''1600 Pennsylvania Avenue'' is a 1976 musical with music by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and book and lyrics by

Alan Jay Lerner Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre b ...

. It is considered to be a legendary

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

flop, running only seven performances. It was Bernstein's last original score for Broadway.

Original Broadway production

The musical opened on May 4, 1976, at the

Mark Hellinger Theatre The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre) is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which formerly served as a cinema and a Broadway theat ...

and closed on May 8, 1976, after 7 performances and 13 previews. It was co-directed and co-choreographed by Gilbert Moses and

George Faison George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

. The musical examined the establishment of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

and its occupants from 1800 to 1900. Primarily focusing on race relations, the story depicted (among other incidents)

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

's then-alleged affair with a black slave,

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

's refusal to halt slavery in Washington, the aftermath of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...

's impeachment. Throughout the show, the leading actors performed multiple roles:

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...

played all the presidents,

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom '' Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Awar ...

all the First Ladies, and

Gilbert Price Gilbert Price (September 10, 1942 – January 2, 1991) was an American operatic baritone and actor. Price was a protégé of Langston Hughes. He was a life member of New York's famed Actors Studio. Price first gained notice in 1964, for his per ...

and Emily Yancy played the White House servants, Lud and Seena. Future Broadway stars Reid Shelton, Walter Charles, Beth Fowler and Richard Muenz appeared in ensemble roles, as did the young

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

Bruce Hubbard Bruce Hubbard (1952 − 12 November 1991) was an American operatic baritone. A Drama Desk and Laurence Olivier Award nominee for Best Actor, he performed on Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, BBC television, in concert and made several recordings. ...

. The show was originally intended to be performed as a play-within-a-play, with the show's actors stepping out of character to comment on the plot and debate race relations from a modern standpoint. But this concept was almost entirely removed during the show's out-of-town tryouts in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The musical's original director, Frank Corsaro, choreographer,

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human cond ...

, and set and costume designer,

Tony Walton Anthony John Walton (24 October 1934 – 2 March 2022) was a British set and costume designer. He won three Tony Awards for his work on '' Pippin'' (1973), '' House of Blue Leaves'' (1986), and ''Guys and Dolls'' (1992). For his work in movies ...

, left the production during these try-outs. By the time the show opened on Broadway, little of the metatheatrical concept remained, aside from certain scenic and costume elements and a few musical references (most notably, the opening number "Rehearse!"). Discouraged by the critical and public response to the work and angry that during the tryouts much of his music had been condensed and edited without his consent, Bernstein refused to allow a cast recording of the musical."A Bernstein Musical Revived — in Part"
''

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'', March 11, 2008

Critical reaction

The initial critical response to the show was resoundingly negative. Critics savaged Lerner's book while largely praising Bernstein's score. Only Patricia Routledge was spared, thanks mostly to her second act showstopper "Duet for One (The First Lady of the Land)" for which she received a mid-show standing ovation on opening night in New York and a mid-show standing ovation from the orchestra on closing night. After Bernstein's death a concert version of the score, retitled '' A White House Cantata'' was recorded and released. That version tended to be reviewed as a classical work rather than a Broadway musical, a tendency encouraged by the casting of the leading roles with

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singers. Differences in the score and performance style make it impossible to judge the original musical fairly from the later recording. The score is considered by many musical theater historians and aficionados to be a forgotten, or at least neglected, masterpiece. Some of the songs have enjoyed some fame outside the show including "Take Care of This House," "The President Jefferson Sunday Luncheon Party March" and "Duet for One", a tour-de-force for a single actress portraying both Julia Grant and Lucy Hayes on the day of

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

's inauguration detailing the exhausting vote counts that had many questioning his legitimacy. Author Ethan Mordden noted that "Bernstein and Lerner created an astonishingly good score, even a synoptic all-American one, with fanfare, march, waltz, blues. It's Bernstein's most classical work for Broadway."

Reuse of material in other works

As with his previously abandoned projects, Bernstein used portions of the score in subsequent works. In '' Songfest'', for example, the setting of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

's poem "To What You Said" as a baritone solo was a reworking of the original prelude of the show, in which the chorus hummed a melody played by the violoncello in the ''Songfest'' version. (In the show, this music was moved to the emotional low point of the second act, used as background to a Presidential funeral.) The occasional piece '' Slava! A Political Overture'', written in honor of Bernstein's friend

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...

, blended two numbers from the show, the up-tempo "Rehearse!" and "The Grand Old Party." Early in the opera '' A Quiet Place'', the music for the aria "You're late, you shouldn't have come" derives from that of "Me," a song that in the original show established the meta-theatrical concept that was eventually abandoned. (Some of the music for "Me" can be heard in the Broadway score, most memorably in the song "American Dreaming.") An instrumental section of "The President Jefferson March" was reused in the final movement, "In Memoriam and March: The BSO Forever," of the Divertimento. Bernstein reused part of the song "To Make Us Proud" for his ''

Olympic Hymn The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...

'' of 1981.

Subsequent revivals

The show's only significant revival was a 1992

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

Opera Theatre production, which used a pre-Philadelphia draft of the script and included portions of Bernstein's music that had been excised on the road to Broadway. This production also played briefly at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C. in August 1992.

''A White House Cantata''

After Bernstein's death in 1990, the heirs of his estate sifted through the many variations and revisions of the score and authorized ''A White House Cantata'', a choral version that deleted nearly all the remaining play-within-a-play references. (Some can still be heard in the duet "Monroviad.")

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcast the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

debut of this work in 1997, and three years later

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

released an abridged performance in a CD recording. Both the London concert and the DG recording were conducted by

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 202 ...

with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. The Leonard Bernstein estate controls the licensing of performances of the cantata version, but refuses to allow the performance, recording, or publication of the original musical.

Recordings of individual numbers

Although no cast album was made, Patricia Routledge's performance of "Duet for One" survives as a private recording in mono from the premiere, complete with standing ovation. Individual numbers from the work have been commercially recorded and performed by a variety of notable singers. "Take Care of This House" was sung by Frederica von Stade under Bernstein's direction at the inauguration of

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. The song was subsequently recorded by

Judy Kaye Judy Kaye (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Ragtime'', '' Mamma Mia!'', and ...

Joanna Gleason Joanna Gleason (née Hall; born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She's known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife ...

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

, and opera singers

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

and

Roberta Alexander Roberta Alexander (born March 3, 1949) is an American operatic soprano. She began her career as a lyric soprano in 1975 and spent the next three decades performing principal roles with opera houses internationally. Particularly celebrated for her ...

. In the 21st century "Take Care of This House" was recorded by

Kelli O'Hara Kelli Christine O'Hara (born April 16, 1976) is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages. A seven-time Tony Award nominee, O'Hara won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her pe ...

for the 2012 album ''Celebrating the American Spirit'' conducted by Judith Clurman,''Celebrating the American Spirit'' (Sono Luminus)
and by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

for her 2018 album ''Walls''. "The President Jefferson March" and "Duet for One" both appear in their original (pre-Broadway) versions on an EMI disc called ''Broadway Showstoppers'', conducted by John McGlinn and sung by

Davis Gaines Davis Gaines (born January 21, 1954, Orlando, Florida) is an American stage actor. He has performed as the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'' over 2,000 times, on Broadway, on tour, in Los Angeles, and in San ...

and

. The late

baritone Bruce Hubbard, a member of the original Broadway ensemble, also recorded Lud's ballad "Seena" on his album ''For You, For Me'', which was reissued in 2005.

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United State ...

performed "Lud's Wedding" on '' The Songs That Got Away'', her 1989 collection of lost Broadway songs.

Plot

Philadelphia:
A theater group is rehearsing a play. The time of the rehearsal is the present, and the time of the play being rehearsed is 1792 to 1902. The play being rehearsed is a history of the

and the servants who serve the President. One actor plays all the Presidents, and one actress plays all the First Ladies. The main serving staff are the African-American characters of Lud Simmons and Seena. Three generations of adult and young Lud's are played by the same two actors. Lud is an escaped slave who later marries Seena. The events covered in the play include the selection of a new capital city, the

Burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...

in 1814, the prelude to the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, the

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson The impeachment of Andrew Johnson was initiated on February 24, 1868, when the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, for "high crimes and misdemeanors". T ...

, the

1876 presidential election The 1876 United States presidential election was the 23rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1876, in which Republican nominee Rutherford B. Hayes faced Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. It was one of the most contentious ...

, and the administration of

Chester Alan Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...

. In between rehearsing the various scenes, the actors offer commentary and reflect on the past injustices suffered by black people throughout the time period covered by the play. This culminates in the Actor Playing the President and the Actor Playing Lud refusing to continue rehearsing the show. After reflection, the Actor Playing the President realizes all he wanted was to feel proud of his country and that he loves this land. New York:
The four main cast members address the audience and inform them that the play covers the first one hundred years of the White House. They say America is a play that is always in rehearsal, undergoing revisions and improvements. The plot then covers the same historical material as the Philadelphia version; however, the actors' commentary is entirely removed.

Musical numbers

Broadway

;Act I * "Overture" - Orchestra * "Rehearse!" - The President, the First Lady, Lud, Seena, and entire Company * "If I Was a Dove" - Little Lud * "On Ten Square Miles by the Potomac River" - Washington and Delegates * "Welcome Home Miz Adams" - Henry, Rachel and Staff * "Take Care of This House" - John and Abigail Adams, Little Lud and Staff * "The President Jefferson Sunday Luncheon Party March" - Jefferson, Little Lud, and Guests * "Seena" - Lud * "Sonatina (The British)" - Admiral Cockburn, Officers and Citizens **1. Allegro con brio **2. Tempo di Menuetto (including an authentic harmonization of "To Anacreon in Heav'n" (1740) later known as "The Star Spangled Banner") **3. Rondo * "Lud's Wife" * "I Love My Wife" - Lud, Seena, and Staff * "Auctions" - Auctioneer and Buyers * "The Little White Lie" James and Eliza Monroe * "We Must Have a Ball" - Buchanan * "The Ball" - Entire Company ;Act II * "Entr'acte" - Orchestra * "Forty Acres and a Mule" - The Staff * "Bright and Black" - Seena and Staff * "Duet for One (First Lady of the Land)" - Julia Grant, Lucy Hayes and Company * "The Robber Baron Minstrel Parade" - The Minstrels * "Pity The Poor" - The Minstrels * "The Red, White and Blues" - The Minstrels * "I Love This Land" - The President * "Rehearse!" - Entire Company

Philadelphia premiere

;Act I * Prelude * On Ten Square Miles by the Potomac River * If I Was a Dove * The Nation That Wasn't There * Welcome Home, Miz Adams * Take Care of This House * The President Jefferson Sunday Luncheon March * Seena * The Nation That Wasn't There (Reprise) * Sonatina * The Nation That Wasn't There (Reprise) * Lud's Wedding * I Love My Wife * Auctions * The Monroviad * This Time * We Must Have a Ball * Take Care of This House and The Nation That Wasn't There (Reprise) ;Act II * Philadelphia * Uncle Tom's Funeral * Bright and Black * The Duet for One * Hail Garfield * Hail Arthur * The Money-Loving Minstrel Parade * Pity the Poor * The Grand Ol' Party * The Red, White, and Blues * American Dreaming * To Make Us Proud

Other musical numbers

* Me (New Opening) - used in 1992 Indiana University production * Reclamation Scene ("Can You Love") - unused * What Happened - used in 1992 Indiana University production * A Star at Noon - unused * The Switch - unused * We - unused * It's My Country (Mr. Lincoln) - orchestrated, but unused * Welcome Home, Miz Johnson - used in A White House Cantata

References

* Haagensen, Erik (1992). "The Show That Got Away". ''Show Music''. 25–32

External links

* *
''1600 Pennsylvania Avenue'' items in the Sid Ramin Papers at Columbia University
{{Authority control 1976 musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Musicals by Alan Jay Lerner Musicals by Leonard Bernstein Broadway musicals White House in fiction Works about presidents of the United States