Holly Van Leuven
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190639044
- eISBN:
- 9780190639075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190639044.003.0009
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Chapter 8 chronicles the inception and creation of Where’s Charley?, Bolger’s most important Broadway show. The estate that held rights to the show agreed to let Feuer and Martin produce it if three ...
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Chapter 8 chronicles the inception and creation of Where’s Charley?, Bolger’s most important Broadway show. The estate that held rights to the show agreed to let Feuer and Martin produce it if three conditions were met: Bolger needed to be the star, the show had to play in a first-class Broadway theater, and Feuer’s edits to the original Samuel French edition of the play had to be the basis of the finished musical. The chapter includes accounts of director George Abbott, composer and lyricist Frank Loesser, choreographer George Balanchine, and new producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, who received assistance from Bolger’s wife, Gwen Rickard. In particular, Bolger’s “Once in Love with Amy” number is discussed for its importance and for the role it played in securing him a Tony Award for his performance as Charley Wykeham.Less
Chapter 8 chronicles the inception and creation of Where’s Charley?, Bolger’s most important Broadway show. The estate that held rights to the show agreed to let Feuer and Martin produce it if three conditions were met: Bolger needed to be the star, the show had to play in a first-class Broadway theater, and Feuer’s edits to the original Samuel French edition of the play had to be the basis of the finished musical. The chapter includes accounts of director George Abbott, composer and lyricist Frank Loesser, choreographer George Balanchine, and new producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, who received assistance from Bolger’s wife, Gwen Rickard. In particular, Bolger’s “Once in Love with Amy” number is discussed for its importance and for the role it played in securing him a Tony Award for his performance as Charley Wykeham.
Holly Van Leuven
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190639044
- eISBN:
- 9780190639075
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190639044.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow is the first book-length biography of the American eccentric dancer and popular culture figure, best known for his role in the 1939 film musical The Wizard of Oz. ...
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Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow is the first book-length biography of the American eccentric dancer and popular culture figure, best known for his role in the 1939 film musical The Wizard of Oz. The book traces Bolger’s career from repertory and vaudeville into New York movie houses, Broadway, nightclubs, the major film studios, Las Vegas resorts, and television programs. Bolger’s dance lineage is also traced through eccentric dancers like Fred Stone and “Irish prince” soft-shoe dancers like George Primrose and Jack Donahue. Special attention is given to Bolger’s involvement in the nascent United Service Organizations (USO) Camp Shows, including his participation in the first ever camp show unit, which went to the Caribbean in November 1941, and later the first unit to entertain in the South Pacific. An entire chapter is dedicated to the creation and performance of Where’s Charley?, Bolger’s most important show and the one for which he earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The Where’s Charley? material explores Bolger’s collaboration with his wife, Gwendolyn Rickard Bolger, who became the first female producer of a musical comedy on Broadway with her contributions to the production. Bolger’s later life as a political spokesperson, a television guest star, and a pop culture personality are also explored.Less
Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow is the first book-length biography of the American eccentric dancer and popular culture figure, best known for his role in the 1939 film musical The Wizard of Oz. The book traces Bolger’s career from repertory and vaudeville into New York movie houses, Broadway, nightclubs, the major film studios, Las Vegas resorts, and television programs. Bolger’s dance lineage is also traced through eccentric dancers like Fred Stone and “Irish prince” soft-shoe dancers like George Primrose and Jack Donahue. Special attention is given to Bolger’s involvement in the nascent United Service Organizations (USO) Camp Shows, including his participation in the first ever camp show unit, which went to the Caribbean in November 1941, and later the first unit to entertain in the South Pacific. An entire chapter is dedicated to the creation and performance of Where’s Charley?, Bolger’s most important show and the one for which he earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The Where’s Charley? material explores Bolger’s collaboration with his wife, Gwendolyn Rickard Bolger, who became the first female producer of a musical comedy on Broadway with her contributions to the production. Bolger’s later life as a political spokesperson, a television guest star, and a pop culture personality are also explored.
Richard Barrios
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199973842
- eISBN:
- 9780199370115
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199973842.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
What can make a musical a great film? Some answers may be found by looking at some of the genre’s most sublime specimens. From the opening scene of Love Me Tonight to the elegant balance of Gigi and ...
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What can make a musical a great film? Some answers may be found by looking at some of the genre’s most sublime specimens. From the opening scene of Love Me Tonight to the elegant balance of Gigi and astute calculation of The Sound of Music, there are numerous ways to captivate an audience and balance the song and dance and script. The best of the lot are timeless, like The Wizard of Oz, while the 1929 smash Gold Diggers of Broadway was so much of its era that it eventually vanished. As for Singin’ in the Rain, much of its triumph revolves around its shrewd awareness of its history, its genre, and its ancestors.Less
What can make a musical a great film? Some answers may be found by looking at some of the genre’s most sublime specimens. From the opening scene of Love Me Tonight to the elegant balance of Gigi and astute calculation of The Sound of Music, there are numerous ways to captivate an audience and balance the song and dance and script. The best of the lot are timeless, like The Wizard of Oz, while the 1929 smash Gold Diggers of Broadway was so much of its era that it eventually vanished. As for Singin’ in the Rain, much of its triumph revolves around its shrewd awareness of its history, its genre, and its ancestors.
