''Pleasures and Palaces'' is a musical with a book by

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

and

Sam Spewack Bella (25 March 1899 – 27 April 1990) and Samuel Spewack (16 September 1899 – 14 October 1971) were a husband-and-wife writing team. Samuel, who also directed many of their plays, was born in Ukraine. He attended Stuyvesant High School in Ne ...

and music and lyrics by Loesser. It is based on Spewack's

flop In computing, floating point operations per second (FLOPS, flops or flop/s) is a measure of computer performance, useful in fields of scientific computations that require floating-point calculations. For such cases, it is a more accurate meas ...

1961 play ''Once There Was a Russian'' and takes its title from the opening lyrics of the 1823 song "Home, Sweet Home": "Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

Plot summary

In this comic look at actual historical events,

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

enters into the service of the Empress Catherine II of Russia in 1788, specifically to fight the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

and recapture

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

for

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and becomes involved in political intrigue and romantic complications. Catherine is in love with

Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...

, who is enamored with the murderous Sura, who finds herself torn between Potemkin and Jones.

Productions

The

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 ...

-bound production, directed and choreographed by

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

, opened on March 11, 1965, at the

Fisher Theatre The Fisher Building is a landmark skyscraper located at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. The ornate 30-story building, completed in 1928, is one of the major works of architect Albert Kahn, and ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. The cast included

Hy Hazell Hyacinth Hazel O'Higgins (4 October 1919 – 10 May 1970), stage name Hy Hazell, was a British actress of theatre, musicals and revue as well as a contralto singer and film actress. AllMusic described her as "an exuberant comic actor and lively ...

Alfred Marks Alfred Edward Marks OBE (born Alfred Edward Touchinsky; 28 January 19211 July 1996) was a British actor and comedian. In his 60-year career, he played dramatic and comedy roles in numerous television programmes, stage shows and films. His self- ...

Phyllis Newman Phyllis Newman (March 19, 1933 – September 15, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Martha Vail in the musical ''Subways Are for Sleeping'' on Broadway, ...

, and

John McMartin John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television. Life and career McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating fro ...

. The musical closed out-of-town and was not produced on Broadway. The musical was produced by the Lyric Stage of Irving, Texas, in January 2013. The original orchestrations (by Philip J. Lang) were used, and the cast was headed by Christopher Carl, Luann Anderson, Bryant Martin, and Danielle Estes. Direction and choreography were by Ann Nieman.

Reception

''The Detroit Press'' described it as "lesser Loesser." The ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' wrote: "It's a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

of a show, a magnificent combination of artful scenery, lively choreography, and engaging people. But there's no gas in the Rolls-Royce tank," and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "disappointing." Cy Feuer and

Abe Burrows Abe Burrows (born Abram Solman Borowitz; December 18, 1910 – May 17, 1985) was an American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage. He won a Tony Award and was selected for two Pulitzer Prizes, only one of which was awarded. Ear ...

were called in to help with revisions,Loesser, Susan
"Pleasures and Palaces"
''A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life'' (2000), books.google.com, Hal Leonard Corporation, , p. 245 and Fosse was willing to invest his own money in order to get the production to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, but after its closing on April 10, Loesser cancelled the rest of the tryout tour and the Broadway opening.

Song list

*Ah, To Be Home Again *Barabanchik *Far, Far Away *Hoorah For Jones *I Hear Bells *My Lover Is A Scoundrel *Neither The Time *Pleasures & Palaces *The Sins of Sura *Tears Of Joy *Thunder And Lightning *To Marry *To Your Health *In Your Eyes *Truly Loved

References

*''A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life'' by Susan Loesser, published by Hal Leonard (2000), pp. 245–246

External links

Official Frank Loesser website
{{Samuel and Bella Spewack 1965 musicals Musicals based on plays Musicals by Frank Loesser Musicals choreographed by Bob Fosse