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State Fair (musical)
Encyclopedia
State Fair is a musical
with a book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
, and music by Richard Rodgers
.
Rodgers and Hammerstein originally adapted the Phil Stong
novel
of the same name for a 1945 movie musical
, which was remade in 1962
. The stage production closely follows the plot of its predecessors, providing a glimpse into the life of the farm
ing Frake family and their three-day adventure at the Iowa State Fair
in Des Moines in 1946. While parents Abel and Melissa are hoping to win a few blue ribbon
s, siblings Margy and Wayne are more interested in finding romance on the midway.
in St. Louis presented the world stage premiere of State Fair starring Ozzie and Harriet Nelson with Ron Husmann
, Jerry Lanning, Bonnie Schon, Carol Richards, Tom Pedi, Tommy Tune
and Lawrence Leritz
(stage debut) in the children's chorus. The production was directed by James Hammerstein
, supervised by Richard Rodgers
and also choreographed by Tommy Tune
. Additional songs included in this production were three from "Me & Juliet"; "It's Me!", "Keep It Gay" and "Marriage Type Love" and a new one, "Away From Home."
In 1995 a new stage adaptation, by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, received a lengthy national tour, opening at the 1995 Iowa State Fair at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines on August 12. After 8 previews, the Broadway
production, co-directed by James Hammerstein
(Oscar's son) and Randy Skinner
and choreographed by Skinner opened on March 27, 1996 at the Music Box Theatre
, where it ran for 110 performances. It was to be the final show produced by the legendary David Merrick
. The cast included, as the Frake family John Davidson
as Abel, Kathryn Crosby
as Melissa, Andrea McArdle
as Margy, and Ben Wright
as Wayne, with Donna McKechnie
(Emily) and Scott Wise
(Pat) as the love interests. Susan Egan
took over the role of Margy part way through the run when McArdle broke her ankle . The Set Design was by James Leonard Joy,the Costume Design by Michael Bottari and Ronald Case, and the Lighting Designer was Natasha Katz
.
On the 3rd August 2010 the Finborough Theatre production opened at London's Trafalgar Studios 2, Starring Philip Rham, Karl Clarkson, Laura Main and Susan Travers. The show opened to generally positive reviews with The Guardian quoting "It's a great night out, and as exhilarating as a hoedown". Due to excess demand the original closing date of 29th August was extended 2 weeks to the 11th September.
On the last day of the fair, Abel's boar wins the Blue Ribbon, Emily breaks off the growing relationship with Wayne, and Pat must leave for a new job. Back home, Wayne returns to his old girlfriend Eleanor. Pat arrives unexpectedly and asks Margy to marry him.
Act I
Act II
Notes on the music
The five songs from the original 1945 film score were supplemented by others that were either featured in, or cut from, other Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. One, "More Than Just a Friend," was written by Rodgers for the 1962 film remake after Hammerstein's death. "Driving at Night" was created by co-director James Hammerstein and the production's orchestrator, Bruce Pomahac, with music from a song that had been cut from Allegro entitled "Two Short Years".
The starred songs (above) were in the original 1945 or 1962 films.
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 Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, and music by Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
.
Rodgers and Hammerstein originally adapted the Phil Stong
Phil Stong
Philip Duffield Stong was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for writing the novel State Fair, on which three films and one musical by that name were based....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of the same name for a 1945 movie musical
State Fair (1945 film)
State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film a musical adaptation of the 1933 film of the same name, with original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter and Charles Winninger...
, which was remade in 1962
State Fair (1962 film)
State Fair is a 1962 film directed by José Ferrer. The film is a remake of the 1933 and 1945 films of the same name.It was considered to be a financially and critically unsuccessful film. It starred Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Ann-Margret, Tom Ewell, Pamela Tiffin and Alice Faye.Richard Rodgers wrote...
. The stage production closely follows the plot of its predecessors, providing a glimpse into the life of the farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
ing Frake family and their three-day adventure at the Iowa State Fair
Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa.The 2011 Iowa State Fair was held August 11–21 and marked 100 years of the butter cow sculpture.-History:...
in Des Moines in 1946. While parents Abel and Melissa are hoping to win a few blue ribbon
Blue ribbon
The blue ribbon is a term used to describe or symbolize something of high quality. The usage came from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners—and prior to that from Cordon Bleu which referred to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order...
s, siblings Margy and Wayne are more interested in finding romance on the midway.
Production history
In 1969, The MunyThe Muny
The Muny, short for The Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis, is an outdoor musical theatre, located in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri...
in St. Louis presented the world stage premiere of State Fair starring Ozzie and Harriet Nelson with 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...
, Jerry Lanning, Bonnie Schon, Carol Richards, Tom Pedi, Tommy Tune
Tommy Tune
Thomas James "Tommy" Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts.-Early years:...
and Lawrence Leritz
Lawrence Leritz
Lawrence Leritz is an American dancer, singer, actor, producer, fitness expert and choreographer.-Life and career:...
(stage debut) in the children's chorus. The production was directed by James Hammerstein
James Hammerstein
James Hammerstein was an American theatre director and producer. He was the son of Oscar Hammerstein II and his wife Dorothy ....
, supervised by Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and also choreographed by Tommy Tune
Tommy Tune
Thomas James "Tommy" Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts.-Early years:...
. Additional songs included in this production were three from "Me & Juliet"; "It's Me!", "Keep It Gay" and "Marriage Type Love" and a new one, "Away From Home."
In 1995 a new stage adaptation, by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, received a lengthy national tour, opening at the 1995 Iowa State Fair at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines on August 12. After 8 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, co-directed by James Hammerstein
James Hammerstein
James Hammerstein was an American theatre director and producer. He was the son of Oscar Hammerstein II and his wife Dorothy ....
(Oscar's son) and Randy Skinner
Randy Skinner
Randy Skinner is an American director and choregrapher, primarily for the stage. He has been nominated three times for Tony Awards and twice for Drama Desk Awards for choreography.-Biography:...
and choreographed by Skinner opened on March 27, 1996 at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
, where it ran for 110 performances. It was to be the final show produced by the legendary 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...
. The cast included, as the Frake family John Davidson
John Davidson (entertainer)
John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....
as Abel, Kathryn Crosby
Kathryn Crosby
Kathryn Crosby is an American actress and singer who also performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant.-Early life and career:...
as Melissa, Andrea McArdle
Andrea McArdle
Andrea McArdle is an American singer and actress best known for playing Annie in the Broadway musical Annie, as well as for her alto range and strong vocal belt.-Career:She was born in Philadelphia...
as Margy, and Ben Wright
Ben Wright
Ben Wright may refer to:*Ben Wright , British film and radio actor*Ben Wright , English footballer*Ben Wright , English footballer...
as Wayne, with 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...
(Emily) and Scott Wise
Scott Wise
-Life and career:Although a life-trained dancer, Wise first became seriously interested in dance as a career while studying to become an accountant. He performed with the Joffrey II, then moved into musical theater in the early 1980s after auditioning for A Chorus Line "as a dare more than...
(Pat) as the love interests. Susan Egan
Susan Egan
Susan Egan is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage.-Early life and career:Egan was born in Seal Beach, California. She attended Orange County High School of the Arts and UCLA. In the meantime she started her career touring with the performance group The Young...
took over the role of Margy part way through the run when McArdle broke her ankle . The Set Design was by James Leonard Joy,the Costume Design by Michael Bottari and Ronald Case, and the Lighting Designer was Natasha Katz
Natasha Katz
Natasha Katz is a lighting designer for the theatre, dance, and opera. She was educated at Oberlin College and did an internship with Roger Morgan....
.
On the 3rd August 2010 the Finborough Theatre production opened at London's Trafalgar Studios 2, Starring Philip Rham, Karl Clarkson, Laura Main and Susan Travers. The show opened to generally positive reviews with The Guardian quoting "It's a great night out, and as exhilarating as a hoedown". Due to excess demand the original closing date of 29th August was extended 2 weeks to the 11th September.
Plot
The Frake family of Iowa make plans to attend the State Fair in late summer 1946. Father Abel Frake has hopes that his boar will win a prize; his wife Melissa is entering her mincemeat. Daughter Margy is upset with her beau's (Harry) plans for their life together ("It Might as Well Be Spring"). The family heads for the fair ("Driving at Night/Our State Fair"), where son Wayne meets Emily Arden, a singer, and falls instantly in love ("That's for Me"). Meanwhile, Melissa's mincemeat has won a Blue Ribbon. Margy meets Pat, a reporter, and a mutual romantic attraction develops.On the last day of the fair, Abel's boar wins the Blue Ribbon, Emily breaks off the growing relationship with Wayne, and Pat must leave for a new job. Back home, Wayne returns to his old girlfriend Eleanor. Pat arrives unexpectedly and asks Margy to marry him.
Musical numbers
Act I
- Opening -- Abel Frake, Melissa Frake and Wayne Frake
- It Might as Well Be SpringIt Might as Well Be Spring"It Might as Well Be Spring" is a song from the 1945 film, State Fair. With music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. State Fair was the only original film score by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In the film the song was...
*-- Margy Frake - Driving at Night/Our State Fair * -- Abel Frake, Melissa Frake, Wayne Frake, Margy Frake and Company
- That's for Me *-- Wayne Frake
- More Than Just a Friend *-- Abel Frake, Hank Munson, Lem, and Clay
- Isn't It Kinda Fun? *-- Pat Gilbert and Margy Frake
- Isn't It Kinda Fun? * (Reprise) -- Margy Frake
- You Never Had It So Good (cut from Me and JulietMe and JulietMe and Juliet is a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and their sixth stage collaboration. The work tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back of her electrician boyfriend, Bob...
) -- Emily Arden and Fairtones - It Might as Well Be Spring (Reprise) -- Margy Frake
- When I Go Out Walking With My Baby (cut from Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
) -- Abel Frake and Melissa Frake - So Far (from AllegroAllegro (musical)Allegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II , their third collaboration for the stage. Opening on Broadway on October 10, 1947, the musical centers on the life of Joseph Taylor, Jr.—Joe follows in the footsteps of his father as a doctor, but is tempted by fortune and fame at...
) -- Wayne Frake and Emily Arden - It's a Grand Night for Singing * -- Company
Act II
- Man I Used to Be (from Pipe DreamPipe Dream (musical)Pipe Dream is the seventh stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; it premiered on Broadway on November 30, 1955. The work is based on John Steinbeck's short novel Sweet Thursday—Steinbeck wrote the novel, a sequel to Cannery Row, in the hope of having it adapted into...
) -- Pat Gilbert, Vivian, and Jeanne - All I Owe Ioway * -- Abel Frake and Company
- Man I Used to Be (Reprise) -- Pat Gilbert
- That's the Way It Happens (from Me and JulietMe and JulietMe and Juliet is a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and their sixth stage collaboration. The work tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back of her electrician boyfriend, Bob...
)-- Emily Arden and Fairtones - Boys and Girls Like You and Me (cut from Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
and included in some productions of CinderellaCinderella (TV)Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Vair, by Charles Perrault...
, though not the original) -- Abel Frake and Melissa Frake - Next Time It Happens (from Pipe DreamPipe Dream (musical)Pipe Dream is the seventh stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; it premiered on Broadway on November 30, 1955. The work is based on John Steinbeck's short novel Sweet Thursday—Steinbeck wrote the novel, a sequel to Cannery Row, in the hope of having it adapted into...
) -- Margy Frake - Finale Ultimo -- Company
Notes on the music
The five songs from the original 1945 film score were supplemented by others that were either featured in, or cut from, other Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. One, "More Than Just a Friend," was written by Rodgers for the 1962 film remake after Hammerstein's death. "Driving at Night" was created by co-director James Hammerstein and the production's orchestrator, Bruce Pomahac, with music from a song that had been cut from Allegro entitled "Two Short Years".
The starred songs (above) were in the original 1945 or 1962 films.
Award 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...
for Best Original Score - Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Wise)
- Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe 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...
for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Wright and Wise) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (McKechnie)