The Great Waltz is a musical conceived by Hassard Short

Hassard Short

Hubert Edward Hassard Short , usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatrewho directed over 50 Broadway and West End shows between 1920 and 1953...

 with a book by Moss Hart

Moss Hart

Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...

 and lyrics by Desmond Carter

Desmond Carter

Herbert Desmond Carter was a British lyricist who worked with George and Ira Gershwin, Ivor Novello, and others, and also wrote one of the first English language versions of the notorious "suicide song", "Gloomy Sunday"....

, using themes by Johann Strauss I

Johann Strauss I

Johann Strauss I , born in Vienna, was an Austrian Romantic composer famous for his waltzes, and for popularizing them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty...

 and Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...

. It is based on a pasticcio

Pasticcio

In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the...

 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...

 and Julius Bittner

Julius Bittner

Julius Bittner was an Austrian composer.-Life:The son of a judge, Bittner also initially pursued a career in law. Until 1920 he was a judge in Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel, in Lower Austria...

 called Walzer aus Wien, first performed in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 in 1930. The story of the musical is loosely based on the real-life feud between the older and younger Strauss, allegedly because of the father's jealousy of his son's greater talent.

The Great Waltz debuted 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 Center Theatre on September 22, 1934 and ran for 289 performances. The production was directed by Hassard Short and presented by Max Gordon

Max Gordon (producer)

Max Gordon was an American theatre and film producer. His credits included My Sister Eileen, which he produced both on stage and on film.-Biography:...

, with choreography by Albertina Rasch

Albertina Rasch

Albertina Rasch was a naturalized American dancer and choreographer.-Early life:Born in Vienna in 1891 to a family of Polish Jewish descent, Rasch studied at the Vienna State Opera Ballet school and became leading ballerina at the New York Hippodrome in...

, settings by Albert Johnson and costumes by Doris Zinkeisen

Doris Zinkeisen

Doris Clare Zinkeisen was a Scottish theatrical stage and costume designer, painter, commercial artist and writer. She was best known for her work in theatrical design.-Early life:...

 together with Marion Claire, Marie Burke and Guy Robertson. The musical was made into a motion picture by MGM in 1938

1938 in film

The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...

 with a screenplay and new 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...

.

In 1949 impressario Edwin Lester

Edwin Lester

Edwin Lester was an American theatre director, impresario, and producer. He was the longtime general director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, which he founded in 1938. He also co-founded the LACLO's affiliate organization, the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, with Homer Curran in 1939...

 hired Robert Wright

Robert Wright (writer)

Robert [Craig] Wright was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre best known for the Broadway musical and musical film Kismet, for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics...

 and George Forrest

George Forrest (author)

George Forrest was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show Kismet, adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin.-Biography:...

 to adapt Strauss's German lyrics and music for a production at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera

Los Angeles Civic Light Opera

The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty seasons of theatre before closing due to financial reasons in...

. This version was used for a London revival that opened at the Drury Lane Theatre

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...

 on July 9, 1970 and ran for 605 performances. It was also used for a 1972 film remake

The Great Waltz (1972 film)

The Great Waltz is a 1972 American musical film directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Horst Buchholz, Mary Costa and Nigel Patrick. It is based on The Great Waltz and was Stone's final film.-Cast:* Horst Buchholz as Johann Strauss Jr....

.

Songs

Act I

• Radetsky March – The Brass Band
• Morning – Therese ((Resi), Ebeseders' daughter)
• Look Before You Leap – Therese and Leopold ((Poldi), Greta's nephew)
• You Are My Songs – Resi, Johann Strauss, Jr. ((Schani)) and Ensemble
• Love Will Find You – Resi and Schani
• On Love Alone – Ensemble and Ballet
• Like a Star in the Sky – Countess Olga Baranskaja and Schani
• With All My Heart – Resi

Act II

• Night – Ensemble
• Love's Never Lost – Olga, Poldi and Captain Hal Fredrich
• We Love You Still – Olga
• While You Love Me – Resi and Schani
• Love and War – Poldi and Ensemble
• The Blue Danube (Danube So Blue) – Resi and Company

The 1970 London revival added "No Two Ways" (lyrics: George Forrest, music: Robert Wright)

External links

• The Great Waltz at the Internet Broadway Database