''Shinbone Alley'' (sometimes performed as ''archy & mehitabel'') 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 Joe Darion and

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

, lyrics by Darion, and music by George Kleinsinger. Based on the album ''Archy and Mehitabel: A Back-Alley Opera'', which in turn was based on '' archy and mehitabel'', a series of ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'' columns by

Don Marquis Donald Robert Perry Marquis ( ; July 29, 1878 – December 29, 1937) was an American humorist, journalist, and author. He was variously a novelist, poet, newspaper columnist, and playwright. He is remembered best for creating the characters A ...

(illustrated by

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, created by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-America ...

author

George Herriman George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip ''Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience a ...

), it focuses on

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

Archy (who wasn't strong enough to depress the typewriter's shift-key), alley cat Mehitabel, and her relationships with theatrical cat Tyrone T. Tattersall and tomcat Big Bill, under the watchful eye of the newspaperman, the voice-over narrator and only human being in the show.

Productions and background

The project began in 1954 as a

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

with Marquis' original title, featuring

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken came to Hollywood prominence for his comedic lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' b ...

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

, and David Wayne. That same year a concert version was presented by the Little Orchestra Society at The Town Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. With an expanded book, the addition of several lengthy

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

sequences, and a cast of animal characters, the rechristened ''Shinbone Alley'' preceded ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' by a couple of decades and was a precursor of the far more successful

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

hit. It was one of the first Broadway shows to feature a fully integrated cast. The original Shinbone Alley was in Manhattan. With neither an out-of-town tryout nor a preview period, the Broadway production opened on April 13, 1957, at The Broadway Theatre, and closed on May 25, 1957, after 49 performances. Following "creative differences" with the writers and producers, original director

Norman Lloyd Norman Nathan Lloyd (''né'' Perlmutter; November 8, 1914 – May 11, 2021) was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, inc ...

requested that his name be removed from the credits. The production was supervised by Sawyer Falk and

choreographed Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thr ...

by Joe and Rod Alexander, with production design by Eldon Elder, costumes by

Motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' is ...

, and lighting by

Tharon Musser Tharon Myrene Musser (January 8, 1925 – April 19, 2009)Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

as mehitabel, Erik Rhodes as tyrone, and George S. Irving as big bill. Supporting players included

Cathryn Damon Cathryn Lee Damon (September 11, 1930 – May 4, 1987) was an American actress known for her roles in sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s. She was best known as Mary Campbell in Soap (TV series), ''Soap'', for which she was nominated three times fo ...

, Jacques d'Amboise,

Ross Martin Ross Martin (born Martin Rosenblatt, March 22, 1920 – July 3, 1981) was an American radio, voice, stage, film, and television actor. Martin was best known for portraying Artemus Gordon on the CBS Western series '' The Wild Wild West'', which ...

Lillian Hayman Lillian Irene Hayman (July 17, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress and singer. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman was known for her role as Sadie Gray in the ABC television soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1968–1986). Sh ...

, and Allegra Kent. Relative newcomer

Chita Rivera Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero (January 23, 1933 – January 30, 2024), known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awa ...

was Kitt's standby. The show's sole

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination was for Best Costume Design. In lieu of a

cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

recorded in a studio, a tape of a live performance was transferred to

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic, or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...

and released on the

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

label. In 2005 the musical had its Australian premiere in Melbourne, under the name ''archy & mehitabel''. Produced by Magnormos, it was directed by Aaron Joyner and starred Jane Badler in the role of mehitabel, and Michael Lindner as archy. The "Musicals Tonight!" series presented a staged concert version in November 2006 in New York City.

Current licensing

Licensing and performance rights are being held by Music Theatre International, under the ''archy & mehitabel'' title.

Film and TV adaptations

On May 16, 1960, an abridged version of the musical was broadcast under the original title ''archy & mehitabel'' as part of the syndicated TV

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

Play of the Week Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' presented by

David Susskind David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...

. The cast included Bracken, Tammy Grimes, and

Jules Munshin Jules Munshin (February 22, 1915 – February 19, 1970) was an American actor, comedian and singer who had made his name on Broadway when he starred in '' Call Me Mister''. His additional Broadway credits include '' The Gay Life'' and '' Ba ...

."archy and mehitabel"
donmarquis.com, retrieved March 18, 2010 Bracken and Channing reunited to provide the voices for the Allied Artists animated feature film in 1971, '' Shinbone Alley'', directed by

John David Wilson John David Wilson (7 August 1919 – 20 June 2013) was an English artist, animator and film producer, producer. He owned his own production studio, Fine Arts Films. Early years Wilson was born on 8 August 1919 in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, ...

for Fine Arts Films.

Songs

;Act I * Dance of the Cockroach * What Do We Care? * Toujours Gai * Queer Little Insect * Big Bill * True Romance * The Lightning Bug Song * I Gotta Be * Dog And Cat Ballet * Flotsam and Jetsam * Come to Mee-ow * Suicide Song * Shinbone Alley ;Act II * The Moth Song * Vacant Lot Ballet * A Woman Wouldn't Be A Woman * The Lullaby * Mehitabel's A House Cat * Pretty Kitty * Be a Pussycat * The Lady Bug Song * Flotsam and Jetsam (Reprise) * Shinbone Alley Finale

Notes

References

* Mandelbaum, Ken. ''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops''. St. Martin's Press (1991), , pp. 301–303

External links

* * * {{Cockroach 1957 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Mel Brooks Adaptations of works by Don Marquis