Flora the Red Menace | |
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Music | John Kander |
Lyrics | Fred Ebb |
Book | George Abbott and Robert Russell revised by David Thompson |
Basis | Love is Just Around the Corner by Lester Atwell |
Productions | 1965 Broadway 1987 off-Broadway |
Flora the Red Menace is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Robert Russell, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The original 1965 production starred Liza Minnelli in the title role in her Broadway debut, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. This was the first collaboration between Kander and Ebb, who later wrote Broadway and Hollywood hits such as Cabaret and Chicago .
Although not full of well-known numbers ("A Quiet Thing" and "Sing Happy" aside), the score does present a valuable insight into the later work of Kander and Ebb. Like Cabaret and Chicago, it features a headstrong heroine and has a strong dose of political content.
Flora the Red Menace opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on May 11, 1965, and closed on July 24, 1965, after 87 performances. The cast featured Liza Minnelli as Flora, Bob Dishy as Harry Toukarian and Cathryn Damon as Comrade Charlotte. Direction was by George Abbott, choreography by Lee Theodore, with scenic design by William and Jean Eckart, costume design by Donald Brooks and lighting design by Tharon Musser.
Liza Minnelli won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the youngest person to have done so at age 19.
Flora was not written for Minnelli, as is sometimes said; Robert Russell was rumored to have written the show as a vehicle for Barbra Streisand. George Abbott became involved, thinking it would be a vehicle for Eydie Gormé. Receiving promising out-of-town reviews in New Haven and Boston, the show was recorded two days before its Broadway opening. However, the New York critics were not enthusiastic, and when it closed it had lost almost all of its $400,000 investment. [1]
The New York Times reviewer wrote: "The voice [of Minnelli] is not yet distinctive ... She is going to be a popular singer, all right. It [Flora the Red Menace] has the appearance of being pasted together with bits and pieces. A promising idea has not been enlivened by a creative spark." [2]
The musical was revived at the off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre in December 1987 with a new book by David Thompson. Directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, Flora was played by Veanne Cox with Peter Frechette as Harry. [3] In the Vineyard Theatre revival, the story was told as though in a presentation by the Federal Theatre Project, part of the WPA established by President Roosevelt (voiced by Art Carney). A company of actors played all the roles, with obvious props and scenery, not trying to hide the "amateur" look and feel of the show.
Other notable productions include:
In the winter of 1935, many people are unemployed due to the Great Depression, yet they seem to have hope ("Prologue"). Valedictorian and future fashion designer Flora Meszaros inspires and leads her graduating class in taking charge of the future before them ("Unafraid"). She applies at Gimbel's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Altman's before finally applying at Garret and Mellick's where she meets Harry Toukarian, a fellow artist who stutters when he's nervous. When she learns that the boss, Mr. Stanley, isn't hiring, Flora tries impressing the secretary by saying that she is "the most amazing miss in all of New York City." ("The Kid Herself"). During the song, Flora, Harry and the other artists sneak their designs into a box of Mr. Stanley's merchandise, and after the secretary kicks them out, Flora asks Harry to coffee. The coffee date conversation starts about Flora's previous employer, who paid her through the barter system and she ended up having to dig cemetery plots. Harry asks why she didn't strike, and explains the concept to her after she shows incomprehension. This ends up with Flora punching Harry in the face and, after initial refusal, taking him to her studio. Flora rents out her studio to other artists, like a dancer named Maggie and her ex-boyfriend Kenny ("All I Need is One Good Break").
Headstrong wannabe fashion designer Flora Meszaros is a member of an artists' co-operative of bohemian types – dancers, musicians, designers – struggling to find work during the Great Depression. Hoping to find a job which pays at least $15 a week, she is hired by the head of a large department store at $30. She falls in love with Harry Toukarian, another struggling designer, who attempts to convert Flora to his communist ideals.
Although it compromises her job in an organization that does not recognize the new unions, she seeks to hold down both job and relationship. Complicating matters is a predatory communist matriarch, Comrade Charlotte, who wants Harry for herself, a secretary with designs on her boss, and Kenny and Maggie, a jazz dancing duo with their sights on greater things. In the end, however, Flora finds herself torn between two vastly different ideals, and has to sacrifice one or the other for true happiness.
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The original Broadway cast recording was released by RCA Victor Broadway in May 1965; a CD was released March 10, 1992. [7]
The 1987 off-Broadway cast recording is also available on CD. [8]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
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1965 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Liza Minnelli | Won |
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades, and is one of the few performers awarded a non-competitive EGOT. Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour and subject of the 2024 documentary, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.
George Francis Abbott was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1982. the National Medal of Arts in 1990. and was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Known primarily for their stage musicals, which include Cabaret and Chicago, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies, including Martin Scorsese's New York, New York. Their most famous song is the theme song of that movie. Recorded by many artists, "New York, New York" became a signature song for Frank Sinatra. The team also became associated with two actresses, Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, for whom they wrote a considerable amount of material for the stage, concerts and television.
John Harold Kander is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb, Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including Cabaret (1966) and Chicago (1975), both of which were later adapted into acclaimed films. He and Ebb also wrote the standard "New York, New York". The team also received numerous nominations, which include five additional Tony Awards, two Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.
Chicago is a 1975 American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the Jazz Age, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same title by Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals and crimes on which she reported. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal".
Cabaret is a 1972 American musical period drama film directed by Bob Fosse from a screenplay by Jay Allen, based on the stage musical of the same name by John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff, which in turn was based on the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten and the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. It stars Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Marisa Berenson, and Joel Grey. Multiple numbers from the stage score were used for the film, which also featured three other songs by Kander and Ebb, including two written for the adaptation.These are: "Mein Herr" – Sung by the character Sally Bowles, it’s one of the most iconic numbers and was written specifically for the film. "Money, Money" – A duet between the Emcee and Sally Bowles, this song was also created for the film adaptation. "Maybe This Time" – Although not originally part of Cabaret the stage musical, this song was written earlier by Kander and Ebb and was added to the film for Liza Minnelli’s character, Sally.
Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Crazy for You, Contact, The Producers, The Frogs, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and New York, New York.
New York, New York is a 1977 American romantic musical film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Earl Mac Rauch and Mardik Martin, based on a story by Rauch. John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote several songs for the film, including "New York, New York" which became a global phenomenon. A tribute to Scorsese's home town of New York City, the film stars Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro as a pair of musicians and lovers.
The Act is a musical with a book by George Furth, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander.
The Rink is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, the tenth Kander and Ebb collaboration.
David Thompson is an American writer, playwright, and producer. His notable theater productions include Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys, The Prince of Broadway, and New York, New York.
And the World Goes 'Round is a musical revue showcasing the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The revue takes its title from a tune the songwriting team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the film New York, New York.
Liza's at the Palace.... was a concert presented by Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre on Broadway from December 3, 2008 through January 4, 2009. It was produced by John Scher and Metropolitan Talent Presents.
Liza with a "Z" is a 1972 concert film made for television, starring Liza Minnelli, produced by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing partner John Kander. All four had recently completed the successful film adaptation of Cabaret. According to Minnelli, Liza with a "Z" was "the first filmed concert on television". Singer sponsored the production, even though producers did their best to prevent the sponsors from seeing rehearsals, fearing they would back out due to Minnelli's short skirts.
Liza! Liza! is the debut studio album by American singer Liza Minnelli. It was released on October 12, 1964, by Capitol Records. The album contains her interpretations of twelve pop standards. It was recorded in June 1964 at Capitol Records' New York studio at 151 West 46th Street.
Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace was a concert presented by Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre on Broadway from December 8, 1999 through January 2, 2000. The show consisted of songs featured in films directed by her father, Vincente Minnelli (1903–1986).
Live at Carnegie Hall is the fourth live album by American singer Liza Minnelli. Released by the Altel Sound Systems record company in 1981, it was her first and only release under that label.
"Maybe This Time" is a song written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, popularized by Liza Minnelli in the 1972 film Cabaret.