Mr. President (musical)

Last updated
Mr. President
MrPresidentLP.jpg
Original Cast Recording
Music Irving Berlin
Lyrics Irving Berlin
Book Howard Lindsay
Russel Crouse
Productions1962 Broadway

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.

Contents

The original 1962 Broadway production ran for 265 performances and starred Robert Ryan and Nanette Fabray. The show was Irving Berlin's last musical.

Synopsis

President Stephen Decatur Henderson is a true patriot and loves his family. His daughter Leslie has recently had a series of romantic liaisons, some liberal and some conservative. Her newest romance is with Youssein Davair, the son of a Middle Eastern ruler; the sincerity of his affection is questionable. Pat Gregory, a Secret Service agent, has watched Leslie grow up and has fallen in love with her but doesn't believe that she could be interested in a simple guy like him. With the Cold War as a backdrop, Henderson, together with Nell, his First Lady, and their children go on a "good-will tour" of Europe, including the Soviet Union. Henderson gets in trouble for jokingly comparing the Soviet leader to a "wild cat". But the President lands in Moscow anyhow and gives a conciliatory and humanizing speech, assisted by his Russian-speaking son Larry, that earns the respect of the Soviets. Nevertheless, back at home, the gaffe plagues him and hurts his party's popularity. Larry is a bit of a hot-head and punches the party chairman on TV to defend his father. The presidential term of office ends, and the Hendersons leave the White House.

In Act II, Henderson finds his post-politics life in Ohio mundane. The family is invited to a party at the White House, and there Leslie finds that Youssein is now interested in Betty Chandler, the daughter of the new President, and so they break up. Leslie leaves the party with Pat. Meanwhile, one of Ohio's senators dies, and the governor asks Henderson to finish his term of office. Henderson yearns to return to public life, but he questions the governor's motives and declines the job. Soon afterwards, however, another opportunity comes: the new President asks Henderson to attend an international summit meeting on behalf of the US, because of the respect that he commands in the Soviet Union.

Original cast and characters

CharacterBroadway (1962) [1]
President Stephen Decatur Henderson Robert Ryan
First Lady Nell Henderson Nanette Fabray
Leslie Henderson (First Daughter) Anita Gillette
Harmon Bardahl / Manager; Governor David Brooks
Youssein Davair (Son of a Middle Eastern ruler) Jack Washburn
Pat Gregory (of the Secret Service) Jack Haskell
Charley Wayne (of the Secret Service) Stanley Grover
Larry Henderson (First Son)Jerry Stickler
Betty Chandler (new First Daughter)Carol Lee Jensen
Tippy Taylor (a secretary)Charlotte Fairchild
Princess KyraWisa D'Orso
Chester Kincaid John Cecil Holm
Deborah Chakronin (East Indian Marching Team Leader) Baayork Lee

Musical numbers

Productions

The musical had its first out-of-town tryout in Boston beginning on August 27, 1962 and was coolly received. [2] After extensive cuts and revisions, it was given another tryout at the National Theatre in Washington, DC, on September 25, 1962 which was attended by President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. The first couple congratulated Berlin on a hit. Kennedy later sent his aides, Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David Powers, to apologize to Berlin for his having to leave the performance early. [3] This day of Kennedy's presidency is the one featured in an exhibit at the JFK Museum and Library.[ citation needed ] The Washington reviews "were lukewarm and even negative. The word 'corny' stuck, and was repeated again and again." [2]

After four previews, the Broadway production, directed by Joshua Logan and choreographed by Peter Gennaro, opened on October 20, 1962 at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 265 performances. The cast included Robert Ryan, Nanette Fabray, David Brooks, Jack Haskell, Anita Gillette, John Cecil Holm and Baayork Lee. The musical premiered in a Broadway season dominated by hits like Oliver! , A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Stop the World – I Want to Get Off . Mr. President received unenthusiastic reviews. Although Berlin's score was praised, the show "was just too old-fashioned and out of date." [2] Berlin continued to work, revising Annie Get Your Gun and writing songs, such as for the film project Say It With Music (which was never produced), but "Broadway would never again see a truly Berlin work on the stage". Mr. President was the final Lindsay and Crouse collaboration. [4]

In 1964, former President Harry S. Truman made an opening night cameo appearance in a production of the show at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. He left by ambulance at intermission due to an appendicitis attack. [5]

Gerard Alessandrini extensively revised the book and converted the plot into a spoof of the 2000 Presidential election debacle. After thirty previews, it opened on August 2, 2001 at the Off-Broadway Douglas Fairbanks Theater where, hampered by reviews worse than those received by the original, it closed after only ten performances. [6] Ben Brantley, in his review for The New York Times , wrote that the musical "feels tired". [7] [8] However, the TheaterMania reviewers noted that, while "the overall tenor of the satire here is soft," it has "surprisingly buoyant appeal. It remains bubbly and effervescent thanks to the peppy, imaginative direction supplied by the team of John Znidarsic and Alessandrini." [9]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
1963 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Nanette Fabray Nominated
Best Conductor and Musical Director Jay Blackton Nominated
Best Stage Technician Solly Pernick Won

Related Research Articles

<i>Follies</i> 1971 musical by Stephen Sondheim

Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.

<i>Road Show</i> (musical) Musical by Stephen Sondheim

Road Show is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman. It tells the story of Addison Mizner and his brother Wilson Mizner's adventures across America from the beginning of the twentieth century during the Klondike gold rush to the Florida real estate boom of the 1920s. The musical takes considerable liberties with the facts of the brothers' lives.

<i>High Button Shoes</i> Musical

High Button Shoes is a 1947 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel The Sisters Liked Them Handsome by Stephen Longstreet. The story concerns the comic entanglements of the Longstreet family with two con men in Atlantic City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lapine</span> American stage director and librettist

James Elliot Lapine is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Beth Peil</span> American actress and singer (born 1940)

Mary Beth Peil is an American actress and soprano. She began her career as an opera singer in 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater. In 1964 she won two major singing competitions, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; the latter of which earned her a contract with the Metropolitan Opera National Company with whom she performed in two seasons of national tours as a leading soprano from 1965 to 1967. She continued to perform in operas through the 1970s, notably creating the role of Alma in the world premiere of Lee Hoiby's Summer and Smoke at the Minnesota Opera in 1971. She later recorded that role for American television in 1982. With that same opera company she transitioned into musical theatre, performing the title role of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate in 1983. Later that year she joined the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I as Anna Leonowens opposite Yul Brynner, and continued with that production when it opened on Broadway on January 7, 1985. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Foster</span> American actor

Hunter Foster is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanette Fabray</span> American actress, singer and dancer (1920-2018)

Nanette Fabray was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress during the 1940s and 1950s, acclaimed for her role in High Button Shoes (1947) and winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her performance in Love Life. In the mid-1950s, she served as Sid Caesar's comedic partner on Caesar's Hour, for which she won three Emmy Awards, and appeared with Fred Astaire in the film musical The Band Wagon. From 1979 to 1984, she played Katherine Romano, the mother of lead character Ann Romano, on the TV series One Day at a Time. She also appeared as the mother of Christine Armstrong in the television series Coach.

This is a selected list of the longest-running musical theatre productions in history divided into two sections. The first section lists all Broadway and West End productions of musicals that have exceeded 2,500 performances, in order of greatest number of performances in either market. The second section lists, in alphabetical order, musicals that have broken historical long run records for musical theatre on Broadway, in the West End or Off-Broadway, since 1866, in alphabetical order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Lindsay</span> American dramatist (1889–1968)

Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse, and for his performance, with his wife Dorothy Stickney, in the long-running play Life with Father.

Lindsay and Crouse was the writing team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, who collaborated famously on a succession of Broadway plays and musicals for 27 years during the mid 20th century. Their first collaboration was the rewriting of the book for the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes in 1935. They continued to co-pen books for Broadway musicals through 1962, including Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in 1959. They also penned several successful comedies; notably winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945 for their original play State of the Union. Several of their works were adapted into motion pictures. The team also co-produced the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace by playwright Joseph Kesselring.

Walter Bobbie is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City Center Encores! concert series. He directed the long-running Broadway revival of the musical Chicago. His most well-known acting role was Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls.

<i>Mrs Henderson Presents</i> 2005 film by Stephen Frears

Mrs Henderson Presents is a 2005 biographical musical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Martin Sherman. It stars Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Will Young. It tells the true story of Laura Henderson, an eccentric British socialite who opened the Windmill Theatre in London in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Box Theatre</span> Broadway theater in Manhattan, New York

The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspired style and was constructed for Irving Berlin and Sam H. Harris. It has 1,025 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McMartin</span> American actor

John Francis McMartin was an American actor of stage, film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Luker</span> American actress (1961–2020)

Rebecca Luker was an American actress, singer, and recording artist, noted for her "crystal clear operatic soprano" and for maintaining long runs in Broadway musicals over the course of her three-decade-long career. The New York Times compared her to actresses such as Barbara Cook and Julie Andrews.

<i>As Thousands Cheer</i> Musical

As Thousands Cheer is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, including "Heat Wave", "Easter Parade" and "Harlem on my Mind". The sketches were loosely based on the news and the lives and affairs of the rich and famous, as well as other prominent personalities of the day, such as Joan Crawford, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Noël Coward, Josephine Baker, and Aimee Semple McPherson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Alessandrini</span> American dramatist

Gerard Alessandrini is an American playwright, parodist, actor and theatre director best known for creating the award-winning off-Broadway musical theatre parody revue Forbidden Broadway. He is the recipient of Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, an Obie Award, four Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and two Lucille Lortel Awards, as well as the Drama League Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Danieley</span> American actor

Jason D. Danieley is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was married to fellow performer Marin Mazzie.

<i>White Christmas</i> (musical) Musical by Irving Berlin, David Ives and Paul Blake

White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The book is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The original St. Louis production starred Lara Teeter, Karen Mason, Lauren Kennedy, and Lee Roy Reams, and the 2004 San Francisco production starred Brian D'Arcy James, Anastasia Barzee, Meredith Patterson, and Jeffry Denman.

JenniferDamiano is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 2006 as an ensemble member in the original production of Spring Awakening, and went on to originate the role of Natalie Goodman in the musical Next to Normal, for which she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees for the award at age 17. Her other Broadway roles include Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in 2011 and Jean in the 2016 musical American Psycho, in addition to a number of roles off-Broadway.

References

  1. Playbill listing of original cast, accessed July 16, 2023
  2. 1 2 3 Laurance, Rita. "Mr. President". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  3. "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye" 1970, Kenneth P. O'Donnell; David Powers; Joe McCarthy
  4. Magee, Jeffrey. "Irving Berlin's American Musical Theater", Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN   0199911630, pp. 298, 300
  5. "History About The KC Starlight Theatre". www.kcstarlight.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14.
  6. "Mr. President". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  7. Brantley, Ben (August 6, 2001). "THEATER REVIEW; Names Change; White House Doesn't". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  8. Jones, Kenneth (August 2, 2001). "The Alessandrini-fied Mr. President Opens Off-Broadway Aug. 2". Playbill. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  9. Barbara, Siegel; Scott, Siegel (August 3, 2001). "Mr. President". TheaterMania.