Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen 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 John Patrick and music and lyrics by Stan Freeman

Stan Freeman

Stanley Freeman was an American composer, lyricist, musical arranger, conductor, and studio musician.-Biography:...

 and Franklin Underwood.

Based on Patrick's play and screenplay The Teahouse of the August Moon

The Teahouse of the August Moon (play)

The Teahouse of the August Moon is a 1953 play written by John Patrick adapted from the 1951 novel by Vern Sneider. It was later adapted for film in 1956, and the 1970 Broadway musical, Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen.-Plot summary:...

, it focuses on Capt. Fisby who, assigned the task of Americanizing

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 the village of Tobiki on Okinawa following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, encourages the residents to build a school. They would prefer a traditional teahouse

Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...

 instead, and when Fisby discovers the potent alcoholic beverage they brew is popular with the American GIs and a big money-maker, he falls in with their plans. Helping him become assimilated to the local mores

Mores

Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....

 are local interpreter Sakini and geisha

Geisha

, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...

 Lotus Blossom.

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 Lawrence Kasha

Lawrence Kasha

Lawrence Kasha was a Tony Award-winning American theatre producer and director, playwright, and stage manager....

 and choreographed by Marc Breau, opened on December 28, 1970 at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for only 19 performances. The cast included Kenneth Nelson

Kenneth Nelson

Kenneth Nelson was an American actor.Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Nelson appeared in several television series in the late 1940s, Captain Video and His Video Rangers and The Aldrich Family among them...

, David Burns

David Burns (actor)

David Burns was an American Broadway theatre and motion picture actor and singer.Burns was born on Mott Street in the Manhattan Chinatown of New York City. He made his Broadway debut in Face the Music in 1932, Cole Porter's Nymph Errant was his London debut, and he appeared in many comedies and...

, Ron Husmann

Ron Husmann

Ron Husmann is an American actor.Born in Rockford, Illinois, Husmann graduated from Northwestern University in 1959, and made his Broadway debut in Fiorello! later that year. In 1960 he was cast in Tenderloin, garnering a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and winning the...

, and Eleanor Calbes.

Burns was nominated for the 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...

 for Best Actor in a Musical, and Freddy Wittop

Freddy Wittop

Freddy Wittop was a costume designer. He enjoyed secondary careers as a dancer and college professor.Born Frederick Wittop Koning in Bussum, the Netherlands, Wittop emigrated with his family to Brussels, where he apprenticed at the age of thirteen with the resident designer at the Brussels Opera...

was nominated for Best Costume Design.

Song list

Act I

• With a Snap of My Finger
• Right Hand Man
• Find Your Own Cricket
• One Side of the World
• Geisha
• You Say-They Say
• This Time
• Simple Word
• Garden Guaracha
• It's Good Enough for Lady Astor

Act II

• Chaya
• Call Me Back
• Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen
• You've Broken a Fine Woman's Heart
• One More for the Last One