book and score were criticized. Walter KerrWalter Kerr
For the RN admiral see Lord Walter KerrWalter Francis Kerr was an American writer and Broadway theater critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals.-Biography:...
called Lansbury's showstopper number "I Don't Want to Know" "banal." Clive Barnes
Clive Barnes (critic)
Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
in the New York Times (February 7, 1969) did give Lansbury a positive review: "The minor miracle is Miss Lansbury...no connoisseur of musical comedy can afford to miss Miss Lansbury's performance. It is lovely." Sally Ann Howes and the majority of critics now believe that the Herman score is of such high quality that with a revised book it could be successful.