''Make a Wish'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with a book by

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...

and

Abe Burrows Abe Burrows (born Abram Solman Borowitz; December 18, 1910 – May 17, 1985) was an American writer, composer, humorist, director for radio and the stage, and librettist for Broadway musicals. His versatile career in radio, Broadway, and televis ...

, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by

Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garla ...

. Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film '' The Good Fairy'', which in turn is based on the 1930 play of the same name by

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; January 12, 1878April 1, 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarians, Hungarian-born author, stage director, dramatist, and poet. He is widely regarded as Hungary's most celebrated and c ...

as translated by Jane Hinton, the musical focuses on Janette, who experiences various adventures, including love with young artist Paul Dumont, when she abandons her tour group during a visit to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Sturges' primary motivation for writing the book was financial, as he was deeply in debt at the time., p.319 The musical opened on Broadway on April 18, 1951 at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

where it ran for a total of 102 performances until it closed on July 14, 1951. The production was produced by Harry Rigby,

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

and Alexander H. Cohen; staged by John C. Wilson; and choreographed by

Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Ca ...

. Raoul Pène Du Bois designed the sets, lights, and costumes for the production. The original cast included Nanette Fabray as Janette, Harold Lang as Ricky,

Melville Cooper George Melville Cooper (15 October 1896 – 13 March 1973) was an English actor. His many notable screen roles include the High Sheriff of Nottingham in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), Mr. Collins in ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) and ...

as Marius Frigo, Stephen Douglass as Paul Dumont,

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (July 19, 1926 – November 24, 2024) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She received three Daytime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Donaldson Award, and a Drama Desk Award. Gallagher's work on the New York stages spa ...

as Poupette,

Phil Leeds Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in many movies and television series, including guest appearances in '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' Maude'', ''Friends'', ''Barney Miller'', ''The Go ...

as Dr. Francel, Eda Heinemann as Dr. Didier, and Howard Wendell as the policeman.

Song list

Act I * The Tour Must Go On * I Wanna Be Good'n Bad * The Time Step * (You're Just) What I Was Warned About * Who Gives a Sou? * Folies Labiche Overture (Hello, Hello, Hello) * Tonight You Are in Paree * When Does This Feeling Go Away * Suits Me Fine * Students Ball * Paris, France Act II * That Face! * Make a Wish * I'll Never Make a Frenchman Out of You * Over and Over * The Sale (Ballet) * Over and Over (Reprise) * Who Gives a Sou? (Reprise) * Take Me Back to Texas With You * Suits Me Fine (Reprise) * Finale

References

Notes

External links

'Make A Wish'' (Original Broadway Cast Recording, RCA Victor 14-0006) at https://archive.org/details/78_1-take-me-back-to-texas-with-you-2-make-a-wish-finale_dean-campbell-and-chorus_gbia8003097 * * * {{Preston Sturges 1951 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on plays Musicals based on films Plays by Preston Sturges Musicals set in Paris