Promises, Promises
Encyclopedia
Promises, Promises is a musical
based on the 1960 film The Apartment
. The music is by Burt Bacharach
, lyrics by Hal David
, and book by Neil Simon
. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett
; Robert Moore
directed and David Merrick
produced. The story concerns a junior executive at an insurance company who seeks to climb the corporate ladder by allowing his apartment to be used for trysts by his married superiors.
The original Broadway
production premiered in 1968 and ran for 1,281 performances. A London production opened in 1969 featuring Tony Roberts
and Betty Buckley
. The cast album won the Grammy Award
for best cast recording, and two songs from the show, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again
" and "Promises, Promises", became hit singles for Dionne Warwick
.
on December 1, 1968, and closed on January 1, 1972 after 1,281 performances. Directed by Robert Moore, choreographed by Michael Bennett
with Bob Avian
as assistant choreographer, the cast featured Jerry Orbach
as Chuck Baxter, Jill O'Hara as Fran and Edward Winter as J. D. Sheldrake. Featured in small or ensemble roles were Kelly Bishop
, Graciela Daniele
, Ken Howard
, Baayork Lee
, Donna McKechnie
, Margo Sappington
, and Marian Mercer
. A national tour starring Melissa Hart
as Fran performed throughout the United States during the early 1970s.
at the Prince of Wales Theatre
in 1969, featuring Tony Roberts
and Betty Buckley
. It ran for 560 performances.
and Kristin Chenoweth
.
The revival opened at the Broadway Theatre
on April 25, 2010, after previews starting on March 27. Directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford
, the revival starred Sean Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth, Brooks Ashmanskas, Katie Finneran
and Tony Goldwyn
. The Bacharach-David songs "I Say a Little Prayer
", a 1967 million-selling hit written for Dionne Warwick
, and "A House Is Not a Home
" were added to the score.
Due to pregnancy, Katie Finneran
departed the role of Marge on October 10, 2010, and was replaced by Saturday Night Live
veteran Molly Shannon
. Hayes, Chenoweth and Shannon remained with the production until its closing on January 2, 2011. The show had 291 performances and 30 previews.
productions have included a 1993 staging at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut
. City Center Encores!
held a staged concert in March 1997, starring Christine Baranski
and Martin Short
.
J.D. Sheldrake, the company's powerful personnel director, notices the glowing reviews written by Chuck's superiors and deduces the reason for them. He requests sole use of the apartment for his affairs in exchange for Chuck's long-awaited promotion and tickets to a basketball game ("Our Little Secret"). (In the 2010 revival, the song "I Say a Little Prayer For You" was added for a scene in which Fran tells female workmates about flowers she has received from a new "mystery individual".) Chuck asks Fran to attend the basketball game with him, and she agrees to meet him there after first having a drink with her soon-to-be ex-lover ("She Likes Basketball").
Fran's lover turns out to be the married Sheldrake. Fran wants to end the relationship, but Sheldrake talks her into spending the evening with him ("Knowing When to Leave"). Though Fran stands him up, Chuck forgives her. When he informs the other executives that his apartment is no longer available for their use, they express dismay ("Where Can You Take a Girl?"). Meanwhile, Sheldrake wonders why he is drawn to affairs ("Wanting Things"). The scene shifts to the company Christmas party, where everyone is enjoying themselves ("Turkey Lurkey Time"). Miss Olsen, Sheldrake's secretary, reveals to Fran that she is simply the latest in a long line of Sheldrake's mistresses. The first-act curtain falls as Fran is driven to misery ("A House is Not a Home" in the 2010 revival), and Chuck discovers that Fran is the one Sheldrake has been taking to his apartment.
When Chuck arrives with Marge, he discovers Fran on his bed. After quickly disposing of Marge, a frantic Chuck gets his neighbor, Dr. Dreyfuss, to come over and together they save her life. The next morning Chuck calls Sheldrake to let him know what happened. Sheldrake says he can't leave for the city without his wife knowing and asks Chuck to take care of Fran ("Christmas Day").
Over the next few days Chuck and Dreyfuss try to keep Fran's sprits up to prevent a relapse into suicidal behavior ("A Young Pretty Girl Like You"). Chuck and Fran play gin rummy and discuss their problems, growing closer ("I'll Never Fall In Love Again"). Mr. Kirkeby, one of Chuck's former 'clients', discovers that Fran has been staying at Chuck's apartment, so as revenge for cutting him and the others off from using the apartment he tells Fran's overly protective brother where she has been staying. Karl Kubelik then comes to the apartment to collect her, and believing that Chuck is the cause of her current state he punches Chuck.
Miss Olsen soon discovers that Sheldrake's actions led to Fran almost killing herself. She quits her job and tells Mrs. Sheldrake all about her husband's affairs. She leaves him to spend full time trying to woo Fran back. Sheldrake asks for the keys to Chuck's apartment again on New Year's Eve to take Fran there. Chuck refuses and quits his job rather than allow Sheldrake to take Fran to his apartment ever again ("Promises, Promises").
Deciding that he has to get away, Chuck begins packing to move elsewhere when Fran comes to see him. Sheldrake had told her that Chuck had refused him access and quit, and she realizes that Chuck is the one who really loves her. As they resume their earlier game of gin, he declares his love for her, to which she replies, "Shut up and deal".
Act Two
+ Added for the 2010 revival
, what really set it apart was its score, written by the solid-gold pop composer Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David. Mr. Bacharach introduced to Broadway not only the insistently rhythmic, commercial-jingle
buoyancy of 1960's soft-core radio fare, but also a cinematic use of Teflon-smooth, offstage backup vocals."
The best-known songs from the musical include the title song, which was an international hit for Dionne Warwick
, released before the show's December 1968 Broadway opening; "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", a hit for Warwick in the US and Canada (No. 6 and No. 1, respectively) and for Bobbie Gentry
in the UK (No. 1); "Knowing When To Leave" (also recorded by Warwick), "She Likes Basketball" and "Turkey Lurkey Time", a dance number featuring McKechnie, Lee and Sappington. Warwick also recorded "Whoever You Are (I Love You)" and "Wanting Things" in 1968 before the show opened for her Scepter LP "Promises, Promises".
1969 Drama Desk Award
1969 Theatre World Award
: Marian Mercer; Jill O'Hara (won)
2010 Drama Desk Awards
2010 Outer Critics Circle Award
2010 Tony Award
2011 Grammy Awards
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...
based on the 1960 film The Apartment
The Apartment
The Apartment is a 1960 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. It was Wilder's follow-up to the enormously popular Some Like It Hot and, like its predecessor, was a commercial and critical hit, grossing $25...
. The music is by Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, lyrics by Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
, and book by Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
; Robert Moore
Robert Moore (director)
Robert Moore was an American stage, film and television director.-Biography:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Moore is best known for his direction of the ground-breaking play The Boys in the Band, his Broadway productions , and his collaborations - three plays and three films - with Neil Simon,...
directed and David Merrick
David Merrick
David Merrick was a prolific Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer.-Life and career:Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick graduated from Washington University, then studied law at the Jesuit-run Saint Louis University School of Law...
produced. The story concerns a junior executive at an insurance company who seeks to climb the corporate ladder by allowing his apartment to be used for trysts by his married superiors.
The original 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 premiered in 1968 and ran for 1,281 performances. A London production opened in 1969 featuring Tony Roberts
Tony Roberts (actor)
David Anthony "Tony" Roberts is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in several Woody Allen movies, usually cast as Allen's best friend.-Early life:...
and Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley
Betty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
. The cast album won the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for best cast recording, and two songs from the show, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again
I'll Never Fall in Love Again
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again" is a popular song by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Originally written for the 1968 musical Promises, Promises, it soon became one of Bacharach and David's most enduring songs. It was nominated for Song of the Year in the 1969 Grammy awards...
" and "Promises, Promises", became hit singles for Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
.
Broadway (1968-1972)
After a tryout in Washington, D.C., the show premiered on Broadway at the Shubert TheatreShubert Theatre (Broadway)
The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
on December 1, 1968, and closed on January 1, 1972 after 1,281 performances. Directed by Robert Moore, choreographed by Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
with Bob Avian
Bob Avian
Bob Avian is an American choreographer and a theatre producer and director.Born in New York City, Avian's spent his early career dividing his time between dancing in such Broadway shows as West Side Story, Funny Girl, and Henry, Sweet Henry and working as a production assistant on projects like I...
as assistant choreographer, the cast featured Jerry Orbach
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
as Chuck Baxter, Jill O'Hara as Fran and Edward Winter as J. D. Sheldrake. Featured in small or ensemble roles were Kelly Bishop
Kelly Bishop
Carole "Kelly" Bishop is an American actress and dancer, best-known for her roles as matriarch Emily Gilmore on the series Gilmore Girls, and as the mother of Jennifer Grey's character in the film Dirty Dancing...
, Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born at Buenos Aires, Daniele began her dance training at the age of seven at Teatro Colón, Argentina's equivalent of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre...
, Ken Howard
Ken Howard
Kenneth Joseph "Ken" Howard, Jr. is an American actor, best known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show The White Shadow...
, 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...
, Donna McKechnie
Donna McKechnie
Donna McKechnie is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on her most noted role, "Cassie" from the musical A Chorus Line, for which she...
, Margo Sappington
Margo Sappington
Margo Sappington is an American choreographer and dancer born July 30, 1947 in Baytown, Texas. She was nominated in 1975 for both a Tony Award as Best Choreographer and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the play Where's Charley?. In 1988, her ballet Virgin Forest was...
, and Marian Mercer
Marian Mercer
Marian Ethel Mercer was an American actress and singer.Born in Akron, Ohio, she graduated from the University of Michigan, then spent several seasons working in summer stock. She made her Broadway debut in the chorus of the short-lived musical, Greenwillow in 1960...
. A national tour starring Melissa Hart
Melissa Hart (actress)
Melissa Hart is an American actress, singer, and teacher. She made her Broadway debut in 1966 as an ensemble member in Jerry Bock's The Apple Tree. As Barbara Harris's understudy, she replaced the actress as the various heroines in that musical for several performances...
as Fran performed throughout the United States during the early 1970s.
West End (1969)
The show was first produced in London's West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
in 1969, featuring Tony Roberts
Tony Roberts (actor)
David Anthony "Tony" Roberts is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in several Woody Allen movies, usually cast as Allen's best friend.-Early life:...
and Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley
Betty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
. It ran for 560 performances.
Broadway revival (2010-2011)
A reading for a revival of the musical was held in October 2008 with Sean HayesSean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
and Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
.
The revival opened at the Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1681 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan....
on April 25, 2010, after previews starting on March 27. Directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford
Rob Ashford
Rob Ashford is an American choreographer and director. He is a seven-time Tony Award nominee , five-time Olivier Award nominee, Emmy Award winner, Drama Desk winner, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner.-Biography:...
, the revival starred Sean Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth, Brooks Ashmanskas, Katie Finneran
Katie Finneran
Katie Finneran is an American actress of film, stage, and television noted for her Tony Award-winning performances in the Broadway play Noises Off in 2002, and the musical Promises, Promises in 2010.-Personal life:...
and Tony Goldwyn
Tony Goldwyn
Anthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
. The Bacharach-David songs "I Say a Little Prayer
I Say a Little Prayer
"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967.-Background:...
", a 1967 million-selling hit written for Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, and "A House Is Not a Home
A House Is Not a Home (song)
"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 song recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick. Written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song was a modest hit in the U.S. for Warwick, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven "...
" were added to the score.
Due to pregnancy, Katie Finneran
Katie Finneran
Katie Finneran is an American actress of film, stage, and television noted for her Tony Award-winning performances in the Broadway play Noises Off in 2002, and the musical Promises, Promises in 2010.-Personal life:...
departed the role of Marge on October 10, 2010, and was replaced by Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
veteran Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon
Molly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
. Hayes, Chenoweth and Shannon remained with the production until its closing on January 2, 2011. The show had 291 performances and 30 previews.
Other productions
Regional theatreRegional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
productions have included a 1993 staging at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. City Center 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...
held a staged concert in March 1997, starring Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
and Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
.
Act I
Chuck Baxter is an ambitious bachelor and junior executive for a large insurance company, Consolidated Life, who expresses his frustrations and hopes for career advancement in ("Half as Big as Life"). To curry favor with higher-ups in the company, he allows his apartment to be used for their romantic trysts in return for promises of promotion ("Upstairs"). Chuck has his own eye set on Fran Kubelik, a waitress in the company cafeteria whom he's always admired from a distance. While talking together she wonders if she will ever find someone to share her life with. Chuck hopes that she might notice him ("You'll Think of Someone").J.D. Sheldrake, the company's powerful personnel director, notices the glowing reviews written by Chuck's superiors and deduces the reason for them. He requests sole use of the apartment for his affairs in exchange for Chuck's long-awaited promotion and tickets to a basketball game ("Our Little Secret"). (In the 2010 revival, the song "I Say a Little Prayer For You" was added for a scene in which Fran tells female workmates about flowers she has received from a new "mystery individual".) Chuck asks Fran to attend the basketball game with him, and she agrees to meet him there after first having a drink with her soon-to-be ex-lover ("She Likes Basketball").
Fran's lover turns out to be the married Sheldrake. Fran wants to end the relationship, but Sheldrake talks her into spending the evening with him ("Knowing When to Leave"). Though Fran stands him up, Chuck forgives her. When he informs the other executives that his apartment is no longer available for their use, they express dismay ("Where Can You Take a Girl?"). Meanwhile, Sheldrake wonders why he is drawn to affairs ("Wanting Things"). The scene shifts to the company Christmas party, where everyone is enjoying themselves ("Turkey Lurkey Time"). Miss Olsen, Sheldrake's secretary, reveals to Fran that she is simply the latest in a long line of Sheldrake's mistresses. The first-act curtain falls as Fran is driven to misery ("A House is Not a Home" in the 2010 revival), and Chuck discovers that Fran is the one Sheldrake has been taking to his apartment.
Act II
A despondent Chuck spends Christmas Eve trying to drink away his troubles at a bar, where he meets another tipsy lonelyheart, Marge MacDougall, who agrees to come back to his apartment ("A Fact Can Be a Beautiful Thing"). In the meantime, at Chuck's apartment, Fran confronts Mr. Sheldrake about his earlier affairs. While he admits to the affairs, he declares his love for Fran, but tells her that he must leave in order to catch his train home to spend Christmas Eve with his family. A despairing Fran discovers Chuck's sleeping pills and takes the whole bottle ("Whoever You Are").When Chuck arrives with Marge, he discovers Fran on his bed. After quickly disposing of Marge, a frantic Chuck gets his neighbor, Dr. Dreyfuss, to come over and together they save her life. The next morning Chuck calls Sheldrake to let him know what happened. Sheldrake says he can't leave for the city without his wife knowing and asks Chuck to take care of Fran ("Christmas Day").
Over the next few days Chuck and Dreyfuss try to keep Fran's sprits up to prevent a relapse into suicidal behavior ("A Young Pretty Girl Like You"). Chuck and Fran play gin rummy and discuss their problems, growing closer ("I'll Never Fall In Love Again"). Mr. Kirkeby, one of Chuck's former 'clients', discovers that Fran has been staying at Chuck's apartment, so as revenge for cutting him and the others off from using the apartment he tells Fran's overly protective brother where she has been staying. Karl Kubelik then comes to the apartment to collect her, and believing that Chuck is the cause of her current state he punches Chuck.
Miss Olsen soon discovers that Sheldrake's actions led to Fran almost killing herself. She quits her job and tells Mrs. Sheldrake all about her husband's affairs. She leaves him to spend full time trying to woo Fran back. Sheldrake asks for the keys to Chuck's apartment again on New Year's Eve to take Fran there. Chuck refuses and quits his job rather than allow Sheldrake to take Fran to his apartment ever again ("Promises, Promises").
Deciding that he has to get away, Chuck begins packing to move elsewhere when Fran comes to see him. Sheldrake had told her that Chuck had refused him access and quit, and she realizes that Chuck is the one who really loves her. As they resume their earlier game of gin, he declares his love for her, to which she replies, "Shut up and deal".
Characters
- Chuck Baxter - An office worker (a warm, friendly comic actor with strong singing voice). BaritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
- Fran Kubelik - a restaurant waitress (winning smile, cute rather than glamorous, powerful broad range singing voice, good diction.)SopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
/ Belter - J.D. Sheldrake - a personnel manager (the heavy, good actor who sings.) Baritone
- Dr. Dreyfuss - a neighbour (exceptional character comic, sings 1 number with Chuck.)TenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- Marge MacDougall - A bar acquaintance (good character woman, minor singing.)Mezzo Soprano
- Dobitch, Kirkeby, Eichelberger, and Vanderhof, light character men who sing in quartet.
- Vivien, Miss Polansky, and Miss Wong,
Musical numbers
Act One- "Overture" - Orchestra
- "Half as Big as Life" - Chuck
- "Grapes of Roth" - Orchestra
- "Upstairs" - Chuck
- "You'll Think of Someone" - Chuck & Fran
- "Our Little Secret" - Chuck & Sheldrake
- "I Say A Little PrayerI Say a Little Prayer"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967.-Background:...
" + - Fran - "She Likes Basketball" - Chuck
- "Knowing When to Leave" - Fran
- "Where Can You Take a Girl?" - Dobitch, Kirkeby, Eichelberger, & Vanderhof
- "Wanting Things" - Sheldrake
- "Turkey Lurkey TimeTurkey Lurkey TimeTurkey Lurkey Time is a song-and-dance number from Act 1 of Promises, Promises, the Burt Bacharach/Hal David musical, with a book by Neil Simon. It was originally choreographed for the 1968 Broadway production by Michael Bennett...
" - Miss Della Hoya, Miss Polansky, Miss Wong, & Ensemble - "A House Is Not a HomeA House Is Not a Home (song)"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 song recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick. Written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song was a modest hit in the U.S. for Warwick, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven "...
" + - Fran
Act Two
- "A Fact Can Be a Beautiful Thing" - Marge & Chuck
- "Whoever You Are (I Love You)" - Fran
- "Christmas Day" - Orchestra
- "A House Is Not A Home (reprise)" + - Chuck
- "A Young Pretty Girl Like You" - Dr. Dreyfuss & Chuck
- "I'll Never Fall in Love AgainI'll Never Fall in Love Again"I'll Never Fall In Love Again" is a popular song by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Originally written for the 1968 musical Promises, Promises, it soon became one of Bacharach and David's most enduring songs. It was nominated for Song of the Year in the 1969 Grammy awards...
" - Chuck & Fran - "Promises, Promises" - Chuck
- "I'll Never Fall In Love Again (reprise)" + - Chuck & Fran
+ Added for the 2010 revival
Music
From The New York Times: "Though the work featured memorable dance sequences by a choreographer on the rise named Michael BennettMichael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
, what really set it apart was its score, written by the solid-gold pop composer Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David. Mr. Bacharach introduced to Broadway not only the insistently rhythmic, commercial-jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
buoyancy of 1960's soft-core radio fare, but also a cinematic use of Teflon-smooth, offstage backup vocals."
The best-known songs from the musical include the title song, which was an international hit for Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, released before the show's December 1968 Broadway opening; "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", a hit for Warwick in the US and Canada (No. 6 and No. 1, respectively) and for Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry
Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...
in the UK (No. 1); "Knowing When To Leave" (also recorded by Warwick), "She Likes Basketball" and "Turkey Lurkey Time", a dance number featuring McKechnie, Lee and Sappington. Warwick also recorded "Whoever You Are (I Love You)" and "Wanting Things" in 1968 before the show opened for her Scepter LP "Promises, Promises".
Awards and nominations
1969 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 Actor in a Musical: Jerry OrbachJerry OrbachJerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
(won) - Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Marian Mercer (won)
- Best Actress in a Musical: Jill O'Hara (nominee)
- Best Choreography: Michael Bennett (nominee)
- Best Direction of a Musical: Robert Moore (nominee)
- Best Featured Actor in a Musical: A. Larry Haines; Edward Winter (nominee)
- Best Musical (nominee)
1969 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
- Outstanding MusicDrama Desk Award for Outstanding MusicThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
: Burt Bacharach (won) - Outstanding Performance: Marian Mercer; Jerry Orbach (won)
1969 Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
: Marian Mercer; Jill O'Hara (won)
2010 Drama Desk Awards
- Outstanding Revival of a Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Katie Finneran (winner)
- Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical: Brian Ronan (nominee)
2010 Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
- Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) (nominee)
- Outstanding Choreographer: Rob Ashford (nominee)
- Outstanding Actor in a Musical: Sean Hayes (nominee)
- Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical: Dick Latessa (nominee)
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical: Katie Finneran (winner)
2010 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...
- Best Actor in a Musical: Sean Hayes (nominee)
- Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Katie Finneran (winner)
- Best Choreography: Rob Ashford (nominee)
- Best Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick (nominee)
2011 Grammy Awards
- Best Musical Show Album (nominee)
External links
- Internet Broadway Database listing, 2010
- Listing with plot and production data from guidetomusicaltheatre.com
- Barnes, Clive. The New York Times 1968 review reprinted in Brantley, Ben, The New York Times Book of Broadway, p. 177, Macmillan, 2001 ISBN 0-312-28411-X
- The New York Times review of a 1984 dinner-theatre production