Fiorello!
Encyclopedia
Fiorello! is a musical
about New York City
mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia
, a reform Republican
who took on Tammany Hall
. The book is by Jerome Weidman
and George Abbott
, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo
, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
, and music by Jerry Bock
. It is one of only eight musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
.
at the Broadhurst Theatre
on November 23, 1959, moved to The Broadway Theatre
on May 9, 1961, and closed on October 28, 1961, after 795 performances. It was directed by George Abbott with choreography by Peter Gennaro
. Tom Bosley
originated the title role opposite Howard Da Silva
as the Republican machine boss Ben Marino. The cast featured Ellen Hanley
as Thea, Pat Stanley
as Dora, Patricia Wilson as Marie, Nathaniel Frey as Morris, and Broadway's future Superman, Bob Holiday
, as Neil.
The 1962 production opened at the New York City Center
on June 13, and closed after 16 performances, on June 24, 1962. The show was directed by Jean Dalrymple
, staged by Dania Krupska
, choreography by Kevin Carlisle, scenery and lighting design by William and Jean Eckart
, costume supervision by Joseph Codori, musically directed by Jay Blackton, and press by Lilliam Libman. The cast included Sorrell Booke
(Fiorello LaGuardia), Art Lund
(Ben Marino), Lola Fisher (Thea), Dody Goodman
(Dora), Barbara Williams (Marie), Paul Lipson
(Morris), Richard France (Neil), Dort Clark (Floyd), and Helen Verbit (Mrs. Pomerantz). One of the singing ensemble included Rosalind Cash
.
A concert production of Fiorello! was performed at the first Encores!
at the New York City Center
concert series in February 1994. Directed by Walter Bobbie
, the cast featured Jerry Zaks
as LaGuardia, Philip Bosco
as Ben Marino, Faith Prince
as Marie, and Elizabeth Futral
as Thea
and ten years later. As Mayor of New York City
La Guardia reforms city politics by helping end Tammany Hall
's vaunted political machine.
Act I
Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia is reading the comics over the radio because there is a newspaper strike. As he does so, the time changes to 1915 and the law office where clients are eagerly waiting to speak to LaGuardia. His law clerks assure the crowd that he will help one and all, regardless of their ability to pay ("On The Side Of The Angels"). Fiorello's secretary Marie and her friend Dora discuss a crisis. Thea Almerigatti, the leader of the women shirtwaist strikers, has been arrested . LaGuardia promises to help the strikers. As the district leader Ben and his political buddies play poker ("Politics And Poker"), Marie introduces LaGuardia as a potential Congressional candidate. They want to beat the corrupt machine of Tammany Hall.
While helping the women strikers, Fiorello asks Marie to dinner, but Thea, newly released from prison arrives. She asks Fiorello to dinner to plan strategy, and he breaks his date with Marie. Marie feels foolish for caring while he cares so little ("Marie's Law").
Next year Fiorello is campaigning for Congress and Thea introduces him. Fiorello promises to break the stranglehold of Tammany Hall ("The Name's LaGuardia!"). LaGuardia wins the election. ("The Bum Won"). In another year, LaGuardia enlists in the Air Force and proposes to Thea. He and Marie say their farewells as he is about to leave for the war ("Till Tomorrow"). LaGuardia's participation in the war is presented as a series of montages, staged and on film. With the war over, Fiorello returns home ("Home Again"), with both Marie and Thea waiting for him. He goes to Thea who has agreed to marriage. Morris, the office manager, comforts Marie.
Act II
In 1929 LaGuardia runs for Mayor of New York, after he and Thea are married. Thea, home from a visit to the doctor, exclaims her love ("When Did I Fall In Love"). At Dora and her husband Floyd's (who has retired from the police force) home the corrupt backers of Fiorello's competitor for mayor, Jimmy Walker
, meet. As one of the gang wants to have Fiorello killed at his public speech, Dora rushes to secretly warn Marie. However, Fiorello's campaign is in turmoil, with Ben being fired and his worry over Thea's deteriorating health. At LaGuardia's speech the gang's plan to kill him is foiled. But Thea dies, and Marie, Morris, and Neil have to tell Fiorello. The race for mayor is won by Jimmy Walker. Fiorello is inspired by tragedy to continue his campaign.
In 1933 Ben and his political friends are again playing poker ("Little Tin Box"). Marie arrives and announces that she is quitting her job and will marry "The Very Next Man" who asks her. She convinces Ben to return to Fiorello to help him win the upcoming mayoral election. She then helps Fiorello to overcome his fears of losing and run again. He runs with Ben's help, and also asks Marie to marry him. She accepts and Fiorello finally becomes the mayor.
candidate in a district they consider hopeless, while playing a game of poker
, and compare politics to poker. The lyric is set to waltz tempo "to underscore the frivolity of their cynicism." In "The Bum Won", these same politicians commiserate with one another after LaGuardia has won the election without their support. In "Little Tin Box", they imagine a series of Tammany politicians attempting to explain to a judge that their wealth came from their scrupulous habits of saving ("I can see Your Honor doesn't pull his punches/ And it looks a trifle fishy, I'll admit,/ But for one whole week I went without my lunches/ And it mounted up, Your Honor, bit by bit./ Up Your Honor, bit by bit.")
In "I Love a Cop", woman factory worker describes her hapless situation of having fallen in love with a policeman who was called out against a strike
by her union;
"The Name's La Guardia" has LaGuardia campaigning in English
, Italian
and Yiddish
. There is also a ragtime
number, "Gentleman Jimmy" about bon vivant mayor James J. "Jimmy" Walker
, and the comic "Marie's Law", in which Marie proposes a "law" about how husbands should treat their wives. ("Every girl shall have a honeymoon, which will last at least a year,/ During which aforesaid honeymoon, every care shall disappear…".)
Besides the inevitable invention of some peripheral characters, the musical plays a bit fast and loose with some basic facts of LaGuardia's life. In fact, LaGuardia's first wife, Thea, died after only three years of marriage, but the fictional Thea lives another eight years, so that her death can be one more calamity during LaGuardia's unsuccessful 1929 mayoral campaign; also, the script downplays LaGuardia's generally successful congressional career to make him seem more of an outsider and increase the triumph of his eventual mayoral victory in 1933.
Act II
An additional song, "Where Do I Go from Here?" (originally written for Marie to sing in Act I) was cut out of town; it can be heard on the Liz Callaway
album Lost In Boston (Varese Sarabande VSD-5475). "Till Tomorrow" and "Unfair" were written "on spec" before Bock and Harnick were hired for the show. "Little Tin Box" was added on the road in Philadelphia.
wrote: "...It is exciting; it is enjoyable and it is decent ... Jerry Bock has set ... a bouncy score ... [A]s the writer of lyrics, Sheldon Harnick is in an unfailingly humorous frame of mind ... [U]nder Mr. Abbott's invincible stage direction, the whole show comes alive with gusto ... [T]he cast could not be more winning or in better voice."
Louis Calta wrote: " 'Fiorello!' is the town's latest stage hit ... the attraction earned flowery praise from all of the New York drama critics."
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...
about New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia
Fiorello H. LaGuardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia was Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945 as a liberal Republican. Previously he was elected to Congress in 1916 and 1918, and again from 1922 through 1930. Irascible, energetic and charismatic, he craved publicity and is acclaimed as one of the three or...
, a reform Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
who took on Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
. The book is by Jerome Weidman
Jerome Weidman
Jerome Weidman was an American playwright and novelist. He collaborated with George Abbott on the book for the musical Fiorello! with music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick...
and George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo
Ernest Cuneo
Ernest L. Cuneo was a lawyer, newspaperman, author, and intelligence liaison. He was also a professional football player in the National Football League.-Athletics:...
, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, and music by Jerry Bock
Jerry Bock
Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with...
. It is one of only eight musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
.
Productions
Fiorello! opened on BroadwayBroadway 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 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...
on November 23, 1959, moved to The Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1681 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan....
on May 9, 1961, and closed on October 28, 1961, after 795 performances. It was directed by George Abbott with choreography by Peter Gennaro
Peter Gennaro
Peter Gennaro was an American dancer and choreographer.-Biography:Gennaro was born in Metairie, Louisiana. He made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948. He followed this with Kiss Me, Kate and Guys and Dolls...
. Tom Bosley
Tom Bosley
Thomas Edward "Tom" Bosley was an American actor. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the long-running ABC sitcom Happy Days. He also was featured in recurring roles on Murder, She Wrote, and Father Dowling Mysteries...
originated the title role opposite Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...
as the Republican machine boss Ben Marino. The cast featured Ellen Hanley
Ellen Hanley
Ellen Hanley was a musical theater performer best known for playing Fiorello H. LaGuardia's first wife in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fiorello!.-Biography:...
as Thea, Pat Stanley
Pat Stanley
Pat Stanley is an American actress, dancer and singer.-Family:She was married to songwriter Johnny Burke, and later to writer William Hanley with whom she had two daughters, Nell and Katherine. She has three granddaughters Darsen, Sophia, and Mabel.Since 1980 she had been married to third...
as Dora, Patricia Wilson as Marie, Nathaniel Frey as Morris, and Broadway's future Superman, Bob Holiday
Bob Holiday
Bob Holiday played Superman in the 1966 Broadway musical "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!" Despite excellent reviews, the show closed after 129 performances....
, as Neil.
The 1962 production opened at the New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
on June 13, and closed after 16 performances, on June 24, 1962. The show was directed by Jean Dalrymple
Jean Dalrymple
Jean Dalrymple was an American theater producer, manager, publicist, author and playwright who was instrumental in the founding of New York City Center and is best known for her productions there.-Biography:...
, staged by Dania Krupska
Dania Krupska
Dania Krupska is a Tony Award-nominated dancer and choreographer.Krupska originally trained for the ballet and began her professional career in the 1930s in such companies as the Philadelphia Ballet...
, choreography by Kevin Carlisle, scenery and lighting design by William and Jean Eckart
William and Jean Eckart
William and Jean Eckart were a husband-and-wife team of theatre designers in the 1950s and '60s. They designed sets, costumes, and lighting for many productions, including Mame, Here's Love, Damn Yankees, Once Upon a Mattress, The Fig Leaves Are Falling, and The Golden Apple.William Eckart was born...
, costume supervision by Joseph Codori, musically directed by Jay Blackton, and press by Lilliam Libman. The cast included Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He is best known for his role as the heavyset, corrupt politician "Boss" Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard....
(Fiorello LaGuardia), Art Lund
Art Lund
Art Lund was an American baritone singer, initially with bandleaders Benny Goodman and Harry James, and was also a television and stage actor.-Biography:...
(Ben Marino), Lola Fisher (Thea), Dody Goodman
Dody Goodman
Dolores "Dody" Goodman was an American character actress known for her playing the mother of the title character Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman...
(Dora), Barbara Williams (Marie), Paul Lipson
Paul Lipson
Paul R. Lipson was an American stage actor. At the time of his death, he had played the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof in more performances than any other actor, clocking over 2,000 performances as Zero Mostel's Broadway understudy, and later performing the lead role in his own right.Paul...
(Morris), Richard France (Neil), Dort Clark (Floyd), and Helen Verbit (Mrs. Pomerantz). One of the singing ensemble included Rosalind Cash
Rosalind Cash
Rosalind Cash was an American singer and actress, whose best known film role was as Charlton Heston's character's love interest Lisa, in the 1971 science fiction cult classic, The Omega Man...
.
A concert production of Fiorello! was performed at the first Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
at the New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
concert series in February 1994. Directed by Walter Bobbie
Walter Bobbie
Walter Bobbie is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City Center Encores! concert series...
, the cast featured Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
as LaGuardia, Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
as Ben Marino, 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:...
as Marie, and Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan....
as Thea
Synopsis
The story follows the life of Fiorello H. La Guardia during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and ten years later. As Mayor of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
La Guardia reforms city politics by helping end Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
's vaunted political machine.
Act I
Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia is reading the comics over the radio because there is a newspaper strike. As he does so, the time changes to 1915 and the law office where clients are eagerly waiting to speak to LaGuardia. His law clerks assure the crowd that he will help one and all, regardless of their ability to pay ("On The Side Of The Angels"). Fiorello's secretary Marie and her friend Dora discuss a crisis. Thea Almerigatti, the leader of the women shirtwaist strikers, has been arrested . LaGuardia promises to help the strikers. As the district leader Ben and his political buddies play poker ("Politics And Poker"), Marie introduces LaGuardia as a potential Congressional candidate. They want to beat the corrupt machine of Tammany Hall.
While helping the women strikers, Fiorello asks Marie to dinner, but Thea, newly released from prison arrives. She asks Fiorello to dinner to plan strategy, and he breaks his date with Marie. Marie feels foolish for caring while he cares so little ("Marie's Law").
Next year Fiorello is campaigning for Congress and Thea introduces him. Fiorello promises to break the stranglehold of Tammany Hall ("The Name's LaGuardia!"). LaGuardia wins the election. ("The Bum Won"). In another year, LaGuardia enlists in the Air Force and proposes to Thea. He and Marie say their farewells as he is about to leave for the war ("Till Tomorrow"). LaGuardia's participation in the war is presented as a series of montages, staged and on film. With the war over, Fiorello returns home ("Home Again"), with both Marie and Thea waiting for him. He goes to Thea who has agreed to marriage. Morris, the office manager, comforts Marie.
Act II
In 1929 LaGuardia runs for Mayor of New York, after he and Thea are married. Thea, home from a visit to the doctor, exclaims her love ("When Did I Fall In Love"). At Dora and her husband Floyd's (who has retired from the police force) home the corrupt backers of Fiorello's competitor for mayor, Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
, meet. As one of the gang wants to have Fiorello killed at his public speech, Dora rushes to secretly warn Marie. However, Fiorello's campaign is in turmoil, with Ben being fired and his worry over Thea's deteriorating health. At LaGuardia's speech the gang's plan to kill him is foiled. But Thea dies, and Marie, Morris, and Neil have to tell Fiorello. The race for mayor is won by Jimmy Walker. Fiorello is inspired by tragedy to continue his campaign.
In 1933 Ben and his political friends are again playing poker ("Little Tin Box"). Marie arrives and announces that she is quitting her job and will marry "The Very Next Man" who asks her. She convinces Ben to return to Fiorello to help him win the upcoming mayoral election. She then helps Fiorello to overcome his fears of losing and run again. He runs with Ben's help, and also asks Marie to marry him. She accepts and Fiorello finally becomes the mayor.
Background and analysis
The musical contains several songs built around a group of machine politicians.In "Politics and Poker", Republican machine politicians try to pick a congressionalUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
candidate in a district they consider hopeless, while playing a game of poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, and compare politics to poker. The lyric is set to waltz tempo "to underscore the frivolity of their cynicism." In "The Bum Won", these same politicians commiserate with one another after LaGuardia has won the election without their support. In "Little Tin Box", they imagine a series of Tammany politicians attempting to explain to a judge that their wealth came from their scrupulous habits of saving ("I can see Your Honor doesn't pull his punches/ And it looks a trifle fishy, I'll admit,/ But for one whole week I went without my lunches/ And it mounted up, Your Honor, bit by bit./ Up Your Honor, bit by bit.")
In "I Love a Cop", woman factory worker describes her hapless situation of having fallen in love with a policeman who was called out against a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
by her union;
"The Name's La Guardia" has LaGuardia campaigning in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
. There is also a ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
number, "Gentleman Jimmy" about bon vivant mayor James J. "Jimmy" Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
, and the comic "Marie's Law", in which Marie proposes a "law" about how husbands should treat their wives. ("Every girl shall have a honeymoon, which will last at least a year,/ During which aforesaid honeymoon, every care shall disappear…".)
Besides the inevitable invention of some peripheral characters, the musical plays a bit fast and loose with some basic facts of LaGuardia's life. In fact, LaGuardia's first wife, Thea, died after only three years of marriage, but the fictional Thea lives another eight years, so that her death can be one more calamity during LaGuardia's unsuccessful 1929 mayoral campaign; also, the script downplays LaGuardia's generally successful congressional career to make him seem more of an outsider and increase the triumph of his eventual mayoral victory in 1933.
Songs
Act I- On the Side of the Angels
- Politics and Poker
- Unfair
- Marie's Law
- The Name's LaGuardia
- The Bum Won
- I Love a Cop
- I Love a Cop (reprise)
- Till Tomorrow
- Home Again
Act II
- When Did I Fall in Love
- Gentleman Jimmy
- Gentleman Jimmy (reprise)
- The Name's LaGuardia (reprise)
- Little Tin Box
- The Very Next Man
- Politics and Poker (reprise)
- The Very Next Man (reprise)
- The Name's LaGuardia (reprise)
An additional song, "Where Do I Go from Here?" (originally written for Marie to sing in Act I) was cut out of town; it can be heard on the Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway is an American actress and singer, famous for providing the singing voices of many female characters in films, such as Anya in Anastasia, Odette in The Swan Princess, and Kiara in The Lion King II:Simba's Pride....
album Lost In Boston (Varese Sarabande VSD-5475). "Till Tomorrow" and "Unfair" were written "on spec" before Bock and Harnick were hired for the show. "Little Tin Box" was added on the road in Philadelphia.
Critical response
In his review for the New York Times, Brooks AtkinsonBrooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960...
wrote: "...It is exciting; it is enjoyable and it is decent ... Jerry Bock has set ... a bouncy score ... [A]s the writer of lyrics, Sheldon Harnick is in an unfailingly humorous frame of mind ... [U]nder Mr. Abbott's invincible stage direction, the whole show comes alive with gusto ... [T]he cast could not be more winning or in better voice."
Louis Calta wrote: " 'Fiorello!' is the town's latest stage hit ... the attraction earned flowery praise from all of the New York drama critics."
Original Cast Album
- The original cast recording of Fiorello! was made by Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
on November 29, 1959 -just 6 days after the show opened - and was released on December 14. The album debuted on Billboard Magazine's best-selling albums chart January 11, 1960, peaked at #7 and remained on the charts for 89 weeks. It has been reissued on CD twice, first by Capitol and then later in a much improved release on EMI's Broadway Angel label (CD #ZDM 7 65023-2).
Awards and nominations
- Tony AwardTony AwardThe 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 Musical (winner) (tie with The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
) - Best Featured Actor in a Musical
-
- Tom Bosley (winner)
- Howard Da Silva (nominee)
- Best Scenic Design (Musical) (William and Jean Ekhart) (nominee)
- Best Choreography (nominee)
- Best Direction of a Musical (winner)
- Best Conductor and Musical Director (Hal Hastings)(nominee)
- Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Drama (winner)
External links
- Fiorello! at Music Theatre InternationalMusic Theatre InternationalMusic Theatre International, often abbreviated MTI, is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City. The League of American Theatres and Producers calls MTI "A leader in the theatrical licensing industry."-Description:...
- Tony Awards listing for 1960, Musical