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Lorelei (musical)
Encyclopedia
Lorelei is a musical
with a book by Kenny Solms and Gail Parent
, lyrics by Betty Comden
and Adolph Green
, and music by Jule Styne
. It is a revision of the Joseph Fields
-Anita Loos
book for the 1949 production Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
and includes many of the Jule Styne-Leo Robin
songs written for the original.
The 1974 Broadway production of Lorelei, directed by Robert Moore
and starring Carol Channing
, ran for 320 performances.
, about to set sail on the SS Ile de France
. The moment reminds her of a past voyage she took with her best friend and fellow showgirl
Dorothy Shaw, and in a flashback
we relive their madcap adventures after Lorelei's plans to marry Gus Esmond are derailed by his father and the two women sail from New York City
to Paris
and settle in at the Hôtel Ritz
.
. Directed by Robert Moore
and choreographed by Ernest O. Flatt, it opened at the Palace Theatre
on January 27, 1974 following 11 previews, and ran for a total of 320 performances.
Carol Channing
, who had originated the role of Lorelei Lee in 1949, reprised her role, and was nominated for the Tony Award
for Best Actress in a Musical. Also in the cast were Tamara Long as Dorothy and Peter Palmer
as Gus, with Brandon Maggart
, Dody Goodman
, and Lee Roy Reams
in supporting roles.
In her review in Time
, Martha Duffy described the show as "a particularly tawdry retread . . . The book, which always had the flaw of seeming more heartless than its heroine, now seems just plain crass." Of its star, she noted, "Channing, who is now 51, looks much too old for the part . . . Instead of throwing herself into the proceedings, Carol seems to expend her energy with utmost calculation . . . she remains almost stationary and is offstage altogether for the strenuous tap-dance sequences."
Act II
, it was decided to make a new recording on March 1, 1974 http://product.half.ebay.com/Lorelei_W0QQprZ3522095QQtgZinfo. In 2003, Decca Broadway
combined the two recordings, resulting in a definitive cast recording that includes all the songs from both http://iclassics.com/featureArticle?contentId=3480http://www.iclassics.com/productDetail?contentId=54392.
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 Kenny Solms and Gail Parent
Gail Parent
Gail Parent is an American television and screenwriter, television producer, and author.Parent's writing career began with a 1971 episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show...
, lyrics by Betty Comden
Betty Comden
Betty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
and Adolph Green
Adolph Green
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
, and music by Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
. It is a revision of the Joseph Fields
Joseph Fields
Joseph Albert Fields was an American playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Life and career:Fields was born in New York City, the son of vaudevillean Lew Fields...
-Anita Loos
Anita Loos
Anita Loos was an American screenwriter, playwright and author.-Early life:Born Corinne Anita Loos in Sisson, California , where her father, R. Beers Loos, had opened a tabloid newspaper for which her mother, Minerva "Minnie" Smith did most of the work of a newspaper publisher...
book for the 1949 production Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a musical with a book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, lyrics by Leo Robin, and music by Jule Styne, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Loos...
and includes many of the Jule Styne-Leo Robin
Leo Robin
Leo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
songs written for the original.
The 1974 Broadway production of Lorelei, directed by 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,...
and starring Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, ran for 320 performances.
Synopsis
Subtitled Gentlemen Still Prefer Blondes, it opens with the title character, a heavily-bejeweled, very wealthy widowWidow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
, about to set sail on the SS Ile de France
SS Ile de France
The SS Ile de France was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. The ship was the first major ocean liner built after the conclusion of World War I and was the first liner ever to be decorated entirely with designs associated with the Art Deco...
. The moment reminds her of a past voyage she took with her best friend and fellow showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
Dorothy Shaw, and in a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
we relive their madcap adventures after Lorelei's plans to marry Gus Esmond are derailed by his father and the two women sail from 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...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and settle in at the Hôtel Ritz
Hôtel Ritz Paris
The Hôtel Ritz is a grand palatial hotel in the heart of Paris, the 1st arrondissement. It overlooks the octagonal border of the Place Vendôme at number 15...
.
Productions
The show toured the country for nearly a year before opening 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...
. Directed by 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,...
and choreographed by Ernest O. Flatt, it opened at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, New York
The Palace Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1564 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.-History:Designed by architects Kirchoff & Rose, the theatre was built by Martin Beck a California vaudeville entrepreneur and Broadway impresario. The project experienced a number of business problems before...
on January 27, 1974 following 11 previews, and ran for a total of 320 performances.
Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, who had originated the role of Lorelei Lee in 1949, reprised her role, and 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 Actress in a Musical. Also in the cast were Tamara Long as Dorothy and Peter Palmer
Peter Palmer (actor)
Peter Palmer is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Li'l Abner, both on Broadway and on film....
as Gus, with Brandon Maggart
Brandon Maggart
Brandon Maggart is an American actor.Maggart was born Roscoe Maggart, Jr. in Carthage, Tennessee. His acting career began in the early 1950s, at first in local and regional theatre in Tennessee, which eventually branched out to New York's Broadway...
, 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...
, and Lee Roy Reams
Lee Roy Reams
Lee Roy Reams is an American musical theatre actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and director.Born in Covington, Kentucky, Reams earned a Master of Arts degree and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati...
in supporting roles.
In her review in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Martha Duffy described the show as "a particularly tawdry retread . . . The book, which always had the flaw of seeming more heartless than its heroine, now seems just plain crass." Of its star, she noted, "Channing, who is now 51, looks much too old for the part . . . Instead of throwing herself into the proceedings, Carol seems to expend her energy with utmost calculation . . . she remains almost stationary and is offstage altogether for the strenuous tap-dance sequences."
Song list
Act I- Looking Back
- Bye, Bye Baby (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
- High Time (from Gentlemen)
- Little Rock (from Gentlemen)
- I Love What I'm Doing (from Gentlemen)
- It's Delightful Down in Chile (from Gentlemen)
- I Won't Let You Get Away
- Keeping Cool With Coolidge (from Gentlemen)
- Men
Act II
- Coquette (from Gentlemen)
- Mamie is Mimi (from Gentlemen)
- Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (from Gentlemen)
- Homesick (from Gentlemen)
- Miss Lorelei Lee
- Button Up With Esmond (from Gentlemen)
- Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (Reprise)
Recordings
The show's cast album was recorded on February 18, 1973 http://product.half.ebay.com/Lorelei_W0QQprZ3522095QQtgZinfo, prior to the tryout tour. During eleven months on the road, songs were discarded and new ones added, so when the show reached New York CityNew 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...
, it was decided to make a new recording on March 1, 1974 http://product.half.ebay.com/Lorelei_W0QQprZ3522095QQtgZinfo. In 2003, Decca Broadway
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
combined the two recordings, resulting in a definitive cast recording that includes all the songs from both http://iclassics.com/featureArticle?contentId=3480http://www.iclassics.com/productDetail?contentId=54392.