In 1905 London, Priam Farll is an artist, brilliant, unconventional and shy, although he can be violently outspoken. He once offended Queen Victoria and was exiled to the South Pacific (shades of Gauguin), but Edward VII has succeeded to the throne, and Farll has been recalled to London to receive a knighthood.
Appalled by "society's" expectations of its "darling of the day" (a common Victorian/Edwardian term meaning something like "fashionable celebrity") Farll seizes the chance to "get out of the world alive" when his faithful butler Henry Leek suddenly dies, and their identities are confused by an official. Instead of correcting the error, Farll quietly assumes the identity of the deceased, and Leek's corpse is officially buried in Westminster Abbey as the famous artist.
He soon finds himself married to Alice Challice, a bright, well-to-do widow who had been corresponding with the real Henry Leek – and settles down to a happy "upper working class" existence. Farll continues to paint, and when his wife runs into financial difficulties he sells a few paintings. Complications naturally ensue, and his "cover" becomes increasingly flimsy. Just as it looks as if he will be compelled to resume his real identity, a piece of truly Gilbertian nonsense brings all to a satisfactory conclusion, and he is allowed to stay plain Henry Leek after all.
There had been discussions since 1964 to turn the novel Buried Alive into a musical. The book was first written by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, with Peter Wood to direct and Geraldine Page to star, from lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and music by Jules Styne (who had suggested Harburg). However then S. N. Behrman wrote a new book, and Albert Marre was hired to direct. Fred Saidy also worked on the book Eventually Nunnally Johnson - who had adapted the novel into the film Holy Matrimony - wrote the book, and Steven Vinaver directed. Various actors turned down the lead including Laurence Olivier, Peter Finch, Rex Harrison and John Gielgud. The leads were given to Vincent Price and Patricia Routledge.[2]
The show marked Vincent Price's first appearance on Broadway since 1954. It was budgeted at $500,000, $150,000 of which came from a record sale to RCA.[3]
The show previewed in Toronto under the title Married Alive (it was also known as The Great Adventure). Johnson felt Price played his role too sympathetically:
Ninety-nine out of one hundred actors want to be loved. They've just killed their mothers, their fathers, three children, but they want to be loved. I talked to him about it beforehand. He looked so good for the part, and I said, 'Have you heard of Beecham, the conductor?' He said, 'Oh, yes, yes, yes.' I said, 'Try to think of yourself as Beecham, very cultivated, very aristocratic, egotistical, acrid, a little nasty. Play it that way.' 'Wonderful,' he said, and then he went out and played it like Zasu Pitts."9[4]
The musical finally reached New York City where, following three previews, it opened on January 27, 1968, at the George Abbott Theatre and closed after only 31 performances. Choreography was by Lee Theodore, staging by Noel Willman, scenic design by Oliver Smith, costumes by Raoul Pene Du Bois, and lighting by Peggy Clark.
Before rehearsals started, Vinaver had been fired, replaced by Albert Marre, then rehired. After bad reviews in Toronto and Boston, Vinaver was fired again and replaced by Noel Willman. Roger O. Hirson revised the book. Johnson, upset with all the changes, demanded his name be removed from the credits.
Reviews were mixed, although positive from Walter Kerr and Clive Barnes in the New York Times. However they did not cover the first night, another critic did.
The show was Price's first singing role since the 1940 film The House of Seven Gables. Price had once been a member of the Yale Glee Club and proved to have an adequate singing voice.[5] Harburg and Styne considered the piece their best work.[6]
Revivals
Attempts at major revival have made little headway, although there have been several staged concerts and one fully staged revised version. 42nd Street Moon in San Francisco, California, presented the musical as a staged concert in 1994.[7] The York Theatre Company, in New York, presented the musical in two staged concerts, in 1998 and 2005.[8][9] Their 2005 concert starred Beth Fowler, Rebecca Luker, Simon Jones and Stephen Mo Hanan.[10]Light Opera Works, in Evanston, Illinois, presented a fully staged version in 2005 revised by Erik Haagensen based on his earlier work for the York Theatre Company concerts. This was the first complete staged production since the musical closed on Broadway.[11]
In 2010, the London Discovering Lost Musicals series presented the show in concert at the Oondatje Wing Theatre – National Portrait Gallery, starring Nicholas Jones as Priam and Louise Gold as Alice.[12] The show received its first full production in England at the Union Theatre in March 2013, with James Dinsmore as Priam, Katy Secombe as Alice and Rebecca Caine as Lady Vale.
This was a Kiss of Death production from the start. As early as August, well before the show went into rehearsal, rumors were strong that the director was going to be fired. The rumors turned out to be not so much wrong as premature: the director went in December. The librettist also left along the way, and the show opened in New York with no one getting credit for the book, never a happy sign. The creative people knew it was a disaster before it opened; one of them advised a friend, "Don't come."[13]
The New York Times review called the musical bland and stale, but praised Routledge, who "...really can sing." "The high point of 'Darling of the Day' is a thumping good production number in the local pub ("Not on Your Nellie") in which Miss Routledge, somewhat sozzled, kicks up her heels with a bunch of the boys." Price plays with "friendly blandness...he sings, too, and not badly." The score is as slight as it is consonant."[5]
Walter Kerr wrote that "the score is one of the very best Jule Styne has ever composed for the theater", that Harburg's "lyrics are much more fun than the cloddish rhyming we're accustomed to" and the book "is full of pleasant surprises." He praised Routledge:"the most spectacular, most scrumptious, most embraceable musical comedy debut since Beatrice Lillie and Gertrude Lawrence came to this country as a package."[14]
According to theatre writer and historian John Kenrick, many critics felt that Vincent Price was "woefully miscast".[8] There was, however, unanimous praise for Routledge. The book is criticized as having a "hopelessly silly plot and an endlessly chatty libretto..." but "the score is a lost musical gem that is well worth hearing".[15]
Kenrick wrote that "One can only hope that this all too brief run [at the York] will inspire someone in the New York area to give this show the fully staged revival it richly deserves."[8]
Ethan Mordden wrote that Vincent Price was blamed by some for the failure of the show; however, "he played the role quite well and even held his own in eight numbers." The score was blamed by others: "...it hasn't one potential hit... It's halfway back to operetta, and this was not a time that admired the style." Finally, wrote Mordden, "It needed a strong director. It needed a director, period."[16]
According to Ken Mandlebaum:
I've never agreed that Vincent Price was the reason the show failed; he was not ideal, but I doubt the show would have succeeded with another leading man[17] ... The biggest problem was not the book or score, but simply that Darling of the Day played like a flop, lacking in energy and stodgy in the extreme. There was a noticeable lack of directorial invention, and the show simply laid there, with only Routledge to activate it from time to time. But the fundamental story is sound, and, using most of the score and revising the book a bit, a talented director might be able to make Darling of the Day into a decent evening.[18]
Dear World is a musical with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. With its opening, Herman became the first composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway. It starred Angela Lansbury, who won the Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical in 1969 for her performance as the Countess Aurelia.
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.
Broadway theatre, or Broadway, is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a 1976 musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It is considered to be a legendary Broadway flop, running only seven performances. It was Bernstein's last original score for Broadway.
Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include Finian's Rainbow in 1947 and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever in 1965.
Look to the Lilies is a stage musical with a book by Leonard Spigelgass, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jule Styne.
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George Hearn is an American actor and bass-baritone singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.
Judy Kuhn is an American actress, singer and activist, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
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Pal Joey is a 1940 musical with a book by John O'Hara and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The musical is based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker, which he later published in novel form. The title character, Joey Evans, is a manipulative small-time nightclub performer whose ambitions lead him into an affair with the wealthy, middle-aged and married Vera Simpson. It includes two songs that have become standards: "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".
Platinum is a stage musical with a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, music by Gary William Friedman, and lyrics by Holt.
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.
Henry, Sweet Henry is a musical with a book by Nunnally Johnson and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill.
Holy Matrimony is a 1943 comedy film directed by John M. Stahl and released by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was based on the 1908 novel Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett. It stars Monty Woolley and Gracie Fields, with Laird Cregar, Una O'Connor, Alan Mowbray, Franklin Pangborn, Eric Blore, and George Zucco in supporting roles.
An Evening with Jerry Herman is a musical revue of Jerry Herman's work and consists of songs written by him for several of his musicals and anecdotes about Herman's career.
Lost Musicals is a British musical theatre project established in 1989 by Ian Marshall Fisher. It is dedicated to presenting lost or forgotten musicals by famous American writers, and has been responsible for the first revivals of the lesser-known works of writers such as Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Alan Jay Lerner, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern.
I'm Solomon is a 1968 musical with music by Ernest Gold, lyrics by Anne Croswell, and book by Crowell and Dan Almagor.
References
Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops by Ken Mandelbaum
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