Hallelujah, Baby!
Original cast recording
MusicJule Styne
LyricsAdolph Green
Betty Comden
BookArthur Laurents
Productions1967 Broadway
2004 Arena Stage
George Street Playhouse
AwardsTony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Score

Hallelujah, Baby! is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents. The show is "a chronicle of the African American struggle for equality during the [first half of the] 20th century."[1]

The musical premiered on Broadway in 1967 and made a young Leslie Uggams a star. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical. In 2004, Laurents restaged the show twice with the same cast, in Washington D.C at the Arena Stage and at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey, in order to update and streamline the story for modern sensibilities, and potentially move to New York for a full revival. The score was updated by Adolph Green's daughter, Amanda Green. Critics noted that although the score and performances were entertaining and had its merits, the book was still too outdated. [2][3]

Synopsis

Georgina is a talented, beautiful and ambitious African American woman, determined to have a career. Overcoming many obstacles, she rises to stardom. She makes her way through the Great Depression, World War II, and the beginning of the civil rights movement. Her mother advises her to "keep her place" as a maid on a South Carolina estate, but Georgina negotiates the blocks to stardom from her negative and opportunistic mother. She encounters the racism that pervades society and show business.

Two men vie for Georgina's attention. Harvey, who is white, is able to provide opportunities for her. Her fiancé, Clem, who is a black train porter, cannot help her on her journey. By the 1950s, she is a successful singer in an expensive night club. However, Clem, who became an Army captain and then a civil rights activist, challenges Georgina's life goals.

Original cast and characters

Character Broadway (1967)[4] Summer Stock Tour (1968)[5] Arena Stage (2004)[6] Off-Broadway (2018)[7]
Georgina Leslie Uggams Diana Sands Suzzanne Douglas Stephanie Umoh
Momma Lillian Hayman Rosetta LeNoire Ann Duquesnay Vivian Reed
Clem Robert Hooks Leon Bibb Curtiss Cook Jarran Muse
Mary Barbara Sharma Connie Danese Laurie Gamache Jennifer Cody
Harvey Allen Case Larry Keith Stephen Zinnato Tally Sessions
Mr. Charles / Timmy Frank Hamilton N/A
Mrs. Charles / Ethel Marilyn Cooper Betsy Langman N/A
Tip Winston DeWitt Hemsley Bernard Johnson Randy Donaldson Bernard Dotson
Tap Alan Weeks Mabel Robinson Gerry McIntyre Randy Donaldson

Musical numbers

"Witches Brew" had a tune that was recycled from "Call Me Savage," a song from a prior musical Fade Out – Fade In and was originally sung by Carol Burnett.

Productions

The musical opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on April 26, 1967, and closed on January 13, 1968, after 293 performances and 22 previews. It was directed by Burt Shevelove, choreographed by Kevin Carlisle, musical direction by Buster Davis, orchestrations by Peter Matz, with scenic design by William and Jean Eckart, costumes by Irene Sharaff and lighting by Tharon Musser. The production won five Tony Awards (out of nine nominations), including Best Musical, and Uggams and Hayman won the Tonys for Best Actress and Best Featured Actress, respectively, for their performances. This remains the only show to win the Tony for Best Musical after it closed.

Laurents' recollections

Arthur Laurents felt that "the original production was too soft in its take on black social progress during the first six decades or so of the twentieth century. It was originally written with Lena Horne in mind. When the steely Horne opted out of the project, it was rewritten to suit the more youthful and bubbly Leslie Uggams." In the 2004 production, Laurents attempted "to add levels of darker intensity.... However, the music and lyrics are in the infectiously bright and bubbly style of musical comedy, and his efforts in this area reduce the charm and good spirits of the show without adding much of significance in the way of depth or insight."[8] According to Laurents, after Lena Horne declined to do the show, "What we should have done is abandon the show.... Instead it was rewriten for a woman who is one of the nicest women I have ever met in the theatre, Leslie Uggams,--and, God knows, she has a beautiful voice ... she was good, but it wasn't that original show. The show lost its edge, and I must say I lost interest in it."[9]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1967 Theatre World Award Leslie Uggams Won
1968 Tony Award Best Musical Won
Best Original Score Jule Styne, Adolph Green and Betty Comden Won
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Robert Hooks Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Leslie Uggams Won
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Lillian Hayman Won
Best Direction of a Musical Burt Shevelove Nominated
Best Choreography Kevin Carlisle Nominated
Best Producer of a Musical Albert W. Selden, Hal James, Jane C. Nussbaum and Harry Rigby Won
Best Costume Design Irene Sharaff Nominated

Washington D.C production

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2005Helen Hayes AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress, Resident MusicalAnn DuquesnayWon[10]
2005Helen Hayes AwardsOutstanding Lead Actress, Resident MusicalSuzzanne DouglasNominated

References

  1. ↑ Chastang, Carol. "Review: 'Say Hallelujah!'" Archived 2006-10-23 at the Wayback Machine seeingblack.com, January 7, 2005
  2. ↑ New York Times Review Of Its Moment 1967accessed 7/15/2023
  3. ↑ Variety Reviewaccessed 07/14/2023
  4. ↑ Playbill 1967 Bio Cast Listaccessed 07/14/2023
  5. ↑ Playbill 1968 Bio Cast Listaccessed 07/16/2023
  6. ↑ Playbill 2004 Review Bio Cast Listaccessed 07/14/2023
  7. ↑ Playbill 2018 Review Bio Cast Listaccessed 07/14/2023
  8. ↑ Rendell, Bob. "Arthur Laurents Retools His Hallelujah, Baby!" broadwaytalk.com, c. October 2004, accessed September 3, 2009
  9. ↑ Bryer, Jackson R. and Richard Allan Davison (2005). The Art of the American Musical: Conversations with the Creators, Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-3613-8, p. 133
  10. ↑ Helen Hayes Awards 2005 Listaccessed 07/15/2023
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