| Hazel Flagg | |
|---|---|
 Original cast recording | |
| Music | Jule Styne |
| Lyrics | Bob Hilliard |
| Book | Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street |
| Basis | Film Nothing Sacred |
| Productions | 1953 Broadway |
Hazel Flagg is a 1953 musical, book by Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street. The lyrics are by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred , the primary screenwriter of which was Ben Hecht. [1]
The musical opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on February 11 and closed on September 19, 1953, after 190 performances. [2] Direction was by David Alexander, with musical staging by Robert Alton and costumes by Miles White. [2] [3]
The cast included Helen Gallagher (Hazel), John Howard (Wallace Cook), Thomas Mitchell (Dr. Downer), Benay Venuta (Laura Carew), Jack Whiting (mayor of New York), Ross Martin (Dr. Egelhofer), Jonathan Harris (Oleander), Sheree North in her Broadway debut (Whitey), and John Brascia (Willie). [2] [4]
Paramount Pictures, which owned the rights to the source material for Nothing Sacred, also acquired the rights to produce a film version of Hazel Flagg. The Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film Living It Up (1954) is based on the musical, [2] with Hazel Flagg rewritten as a man, Homer Flagg (played by Lewis) and Wallace Cook rewritten as a woman, Wally Cook (played by Janet Leigh). The one hit song from Hazel Flagg, "Every Street's a Boulevard in Old New York", was performed in this movie by Martin and Lewis. [5]
Wallace Cook, a writer for Everywhere magazine, suggests that his editor should run an article about small-town girl Hazel Flagg, purportedly dying from exposure to radium. Cook invites her to New York City for an interview. After accepting, she discovers that she was misdiagnosed, but eager to visit the big city, decides not to reveal the truth, and becomes a media darling embraced by a public deeply moved by her sad story.
Sources: Dietz, Dan (2014) The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals; [2] Guide to Musical Theatre website [3]
|
|
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan. The ceremony is usually held in June.
The Front Page is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times. The play entered the public domain in the United States in 2024.
The Band Wagon is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will revive his career. However, the play's director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of the Faust legend and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star. Along with An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952), it is regarded as one of the finest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was a box-office disappointment on first release.
Shirley Booth was an American actress. One of 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony 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.
Nothing Sacred is a 1937 American Technicolor screwball comedy film directed by William A. Wellman, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March with a supporting cast featuring Charles Winninger and Walter Connolly. Ben Hecht was credited with the screenplay based on the 1937 story "Letter to the Editor" by James H. Street, and an array of additional writers, including Ring Lardner Jr., Budd Schulberg, Dorothy Parker, Sidney Howard, Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman and Robert Carson made uncredited contributions.
Sheree North was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe.
Pipe Dream is the seventh 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 novel Sweet Thursday—Steinbeck wrote the novel, a sequel to Cannery Row, in the hope of having it adapted into a musical. Set in Monterey, California, the musical tells the story of the romance between Doc, a marine biologist, and Suzy, who in the novel is a prostitute; her profession is only alluded to in the stage work. Pipe Dream was not an outright flop but was a financial disaster for Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Living It Up is a 1954 American comedy film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis which was released by Paramount Pictures.
Minnie's Boys is a musical with a book by Arthur Marx and Robert Fisher, music by Larry Grossman, and lyrics by Hal Hackady.
Platinum is a stage musical with a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, music by Gary William Friedman, and lyrics by Holt.
Say, Darling is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Richard and Marian Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. While the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne, all the songs are presented as either rehearsal or audition material.
Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the discoverer of Gene Kelly, for his collaborations with Fred Astaire, and for choreographic sequences he designed for Hollywood musicals such as The Harvey Girls (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Show Boat (1951), and White Christmas (1954).
Peter Randolph Johl was an American actor and singer who enjoyed a long career on Broadway, in touring companies, and off-Broadway. His wide voice range enabled him to sing a broad variety of roles in opera, sacred music, as well as musicals. As an actor, he was equally comfortable performing in Shakespearian or modern roles.
Judy Gordon is an American theater producer of plays and musicals on Broadway and off-Broadway as well as internationally. Her productions include the musical Barnum with music by Cy Coleman, starring Jim Dale and Glenn Close on Broadway and Michael Crawford in London. She also produced A History of the American Film by Christopher Durang on Broadway, and 2x5 by John Kander and Fred Ebb off Broadway.
Fine and Dandy is a musical comedy in two acts with a book by Donald Ogden Stewart, music by Kay Swift and lyrics by Paul James. It was produced on Broadway in 1930.
Jack Whiting was an American actor, singer and dancer whose career ran from the early 1920s through the late 1950s, playing leading men or major supporting figures.
Jack Waldron was an American actor-comedian, singer and dancer.
The Liar is a musical comedy in two acts with a book by Alfred Drake and Edward Eager, music by John Mundy and lyrics by Mr. Eager. It was produced on Broadway in 1950.
