Plain and Fancy
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | Plain and Fancy |
| Music: | Albert Hague |
| Book: | Joseph Stein & Will Glickman |
| Lyrics: | Arnold B. Horwitt |
| Premiere: | January 27, 1955 |
| Place of premiere: | Mark Hellinger Theater , NYC |
| Playing time: | ~ 2h |
| Place and time of the action: | Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania |
Plain and Fancy is a musical comedy in two acts written by Albert Hague (music) and Joseph Stein and Will Glickman (text). The first performance of the play was in 1955 at the Mark Hellinger Theater on New York's Broadway ; it ran until March 3, 1956. The story is based on the Anabaptist - Protestant faith community of the Amish, which had been little discussed in American pop culture until then . The unpopular subject is one of the reasons for the piece's obscurity and the low production rate. On top of that, better-known pieces like Oklahoma! or Guys and Dolls , also from the Golden Age of the Broadway musical , dominated the limelight.
Emergence
The idea for the musical is based on Marion Weaver's novel Betsy , which she presented to producer Richard Kollmar in 1953. The novel is about an Amish sect "Mennonite" in Pennsylvania. Kollmar initially rejected the book, but later commissioned third parties to write a musical work with content based on the novel. The working title was "Pennsylvania Dutch" and was renamed "Plain and Fancy" shortly before completion. Kollmer teamed up with producers Yvette Schumer and James W. Gardiner and hired Joseph Stein and Will Glickman to write the final musical script. During the creation process, the producers brought in the composer Albert Hague. Plain and Fancy was supposed to be his debut in show business. With Arnold B. Howlitt as librettist, Morton De Costa as director and Helen Tamiris as chief choreographer, the musical was completed within a year. Marion Weavers would later receive compensation and a mention in the official script.
action
The core of the story are the two protagonists Dan King and Ruth Winters. Originally from the upper classes of New York, the couple traveled to Pennsylvania, more precisely to Bird-in-Hand (Lancaster County), with the aim of selling a piece of land owned by Dan's family. Once there, the two find themselves in the middle of an Amish community. Papa Yoder, who wants to buy said land as a wedding present for the upcoming wedding of his daughter Katie and her fiancé Ezra, is already busy preparing the festivities. While Ruth deals with the environment, which is simple in comparison to New York, a young Amish girl, Hilda Miller, falls in love with Dan after mistaking his courteous and friendly gestures as affection.
Meanwhile, Peter, Ezra's brother, who had been abandoned for beating, returns to the village and the mutual feelings for Katie rekindle the flame, much to the displeasure of her fiancé. Dan is committed to the young happiness, but is quickly put in his place by Papa Yoder as a "single guest".
After Ezra provokes his brother several times, knowing that he will quickly lose control, Peter attacks Ezra. At that moment, the barn on Dan's property is struck by lightning and set on fire. Papa Yoder interprets this as a heavenly sign, whereupon Peter is shunned by the entire congregation, including Katie.
The community gathers to build the barn together, which Peter uses to talk to Katie in private. However, this quickly escapes the conversation. At the same time, Ruth, frustrated by the Amish kitchen, withdraws with a bottle of alcohol. When Ezra asked what she was drinking, she replied, embarrassed, “vegetable juice”. The not at all drinkable Ezra drinks from the bottle and gets drunk quickly, whereupon he decides to hold a bachelorette party at the nearby carnival. Meanwhile, Hilda realizes that Dan is not really in love with her, which makes her want to travel to New York and explore the world in general. Still drunk, Ezra is involved in a fight with a shipyard worker who almost stabs him with a knife. At the last second, Peter, who has secretly followed his brother, manages to save Ezra from the attacker. After hearing of the events, Dad banishes Ezra as well, but Dan manages to pardon him and instead of him, Peter to marry Katie. At first he is unwilling, but his mind is changed by the property that Dan no longer wants to sell to him, but wants to give him.
After the wedding, Dan and Ruth return to their hometown of New York with new experiences and a stronger bond.
Productions / roles
Original Broadway Production (1955)
The world premiere of Plain and Fancy took place on January 27, 1955 at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York, where the musical was performed until February 26. It was a Richard Kollmar production and directed by Morton DaCosta . On February 28, 1955, the performance was moved to the Winter Garden Theater , where it ran until November 7, 1955. From November 9th to March 3rd, 1956 it took place again at the Mark Hellinger Theater. In total, the musical was performed 461 times with the original cast.
Original cast
| Surname | role |
|---|---|
| Richard Derr | Dan King |
| Shirl Conway | Ruth Winters |
| Stefan Schnabel | Papa Yoder |
| Will Able | Jacob Yoder |
| Gloria Marlowe | Katie Yoder |
| Douglas Fletcher Rodgers | Ezra Reber |
| David Daniels | Peter Reber |
| Barbara Cook | Hilda Miller |
| Nancy Andrews | Emma Miller |
| John Dennis | Moses Zook / (singer) |
| Daniel Nagrin | Samuel Zook |
| Tim Worthington | Abner Zook / (singer) |
| Edgar F. Thompson | Abner Zook / (singer) |
| Ethel May Cody | Rachel |
| Faith Daltry | Bassie / (singer) |
| Betty McGuire | Rebecca / (singer) |
| Sybil Lamb | Esther / (singer) |
| James S. Moore | Ike Pilersheim / (dancer) |
| Chris Robinson | Samuel Lapp / (singer) |
| Renee Orin | Sarah / Greta / (singer) |
| Muriel Shaw | Mary / (singer) |
| William Weslow | Levi Stolzfuss / (dancer) |
| Sammy Smith | Isaac Miller |
| Robert Lindgren | Amish residents /
(Dancer) |
| Herbert Surface | Amish residents /
(Singer) |
| Scotty angel | young miller |
| Elaine Lynn | young miller |
| Saint Amant | (Dancer) |
| Crandall Diehl | (Dancer) |
| Philip Nasta | (Dancer) |
| Ronnie Lee | (Dancer) |
| David Wood | (Dancer) |
| Robert St. Clair | (Dancer) |
| Beryl Towbin | (Dancer) |
| Joan Darby | (Dancer) |
| Tao Strong | (Dancer) |
| Sara Aman | (Dancer) |
| Imelda De Martin | (Dancer) |
| Ina Hahn | (Dancer) |
| Marcia Howard | (Dancer) |
| Lucia Lambert | (Dancer) |
| Ann Needham | (Dancer) |
| Ray Hyson | (Singer) |
| Jack Irwin | (Singer) |
| Robert Kole | (Singer) |
| James Schlader | (Singer) |
| Marilyn Bradley | (Singer) |
| Janet Hayes | (Singer) |
| Betty Zollinger | (Singer) |
Other productions (tours and individual productions)
- First National Tour (1955), USA
- London Production (1956), London, UK
- Second National Tour (1956), USA
- Westbury Music Fair Production (1956), Westbury, New York
- Equity Library Theater Revival (1980), New York City, New York
- Musicals in Mufti Production (2006), New York City, New York
Music numbers
Act 1
- You Can't Miss It (Dan, Ruth)
- It Wonders Me (Katie, Amish resident)
- Plenty of Pennsylvania (Emma, Ezra, young millers)
- Young and Foolish (Peter)
- Why Not Katie? (Ezra, Abner, Emma, Sarah)
- Young and Foolish Reprise (Katie, Peter)
- It's a Helluva Way to Run a Love Affair (Ruth)
- This is All Very New To Me (Hilda, Levi Stolzfuss)
- Plain We Live (Papa, Amish Resident)
- The Shunning (Amish residents)
Act 2
- How do you raise a barn? (Papa, Ezra, Emma, Samuel, Amish residents)
- Follow Your Heart (Peter, Hilda, Katie)
- City Mouse, Country Mouse (Emma, Sarah, Esther, Rebecca, Hilda, Katie)
- I'll Show Him (Hilda)
- Carnival Ballet (Hilda, Ezra)
- On the Midway (Mambo Joe, Scranton Sal, Swami, Barkers)
- Take Your Time and Take Your Pick (Hilda, Dan, Ruth)
- Plenty of Pennsylvania Final (Full Cast)
Awards / criticism
Several of the original cast from Plain and Fancy were nominated for the 1956 Theater World Award . The winners were Shirl Conway (Ruth), Barbara Cook (Hilda) and David Daniels (Peter) for their theatrical performances.
The musical was less appreciated by critics. Despite highly praised songs with catchy tunes such as “Young and Foolish” or “City Mouse, Country Mouse”, the inadequate implementation of the Amish community as the scenery and the hasty termination of action towards the end of the piece have often been cited as points of criticism.
In many reviews, the plot was the main criticism. It has not been elaborated enough and is only compensated for by extraordinary choreography by Helen Tamiris as well as music and set design.
literature
- Joseph Stein; Will Glickman; Arnold Horwitt; Albert Hague: Plain and fancy , Millbrook Playhouse, New York 1978
- Philip Lambert: To Broadway, To Life! The Musical Theater of Bock and Harnick , Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-978103-4
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Philip Lambert: To Broadway, To Life !: The Musical Theater of Bock and Harnick . Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-978103-4 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ^ Original Broadway Cast of Plain and Fancy. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Plain and Fancy. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ^ Andrew Gans, York's 'Mufti' Season to Include Take Me Along, Plain and Fancy and Carmelina. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Plain and Fancy - Broadway Musical - Original | IBDB. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Plain and Fancy (Hague / Horwitt, 1955). Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Theater World Awards - Theater World Awards. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ^ The Stanford Daily October 17, 1955 - The Stanford Daily. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .