The Happy Time (musical)
Encyclopedia
The Happy Time is a musical
with music by John Kander
, lyrics by Fred Ebb
, and a book by N. Richard Nash
loosely based on a 1950 hit Broadway
play, The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor
, which was in turn based on stories by Robert Fontaine. The story had also been made into a 1952 film version
.
The original 1968 Broadway production was directed and choreographed by Gower Champion
, who won Tony Awards in each category.
had initially asked Cy Coleman
and Dorothy Fields
to write the songs and Yves Montand
to play the lead, but they were all busy with other projects and declined to participate. Merrick then asked N. Richard Nash to write the script, but Nash suggested an original story of his own. Merrick, holding the rights to The Happy Time, asked that the setting be changed to Canada, and the deal was set. The final script had little of the Taylor play but did use the characters and some minor details from Fontaine's stories. Nash showed the outline of the story to Kander and Ebb, who agreed to write the music.
The Happy Time opened on Broadway
at The Broadway Theatre
on January 18, 1968. It received mixed reviews from the critics, who generally admired the performances but noted large deficiencies in the script. It closed on September 28, 1968, after a run of 286 sparsely attended performances and 23 previews. It was the first Broadway musical to lose a million dollars. The production was directed, filmed, and choreographed by Gower Champion
, set design by Peter Wexler, costume design by Freddy Wittop
, lighting design by Jean Rosenthal
, film sequences created by Christopher Chapman, film technical direction by Barry O. Gordon, orchestrations by Don Walker
, musical direction and vocal arrangements by Oscar Kosarin, associate choreography by Kevin Carlisle, and dance and incidental music arrangements by Marvin Laird.
The production starred Robert Goulet
(Jacques Bonnard), David Wayne
(Grandpere Bonnard), Michael Rupert
(Bibi Bonnard), Julie Gregg
(Laurie Mannon), and George S. Irving
(Philippe Bonnard), Charles Durning
(Louis Bonnard), Gena Page (Annabelle Bonnard), Julane Stites (Gillie Bonnard), Connie Simmons (Nanette Bonnard), June Squibb (Felice Bonnard), Jacki Garland (Lizette), Mary Gale Laverenz (Dorine), Tammie Fillhart (Sylvie), Mary Ann O'Reilly (Monique), Vicki Powers (Bella), Susan Sigrist (Grace), Julie Gregg
(Laurie Mannon), Jeffrey Golkin (Foufie), and Dallas Johann (Ganache).
The Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, Connecticut
, presented the show in April 1980-May 1980. The production was revised, by rewriting the book "so that it no longer changes its tune in the second act", eliminating photographic projections and adding four songs that had been dropped.
In May 2002 the Niagara University
Theatre in Niagara Falls, NY staged a revival of The Happy Time. John Kander and Fred Ebb went to Niagara University
to work with the cast, helping recreate the work. "They were here a few weeks ago for rehearsals and thought the show was just beautiful..." Most notably, they incorporated five songs, originally cut from the musical, into the production, as well as making a few other minor changes. "This NU Theatre production, with Kander and Ebb's blessing, has reinstated several songs and restored text, prompting them to label this version 'definitive.'"
The revised version was performed in New York City for the first time in 2007 in a staged reading by Musicals Tonight!, as part of their season long tribute to George S. Irving, who returned to the show, this time playing Jacques' father, Grandpere.
The Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA
staged a revised production of The Happy Time from April 1, 2008 through June 1, 2008. The production was directed by Michael Unger and choreographed by Karma Camp. It received favorable reviews. For example, the Washington Post reviewer wrote: "A little charmer... Effervescent. The cast is strong... which is part of why it generally feels like a luxury to be able to see the show in this space." Variety
agreed: "Fresh and earnest... staged with ultimate intimacy in Signature's tiny ARK Theater."
When Bibi takes Grandpere's "naughty" pictures to school and is discovered, his stern father Philippe forces him to apologize to his school-mates. Bibi is embarrassed and upset and tries to cajole Jacques into taking him away when he leaves. Although Jacques at first agrees, thinking that Bibi will be a companion, he quickly realizes that this would not be good for Bibi.
Meanwhile, Jacques finds it difficult to commit to his former sweetheart Laurie ("I Don't Remember You"). The couple finally realize that they have opposite ideas about life and the future ("Seeing Things"), with Laurie understanding that Jacques is emotionally a boy, like her students. Grandpere, Jacques and Bibi playfully sing an ode to "A Certain Girl". Jacques finally realizes that he returned home searching for family and love ("Running"), and understands that he must set out alone again.
Act II
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 music by John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
, lyrics by Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
, and a book by N. Richard Nash
N. Richard Nash
N. Richard Nash was a writer and dramatist best known for writing Broadway shows, including The Rainmaker.-Early life:...
loosely based on a 1950 hit 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...
play, The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor
Samuel A. Taylor
Samuel A. Taylor was an American playwright and screenwriter.Born Samuel Albert Tanenbaum, in a Jewish family, in Chicago, Illinois, Taylor made his Broadway debut as author of the play The Happy Time in 1950. He wrote the play Sabrina Fair in 1953 and co-wrote its film adaptation the following year...
, which was in turn based on stories by Robert Fontaine. The story had also been made into a 1952 film version
The Happy Time
The Happy Time is a 1952 movie directed by the award-winning director Richard Fleischer, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Robert Fontaine, which Samuel A. Taylor turned it into a hit play. A boy, played by Bobby Driscoll, comes of age in a close-knit French-Canadian family. The film...
.
The original 1968 Broadway production was directed and choreographed by Gower Champion
Gower 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...
, who won Tony Awards in each category.
Background and productions
Producer David MerrickDavid 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...
had initially asked Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...
and Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
to write the songs and Yves Montand
Yves Montand
-Early life:Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in...
to play the lead, but they were all busy with other projects and declined to participate. Merrick then asked N. Richard Nash to write the script, but Nash suggested an original story of his own. Merrick, holding the rights to The Happy Time, asked that the setting be changed to Canada, and the deal was set. The final script had little of the Taylor play but did use the characters and some minor details from Fontaine's stories. Nash showed the outline of the story to Kander and Ebb, who agreed to write the music.
The Happy Time 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 Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1681 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan....
on January 18, 1968. It received mixed reviews from the critics, who generally admired the performances but noted large deficiencies in the script. It closed on September 28, 1968, after a run of 286 sparsely attended performances and 23 previews. It was the first Broadway musical to lose a million dollars. The production was directed, filmed, and choreographed by Gower Champion
Gower 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...
, set design by Peter Wexler, costume design by 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...
, lighting design by Jean Rosenthal
Jean Rosenthal
Jean Rosenthal is considered a pioneer in the field of theatrical lighting design. She was born in New York City to Romanian-Jewish immigrants....
, film sequences created by Christopher Chapman, film technical direction by Barry O. Gordon, orchestrations by Don Walker
Don Walker (orchestrator)
Don Walker was a prolific Broadway orchestrator, who also composed music for musicals and one film and worked as a conductor in television.-Biography:...
, musical direction and vocal arrangements by Oscar Kosarin, associate choreography by Kevin Carlisle, and dance and incidental music arrangements by Marvin Laird.
The production starred Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
(Jacques Bonnard), David Wayne
David Wayne
David Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
(Grandpere Bonnard), Michael Rupert
Michael Rupert
Michael John Rupert is an American actor, singer, director and composer.Rupert made his Broadway debut in 1968 in Kander and Ebb's The Happy Time where he received his first Tony nomination...
(Bibi Bonnard), Julie Gregg
Julie Gregg
Julie Gregg is an American television, film and stage actress. She generally played supporting or guest, but not lead, roles. She is best known for her portrayal of Sandra Corleone in The Godfather...
(Laurie Mannon), and George S. Irving
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
(Philippe Bonnard), Charles Durning
Charles Durning
Charles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
(Louis Bonnard), Gena Page (Annabelle Bonnard), Julane Stites (Gillie Bonnard), Connie Simmons (Nanette Bonnard), June Squibb (Felice Bonnard), Jacki Garland (Lizette), Mary Gale Laverenz (Dorine), Tammie Fillhart (Sylvie), Mary Ann O'Reilly (Monique), Vicki Powers (Bella), Susan Sigrist (Grace), Julie Gregg
Julie Gregg
Julie Gregg is an American television, film and stage actress. She generally played supporting or guest, but not lead, roles. She is best known for her portrayal of Sandra Corleone in The Godfather...
(Laurie Mannon), Jeffrey Golkin (Foufie), and Dallas Johann (Ganache).
The Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, 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...
, presented the show in April 1980-May 1980. The production was revised, by rewriting the book "so that it no longer changes its tune in the second act", eliminating photographic projections and adding four songs that had been dropped.
In May 2002 the Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
Theatre in Niagara Falls, NY staged a revival of The Happy Time. John Kander and Fred Ebb went to Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
to work with the cast, helping recreate the work. "They were here a few weeks ago for rehearsals and thought the show was just beautiful..." Most notably, they incorporated five songs, originally cut from the musical, into the production, as well as making a few other minor changes. "This NU Theatre production, with Kander and Ebb's blessing, has reinstated several songs and restored text, prompting them to label this version 'definitive.'"
The revised version was performed in New York City for the first time in 2007 in a staged reading by Musicals Tonight!, as part of their season long tribute to George S. Irving, who returned to the show, this time playing Jacques' father, Grandpere.
The Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
staged a revised production of The Happy Time from April 1, 2008 through June 1, 2008. The production was directed by Michael Unger and choreographed by Karma Camp. It received favorable reviews. For example, the Washington Post reviewer wrote: "A little charmer... Effervescent. The cast is strong... which is part of why it generally feels like a luxury to be able to see the show in this space." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
agreed: "Fresh and earnest... staged with ultimate intimacy in Signature's tiny ARK Theater."
Plot
Jacques Bonnard is a prize-winning photographer who travels the world. He returns to his 1920s French-Canadian village, after five years away, seeking the happy time of his childhood. His cantankerous but lovable father (Grandpere), two brothers and their wives, and their children all welcome him ("He's Back"). His stories of his travels have a profound effect on his nephew Bibi, who is having trouble at school and going through an especially rough puberty, inspiring the boy to want to live life to the fullest. Jacques goes to a nightclub and takes Grandpere and Bibi, where they are entertained by the dancers (Six Angels) ("Catch My Garter"). After their night on the town, Bibi begs Jacques to "Please Stay".When Bibi takes Grandpere's "naughty" pictures to school and is discovered, his stern father Philippe forces him to apologize to his school-mates. Bibi is embarrassed and upset and tries to cajole Jacques into taking him away when he leaves. Although Jacques at first agrees, thinking that Bibi will be a companion, he quickly realizes that this would not be good for Bibi.
Meanwhile, Jacques finds it difficult to commit to his former sweetheart Laurie ("I Don't Remember You"). The couple finally realize that they have opposite ideas about life and the future ("Seeing Things"), with Laurie understanding that Jacques is emotionally a boy, like her students. Grandpere, Jacques and Bibi playfully sing an ode to "A Certain Girl". Jacques finally realizes that he returned home searching for family and love ("Running"), and understands that he must set out alone again.
Songs
Act I- The Happy Time – Jacques Bonnard and Family
- Jeanne-Marie - Jacques and Family (Revised 2002 Niagara University Production)
- He's Back – Family
- Catch My Garter – Six Angels
- Tomorrow Morning – Jacques, Grandpere, Bibi, and Six Angels
- Please Stay – Bibi and Jacques
- I Don't Remember You – Jacques
- St. Pierre – Glee Club, Laurie Mannon, and Jacques
- I Don't Remember You (Reprise) – Laurie and Jacques
- Without Me – Bibi and Schoolmates
- In His Own Good Time - Suzanne and Phillipe (Revised 2002 Niagara University Production)
- The Happy Time (Reprise) – Jacques
Act II
- Among My Yesterdays – Jacques
- Please Stay (Reprise) - Laurie (Revised 2002 Niagara University Production)
- The Life of the Party – Grandpere , Six Angels, and Schoolboys
- I'm Sorry - Bibi (Revised 2002 Niagara UniversityProduction)
- Seeing Things – Jacques and Laurie
- A Certain Girl – Grandpere, Jacques, and Bibi
- Running - Jacques (Revised 2002 Niagara University Production)
- St. Pierre - Bibi, Laurie, and Glee Club
- The Happy Time (Reprise) – Jacques and Company
Awards and nominations
- Tony Awards and Nominations
- Best Musical (nominee)
- Best Score—Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb (nominee)
- Best Actor (Musical)
- Robert Goulet (winner)
- David Wayne (nominee)
- Best Featured Actor (Musical) -- Michael RupertMichael RupertMichael John Rupert is an American actor, singer, director and composer.Rupert made his Broadway debut in 1968 in Kander and Ebb's The Happy Time where he received his first Tony nomination...
(nominee) - Best Featured Actress (Musical) -- Julie GreggJulie GreggJulie Gregg is an American television, film and stage actress. She generally played supporting or guest, but not lead, roles. She is best known for her portrayal of Sandra Corleone in The Godfather...
(nominee) - Best Scenic Designer -- Peter Wexler (nominee)
- Best Costume Designer -- Freddy WittopFreddy WittopFreddy 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...
(nominee) - Best Choreographer—Gower Champion (winner)
- Best Director (Musical) -- Gower Champion (winner)
- Theatre World AwardTheatre World AwardThe 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:...
-- for debut performances- Julie Gregg (winner)
- Michael Rupert (winner)