Breakfast at Tiffany's | |
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Music | Bob Merrill |
Lyrics | Bob Merrill |
Book | Edward Albee |
Basis | Truman Capote novella and 1961 film of the same name |
Productions | 1966 Broadway (did not officially open) 2013 London |
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a musical with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill and a book originally by Abe Burrows but rewritten during pre-Broadway tryouts by Edward Albee. It is based on the 1958 Truman Capote novella and 1961 film of the same name about a free spirit named Holly Golightly.
After tryouts in Philadelphia and Boston, and only four previews on Broadway in 1966, the show was closed by producer David Merrick at a total financial loss. Its only revival was a staged concert in 2013 at a 200-seat venue in London. A studio recording was released in 2001.
The musical is one of the most notorious fiascos in Broadway history. William Goldman called it a "legendary production" meaning "a certain kind of Broadway show that by virtue of its birth agonies and the resulting publicity achieves an immortality most productions never dare aspire to." (Other examples he gave were Buttrio Square and Portofino .) [1]
The original cast included Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Chamberlain, Sally Kellerman, Larry Kert and Priscilla Lopez. The production was designed by Oliver Smith, directed by Joseph Anthony and choreographed by Michael Kidd with assistance from Tony Mordente, and produced by David Merrick. [2] [3] Despite the impressive list of collaborators, the project never gelled. It underwent constant and massive changes in its script and score during out-of-town tryouts. The original book by Abe Burrows was seen in Philadelphia, then scrapped completely, and Edward Albee, an unlikely choice, was hired to re-write before a Boston tryout. Burrows was the original director but left when Albee was brought in. He was replaced by Joseph Anthony. [3] On a daily basis, the cast was given new material hours before curtain time, and the piece was overly long, running nearly four hours. Burrows's departure resulted in low morale among cast members, and Moore was convinced that Merrick planned to fire her soon after opening night. [4]
Its original title, Holly Golightly, was changed when it started previews on December 12, 1966, on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre. Despite a healthy advance sale and much audience anticipation, it closed four nights later without having officially opened. Merrick placed an infamous ad in The New York Times, announcing that he shut down the production "rather than subject the drama critics and the public to an excruciatingly boring evening." [3] [4]
In 2013, the musical was revived for the first time, using Burrows's book, under the title Holly Golightly, at the 200-seat Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, as part of Ian Marshall Fisher's "Lost Musicals" staged concert series. One reviewer wrote: "the show never seems to come alive [and though] worth excavating out of interest in the form, it is not clear whether it is stageworthy." [5]
Before closing, a live recording was made of the musical numbers, excerpts of which eventually were released on LP. In 2001, a studio recording with Faith Prince, John Schneider, Hal Linden, Patrick Cassidy, and original cast member Kellerman was released on the Original Cast label. This recording includes musical numbers that were seen in both the tryouts and in the New York production. [6] [2]
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A new version, based on Capote's novella, titled Breakfast at Tiffany's, was adapted by Richard Greenberg (book) with "songs from the era as well as original music by Grant Olding". According to The Telegraph, "The show has been described as a play with songs." It debuted on Broadway in 2013, then later produced at the Curve Leicester in March 2016, [7] and then toured in the UK and Ireland from 2 May to 11 June 2016, with Pixie Lott, Emily Atack and Verity Rushworth sharing the role of "Holly Golightly". [8] The show played the West End at the Theatre Royal Haymarket 30 June to 17 September 2016. [9] [10]
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, written by George Axelrod, adapted from Truman Capote's 1958 novella of the same name, and starring Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, a naïve, eccentric café society girl who falls in love with a struggling writer while attempting to marry for money. It was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures on October 5, 1961, to critical and commercial success.
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film Nights of Cabiria. However, whereas Federico Fellini's black-and-white film concerns the romantic ups-and-downs of an ever-hopeful prostitute, in the musical the central character is a dancer-for-hire at a Times Square dance hall. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, where it was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning the Tony Award for Best Choreography. The production also ran in the West End as well as having revivals and international productions.
Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story Ninotchka and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired. It ran on Broadway in 1955. This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.
Lawrence Frederick Kert was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role of Tony in the original Broadway production of the musical West Side Story. He was nominated for a Tony Award (1971) for his work in the musical comedy Company (1970).
Joan Hume McCracken was an American dancer and actress who became famous for her role as Sylvie in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma! She also was noted for her performances in the Broadway shows Bloomer Girl (1944), Billion Dollar Baby (1945) and Dance Me a Song (1950), and the films Hollywood Canteen (1945) and Good News (1947).
Carol Grace was an American actress and author. She is often referred to as Carol Marcus Saroyan or Carol Matthau.
The Grass Harp is a novel by Truman Capote published on October 1, 1951. It tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a tree. They eventually leave their temporary retreat to make amends with each other and other members of society.
Verity Charlotte Rushworth is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Donna Windsor in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 1998 to 2009, with a guest appearance in 2014. She has played many theatre roles throughout the UK, including two leading roles in West End theatre productions. From 2020 to 2021, she appeared in the BBC medical soap opera Doctors as Lily Walker.
Breakfast at Tiffany's may refer to:
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote published in 1958. In it, a contemporary writer recalls his early days in New York City, when he makes the acquaintance of his remarkable neighbor, Holly Golightly, who is one of Capote's best-known creations. In 1961 it was adapted into a major motion picture of the same name.
House of Flowers is a musical by Harold Arlen and Truman Capote. A short story of the same name was published in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958).
Ken Mandelbaum is an American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre.
Lauren Kennedy is an American actress and singer who has performed numerous times on Broadway. She is now the producing artistic director of Theatre Raleigh in her home state of North Carolina.
Curve Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Before being named Curve, it was referred to as Leicester Performing Arts Centre. It is adjacent to the Leicester Athena conference and banqueting centre.
Victoria Louise Lott, known professionally as Pixie Lott, is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and former ballet dancer. Her debut album, Turn It Up, released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.5 million copies. It also spawned six consecutive top twenty singles on the UK Singles Chart, including two number-one singles, "Mama Do " and "Boys and Girls".
Original Cast Records is a record label based in Georgetown, Connecticut, that specializes in obscure theatre recordings, primarily cast albums from little-known Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway and other stage productions, but also theatre-related film scores, cabaret, concert and solo artist recordings. It traces its origins back to 1975, when husband-and-wife theatre enthusiasts Bruce and Doris Yeko embarked on a venture "dedicated to the preserving of musicals that would not otherwise be recorded".
Eddie Korbich is an American actor, singer and dancer. He was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
Holly Golightly may refer to:
Kendal Conrad is an American country music singer-songwriter.
Marguerite Lamkin Brown Harrity Littman was an American-British socialite and HIV/AIDS activist. As a Southern American accent coach she is known to have coached actors including Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. Littman is remembered for her role in HIV/AIDS advocacy, including fundraising for charities.