All American (musical)

Last updated
All American
All American CD Cover.png
Original Broadway Cast Recording
Music Charles Strouse
Lyrics Lee Adams
Book Mel Brooks
Basis Robert Lewis Taylor's novel
Professor Fodorski
Productions1962 Broadway

All American is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. Based on the Robert Lewis Taylor 1950 novel Professor Fodorski, it is set on the campus of the fictional Southern Baptist Institute of Technology: the worlds of science and sports collide when the principles of engineering are applied to football strategies, and football strategies are used to teach the principles of engineering. The techniques of a Hungarian immigrant, Professor Fodorski, prove to be successful, resulting in a winning team, and he finds himself the target of a Madison Avenue ad man who wants to exploit his new-found fame.

Contents

The Broadway production, in 1962, starred Ray Bolger. It drew mostly unfavorable reviews and ran for 80 performances, though the song "Once Upon a Time" became popular.

Background

Adams and Strouse, following the success of Bye Bye Birdie (1960), and Brooks, then a relatively unknown television comedy writer with limited experience writing for the stage (he had written revue sketches and the book for the short-lived 1957 musical Shinbone Alley ), created an old-fashioned musical reminiscent of such lighthearted fare as Good News . The show was beset with problems from the start. Brooks never completed the second act, leaving the task to Joshua Logan, a noted script doctor whose comedic sensibilities were incompatible with those of Brooks, and the difference in writing styles was obvious. Additionally, Logan's emerging bipolar disorder was beginning to affect his work. Once Ray Bolger agreed to play Fodorski, the script was tailored to showcase his talents, but turning the musical into a star vehicle for a performer who was no longer an audience favorite ultimately proved to be a mistake. [1]

Theatre writer Ken Mandelbaum noted that Brooks used his experience working on the show as a basis for his 1968 movie The Producers , in which an out-of-luck producer intentionally mounts a musical flop. [2]

Synopsis

Act 1 [3]

A group of immigrants arrives via plane in New York ("Melt Us"). Among them is Professor Stanislaus Fodorski, who has accepted a position as professor of engineering at a small college. Taking a bus to the campus, he marvels at the panorama passing by ("What a Country!"). He is greeted by the school's dean, Elizabeth Hawkes-Bullock. Surprised that the dean is a woman, he is even more surprised to learn he will be boarding in a room in her house. An accomplished author, he confesses doubt about his teaching skills, and she admits the school may not be strong academically, but needs more teachers who think of their students as "Our Children". Two of those students are confined to their respective dorm rooms after Doctor Snoops, professor of comparative religion, catches Ed Bricker climbing the ivy to visit Susan Thompson's room ("Animal Attraction").

Fodorski's first engineering class does not go over well with any of the students except Ed, who has always been interested in bridges ("We Speak the Same Language"). The professor's fears about his teaching skills vanish when he watches his first football game, which he sees as an example of applied engineering ("I Can Teach Them!"). He starts incorporating football strategy into his lessons, and soon all his students are engaged and learning ("It's Fun to Think"). The admiration between the dean and the professor grows, and one evening, they reminisce about past romances ("Once Upon a Time"). Less happy is Susan, still confined to her dorm room and unable to join in the "Nightlife" fun on campus, but her mood changes when Ed appears on her balcony trellis. After a short visit, he climbs down the ivy, ecstatic about their growing affection for each other ("I've Just Seen Her"), and is almost caught again by Dr. Snoops, but Dean Hawkes-Booth's sudden arrival allows Ed to slip away unnoticed.

Fodorski visits the gym to give a pep talk to Ed and the rest of the football team ("Physical Fitness"). The team's spirits are high on the day of the game against the school's rivals ("The Fight Song"), but their performance on the field is terrible. Coach "Hulk" Stockworth is knocked out by a charging player from the other side, and the only one who can take over is Fodorski. Following his advice to think of his legs as a giant lever, Ed kicks a 98-yard field goal, winning the game.

Act 2 [3]

Professor Fodorski's sudden rise to fame has been noticed by Henderson, the owner of an advertising company called Exploiters Unlimited. Henderson plots to exploit the professor, make much money, then get him deported. Back on campus, the big hero at the Homecoming Ball is Ed "Bricker-the-Kicker", who accepts an award for his game-winning kick, claiming that "I Couldn't Have Done It Alone." Outside the ball, Fodorski proposes to the dean, who happily accepts ("If I Were You"). Suddenly, Henderson appears with a different kind of proposal, to form a Fodorski Foundation, and after a little persuasion, the professor agrees ("Have a Dream").

The football team has been winning game after game, and they are soon heading for the Cotton Bowl. As their successes continue, Fodorski's name is being used to endorse hundreds of products, and his face is on the cover of many magazines ("I'm Fascinating"). Ed Bricker's ego has also grown with each win, and he has given up interest in engineering in favor of professional football.

Ed has also lost interest in Susan, who pleads for help from the dean. Feeling ignored by Fodorski, the dean shows up in Ed's dormitory with martinis and dressed seductively, planning to get him disqualified from the football team ("The Real Me"). Dr. Snoops arrives with the school president, who fires the dean. Hearing the news, Fodorski is shocked, and realizes he needs to make things right ("Which Way?"). He benches Ed so the school will lose the Cotton Bowl, thwarting Ed's hopes for a football career, and ruining Henderson as the Fodorski Foundation collapses. The two pairs of lovers reconcile, and with the dream of a football championship gone, the students go back to their studies, and Fodorski receives a letter granting his application for citizenship ("Finale").

Musical numbers

Productions

The Broadway production, directed by Logan and choreographed by Danny Daniels, opened on March 19, 1962, at the Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 80 performances. In addition to Bolger, the cast included Ron Husmann, Anita Gillette (Susan), Fritz Weaver, and Eileen Herlie. Bolger had not appeared on the stage in a decade, during which his appeal with audiences had declined. He tried to start a sing-along to "What a Country!" (which worked during "Once in Love with Amy" in the 1948 musical Where's Charley? , his biggest Broadway success), but audiences failed to join in. [2]

Reception

Reviews were mixed, though mostly unfavorable. Howard Taubman wrote in The New York Times that the main problem with the show "is that it's not sure whether it means to be sentimental, satirical or simply rowdy, and it ends by being dreary." Walter Kerr in the Herald Tribune said, "Mr. Bolger is never fascinating until he stands right up and tells you he is," and went on to praise Bolger's dance technique in the number "I'm Fascinating". [5]

Logan and Bolger were each nominated for 1962 Tony Awards. [6]

Recordings

An original cast album was released by Columbia Masterworks Records. The songs "Animal Attraction", "I Can Teach Them!", "I've Just Seen Him", and several reprises were not included. [7] A CD reissue released by Sony Broadway in 1992 contains a 42-page booklet of liner notes, including a plot synopsis. [3]

In 1962, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra released All American in Jazz featuring big-band arrangements of the show's tunes. [8]

In 2006, Harbinger Records released a CD entitled All American Live Backers Audition, a recording of a session for potential financial investors featuring Adams and Strouse performing their score, including songs cut prior to opening night, with Adams providing a running commentary between the numbers. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hello, Dolly!</i> (musical) 1964 Broadway musical

Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955. The musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Bolger</span> American actor (1904–1987)

Raymond Wallace Bolger was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer who started his movie career in the silent-film era.

<i>Lil Abner</i> (musical) American musical based on comic strip by Al Capp

Li'l Abner is a 1956 musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Based on the comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies, but it is also a pointed satire on other topics, ranging from American politics and incompetence in the United States federal government to propriety and gender roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Logan</span> American director and writer (1908-1988)

Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical South Pacific and was involved in writing other musicals.

<i>Bye Bye Birdie</i> 1960 musical

Bye Bye Birdie is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Strouse</span> American composer and lyricist

Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie.

Lee Richard Adams is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse.

<i>New Faces of 1952</i>

New Faces of 1952 is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954. It helped launch the careers of several young performers including Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence, Ronny Graham, performer/writer Mel Brooks, and lyricist Sheldon Harnick.

<i>Good News</i> (musical)

Good News is a musical with a book by Laurence Schwab and B.G. DeSylva, lyrics by DeSylva and Lew Brown, and music by Ray Henderson. The story is set in the Roaring Twenties at Tait College, where football star Tom Marlowe falls in love with studious Connie Lane, who is tutoring him so he can pass astronomy and be eligible to play in the big game.

"Once Upon a Time" is a song composed by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams, from the 1962 musical All American. It describes the loss of love over time. In the musical, the song was performed by Ray Bolger and Eileen Herlie, and their version appears on the Broadway Cast recording. It has been sung by Eddie Fisher, Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Scott Bakula and Bob Dylan among others.

<i>Its a Bird... Its a Plane... Its Superman</i> 1966 Broadway Musical based on Superman

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman is a 1966 musical composed by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. It is based on the comic book character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics.

<i>I and Albert</i>

I and Albert is a 1972 musical by composer Charles Strouse, and lyricist Lee Adams. The plot is based on the lives of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was adapted for the stage by Jay Presson Allen.

Irwin Kostal was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals.

<i>Fanny</i> (musical)

Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of works titled Marius (1929), Fanny (1931), and César (1936).

<i>Mr. President</i> (musical)

Mr. President is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The story focuses on fictional US President Stephen Decatur Henderson, who runs into political trouble following a disastrous trip to the Soviet Union and his problems with his children. Bored with life as a civilian after his presidency ends, he decides to return to political life.

<i>A Broadway Musical</i>

A Broadway Musical is a musical with a book by William F. Brown, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The Broadway production closed after 14 previews and only one performance on December 21, 1978.

<i>The Band Wagon</i> (musical)

The Band Wagon is a musical revue with book by Walter Thomson and Howard Dietz, lyrics also by Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It first played on Broadway in 1931, running for 260 performances. It introduced the song "Dancing in the Dark" and inspired two films.

<i>Rosalie</i> (film) 1937 film by W. S. Van Dyke

Rosalie is a 1937 American musical film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Eleanor Powell, Nelson Eddy and Frank Morgan. An adaptation of the 1928 stage musical of the same name, the film was released in December 1937. The film follows the story of the musical, but replaces most of the Broadway score with new songs by Cole Porter. The story involves the romantic entanglements of a princess in disguise and a West Point cadet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Applause (Bonnie Franklin song)</span> 1970 single by Bonnie Franklin

"Applause" is the title song from the 1970 Broadway musical Applause, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, originally performed by Bonnie Franklin, who originated the role of Bonnie in the musical, and recorded as a single with orchestra and chorus conducted by Donald Pippin. The single was released with a B-side featuring the star of the production, Lauren Bacall, making her musical theatre debut, performing "Something Greater" together with Len Cariou. The single's popularity led to Franklin's being invited to perform it on the 24th Tony Awards broadcast on television, where the show gained Best Musical, Bacall Best Leading Actress in a Musical, but Bonnie Franklin missed out on the best supporting actress to Melba Moore.

<i>Parade</i> (revue)

Parade is a musical revue with book, music, and lyrics by Jerry Herman.

References

  1. ↑ Leuven, Holly Van (2019-02-01). Ray Bolger: More than a Scarecrow. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-063905-1.
  2. 1 2 Mandelbaum, Ken. Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops, St. Martin's Press (1991) ISBN   0-312-06428-4, p. 56
  3. 1 2 3 Deutsch, Didier. Liner Notes to All American, original cast recording (1962), re-released on CD by Sony Records (1992)
  4. 1 2 ​All American​ at the Internet Broadway Database List of Songs, All American, IBDB, retrieved June 15, 2015
  5. ↑ Suskin, Steven. "Opening Night on Broadway", Schirmer Books (1990) ISBN   0-02-872625-1, pp. 36–37
  6. ↑ "All American Broadway", Playbillvault.com, accessed August 25, 2015
  7. ↑ Original Broadway Cast Recording songs listing:
  8. ↑ Cast Albums Database, accessed August 17, 2016.
  9. ↑ Suskin, Steven. "On the Record: Dream True and An All American Backer’s Audition" Archived 2006-10-23 at the Wayback Machine , Playbill, July 23, 2006, accessed June 23, 2015
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.