Musical (1968)


Musique: George M. Cohan
Paroles: George M. Cohan
Livret: Francine Pascal • John Pascal • Michael Stewart
Production à la création:

George M! est un musical de Broadway basé sur la vie de George M. Cohan, la plus grande star de Broadway de son époque qui était connue sous le nom de "L’homme qui possédait Broadway."

L’histoire couvre la période de la fin des années 1880 à 1937 et se concentre sur la vie et la carrière dans le sectacle de George M. Cohan, depuis ses débuts dans le Vaudeville avec ses parents et sa sœur jusqu’à son succès ultérieur en tant que chanteur, danseur, compositeur, parolier, metteur en scène et producteur à Broadway. Le spectacle comprend des chansons à succès comme "Give My Regards To Broadway", "You’re a Grand Old Flag", et "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

Acte I


Jerry and Nel­lie Cohan waste no time adding their young son to their trav­el­ling vaude­ville act, "The Four Co­hans", with sis­ter Josie. By the time George is 20, they are play­ing the Co­lum­bia The­atre in Cedar Rapids, and George has landed an au­di­tion for the fam­ily with im­pre­sario E. F. Albee. But Albee doesn't make a good enough offer, and George books the act into the Adams Street The­atre in New York. There they meet singer Ethel Levey, and soon George and Ethel get mar­ried. Now George is de­ter­mined to move "The Five Co­hans" from vaude­ville to mu­si­cal com­edy, and so he writes his first full-length show, The Gov­er­nor's Son. The mu­si­cal is a flop, but George is un­de­terred and opens his next show, Lit­tle Johnny Jones. After a mo­men­tary cri­sis of con­fi­dence, the com­pany is on stage as George be­gins the song "Give My Re­gards to Broad­way". By the time the song is over, the Yan­kee Doo­dle Kid is a hit.

Acte II


George's ca­reer soars higher and higher. He is now a pro­ducer, and he and his part­ner, Sam H. Har­ris sign Fay Tem­ple­ton to ap­pear in their show, and we hear some of Cohan's most fa­mous songs, "Mary", "Forty-Five Min­utes from Broad­way", and "So Long Mary". Ethel feels ne­glected by her high-fly­ing hus­band, and the two are di­vorced. George is crushed, but later meets Agnes Nolan from the cast of Lit­tle Johnny Jones. Soon they are mar­ried and, to­gether with Agnes, George writes some of his most en­dur­ing work, in­clud­ing the songs "Yan­kee Doo­dle Dandy", "Har­ri­gan", "Over There", and "You're a Grand Old Flag." But George loses fam­ily mem­bers, and Broad­way is chang­ing – ac­tors are union­iz­ing, and Ac­tors Eq­uity is mak­ing de­mands. George first re­sists evolv­ing and then re­treats from the stage for many years. Even­tu­ally, though, Har­ris of­fers him a role in I'd Rather Be Right, and, lonely for the stage, he ac­cepts. But his old style is no longer right for 1937, and George is used to being the boss, not just an­other actor. On stage, alone, George re­mem­bers his for­mer glory, singing "Give My Re­gards to Broad­way." He can still tap, after all, and his wife Agnes joins him to reprise "Yan­kee Doo­dle Dandy" be­fore he leaves the the­atre – at least he's on Broad­way.



Acte I


Musical Moon—Jerry Cohan and Nellie Cohan
Oh, You Wonderful Boy—Josie Cohan
All Aboard for Broadway—George M. Cohan and Four Cohans
Musical Comedy Man—Four Cohans and Full Company
All Aboard for Broadway (Reprise) – Four Cohans and Full Company
I Was Born in Virginia—Ethel Levey
Twentieth Century Love—Four Cohans and Ethel Levey
My Town—George M. Cohan
Billie—Agnes Nolan
Push Me Along in My Pushcart—Ethel Levey and Pushcart Girls
Ring to the Name of Rose—Josie Cohan and Bell Ringers
Popularity—Willie and Full Company
Give My Regards to Broadway—George M. Cohan and Full Company

Acte II


Forty-five Minutes from Broadway—George M. Cohan and Rose
So Long, Mary—George M. Cohan, Sam Harris, Rose, Freddie and Ma Templeton
Down by the Erie—Secretary, Politicians, Little Girl in Templeton scene and Full Company
Mary Is a Grand Old Name—Fay Templeteon
All Our Friends—Sam Harris and Full Company
Yankee Doodle Dandy—George M. Cohan and Full Company
Nellie Kelly I Love You—George M. Cohan and Full Company
Harrigan—George M. Cohan and Full Company
Over There—George M. Cohan and Full Company
You're a Grand Old Flag—George M. Cohan and Full Company
The City—Full Company
I'd Rather Be Right—George M. Cohan and Company
Give My Regards to Broadway (Reprise) – George M. Cohan
Dancing Our Worries Away—Full Company
The Great Easter Sunday Parade—Full Company
Hannah's a Hummer—Full Company
Barnum and Bailey Rag—Full Company
The Belle of the Barber's Ball—Full Company
The American Ragtime—Full Company
All in the Wearing—Full Company
I Want to Hear a Yankee Doodle Tune—Full Company

George M. Cohan
Jerry Cohan (George's father)
Ethel Levey (George's first wife)
Nellie Cohan (George's mother)
Agnes Nolan (George's second wife)
Josie Cohan (George's sister)
Fay Templeton
Sam Harris (producer)

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant George M!

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant George M!


Version 1

George M! (1968-04-Palace Theatre-Broadway)

Type de série: Original
Théâtre: Palace Theatre (Broadway - Etats-Unis)
Durée : 1 an 2 semaines
Nombre : 433 représentations
Première Preview : 08 April 1968
Première: 10 April 1968
Dernière: 26 April 1969
Mise en scène : Joe Layton
Chorégraphie : Joe Layton
Producteur : David Black • Konrad Matthaei • Lorin E. Price
Star(s) :
Avec: Loni Ackerman (Dog Trainer, Second Pianist, Fay Templeton’s maid Rose), Jonelle Allen (Living Statue, Secretary in Cohan and Harris’s office), Jacqueline Alloway (Fay Templeton, Draper’s Assistant, Wardrobe Lady), Karin Baker (Living Statue, Pushcart Girl), Susan Batson (First Little Girl, Mrs. Red Deer, Sharpshooter’s Assistant, Little Girl in Fay Templeton’s scene), Bill Brandon (Acrobat, Boy in Pushcart), Roger Braun (Dr. Webb, E. F. Albee, Living Statue, Ben, Mayor), Danny Carroll (Louis Behman, Bell Ringer, Vendor, Fay Templeton’s Manager [Freddie]), Gene Castle (Willie in “Popularity,” Sharpshooter, Wait [Stage Manager of I’d Rather Be Right]), Jerry Dodge (Jerry Cohan), Jamie Donnelly (Ethel Levey), James Dybas (Stagehand at Providence Grande Theatre, Dog Trainer, Louie, Congressman Burkhardt, Actor in Strike Scene), Harvey Evans (Sam Harris, Violinist, Bell Ringer), Joel Grey (George M. Cohan), Betty Ann Grove (Nellie Cohan), Patti Mariano (Second Little Girl, Acrobat), Angela Martin (Ventriloquist, Ma Templeton), John Mineo (Archie the Drummer, Draper, Dockhand, Judge Anspacher, First Policeman in Nelly Kelly, Man on Street), Jill O’Hara (Agnes Nolan), Bernadette Peters (Josie Cohan), Scotty Salmon (First Pianist, Acrobat, Bell Ringer, Piano Player in Cohan and Harris’s office), Kathie Savage (Living Statue, Pushcart Girl), Janie Sell (Madame Grimaldi, Mrs. Baker, Flamethrower’s Assistant), Alan Weeks (Buck and Winger, Designer’s Assistant, Sailor, Frankie), Ronald Young (Saxophonist, Flamethrower, Bell Ringer, Ship’s Captain, Alderman Hailey, Accordionist in Harrigan, Director of I’d Rather Be Right)
Presse : Les critiques ont critiqué le livret, mais ont généralement été aimables avec le spectacle, louant Joel Grey (bien que Walter Kerr dans le New York Times a trouvé que Grey aurait été mieux pour jouer Al Jolson), les chansons, et la chorégraphie de Joe Layton.

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