''Victor/Victoria'' 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 characters are interwo ...

with a book by

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

, music by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, lyrics by

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...

and additional musical material (music and lyrics) by

Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical ''Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the #1 International hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitne ...

. It is based on the 1982 film of the same name, which was a remake of the German film comedy ''

Viktor und Viktoria ''Victor and Victoria'' (german: Viktor und Viktoria) is a 1933 German musical comedy film written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel, starring Renate Müller as a woman pretending to be a female impersonator. The following year, Schünzel dir ...

'' shot by

Reinhold Schünzel Reinhold Schünzel (7 November 1888 – 11 November 1954) was a German actor and director, active in both Germany and the United States. The son of a German father and a Jewish mother, he was born in St. Pauli, the poorest part of Hamburg. Despite ...

in 1933 from his own script.

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 ...

was the only cast member from the film to return for the musical. Mancini died before he could complete the music, and Wildhorn was brought in to finish the score. The original 1995

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 ...

production created mild controversy when Andrews, feeling that the rest of the show had been overlooked, declined her (and the show's only)

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

nomination.

Synopsis

Act 1

Carroll "Toddy" Todd is tenuously employed as the resident performer at Henri Labisse's Left Bank gay club, Chez Lui. Toddy and Les Boys entertain the small but appreciative audience (''Paris By Night''). Toddy insults a group of customers which includes his ex-boyfriend Richard. Labisse threatens to fire him. A penniless English soprano, Victoria Grant, auditions unsuccessfully for Labisse. Toddy tries to help, but Labisse rejects her and fires him. Toddy befriends Victoria, and offers her shelter from the wet wintry night in his tiny apartment. They become instant buddies and confidantes. Toddy wishes he were a woman, like Victoria, while Victoria believes that there are far more advantages to being a man (''If I Were A Man''). Richard, the ex-boyfriend, arrives at Toddy's unexpectedly to collect his things. Victoria is by now wearing his hat and pajamas. Richard mistakenly thinks she is Toddy's new boyfriend and insults Toddy. Victoria punches Richard and kicks him out. Seeing that Richard believed Victoria to be a man, Toddy is struck by inspiration: Victoria could gain fame by disguising herself as a male female impersonator. Over Victoria's objections, he dreams up the persona of Count Victor Grazinsky – a gay Polish aristocrat and Toddy's new lover (''Trust Me''). Toddy drags the reluctant Victoria to meet Andre Cassell, Paris's leading impresario, who is dubious about "Count Victor Grazinsky" until he hears "him" hit a glass-shattering high G-flat. "Victor" is in business. ''Le Jazz Hot!'' introduces Victor to Paris café society. His show-stopping performance at once makes him the toast of Gay Paree. The only doubter of Victor's authenticity is a dashing American nightclub owner, King Marchan, visiting Paris with his brassy girlfriend Norma and his loyal bodyguard Squash. Norma mocks King for being attracted to a male impersonator, but King is determined to prove Victor is a woman. At Cassell's opening night party for Victor, King invites Victor to tango with Norma, hoping to prove his point (''The Tango''), but Victoria successfully avoids detection. By an unwelcome coincidence, King and Norma and Squash find themselves in the adjoining hotel suite to the newly successful Toddy and Victor. Norma tries to seduce King (''Paris Makes Me Horny'') but she succeeds only in making him impotent. Next door, Victoria bemoans to Toddy that in King she thinks she has finally found the man of her dreams, but here she is trying to convince him that she is a man, too. (''Crazy World'').

Act 2

Victor continues to take Paris audiences by storm (''Louis Says''). Norma complains to Victor and Toddy that King is shipping her back to Chicago because he fancies Victor – a man! King confronts his doubts about himself and Victor (''King's Dilemma''). Is it possible that he, King, is falling for a man? He invites Victor and Toddy to dinner to try and find out. After dinner they visit Chez Lui, where Labisse also has his suspicions that Victor is a woman. He invites her/him to sing. Victor and Toddy oblige (''You and Me''). Richard's group arrives noisily in mid-song. Victor trips Richard and starts a major brawl in the club. The police arrive to break it up. Outside the club, King says he doesn't care if Victor is a man, and kisses him. Victoria admits she's not a man. King says he still doesn't care, and kisses her again (''Paris By Night (Reprise)''). Back in the hotel, Squash barges into King's bedroom and finds King and Victor in bed together: He apologizes profusely: "Sorry, guys!" King tries to explain. Squash admires King for coming out of the closet, and stuns his boss by revealing that he, too, is gay! Victor and King examine their potential problems if they are perceived publicly as two men. It won't work. (''Almost a Love Song''). Back in Chicago, Norma is performing in a night club (''Chicago, Illinois''). She informs King's gangster partner, Sal Andretti, that King has dumped her for another man – and is living with "a gay Polish fairy." Sal is aghast, and says they're all going to Europe. Two weeks later, Toddy and Squash have become happy partners. Not so for King and Victoria, unable to be seen together in public (''Living in the Shadows''). Victoria tells Toddy she doesn't want to be a man anymore. Toddy understands. Neither does he. Sal and the spurned Norma arrive in Paris. King admits he loves "Victor", keeping the secret. Sal, disgusted, ends their business relationship. Victoria reveals herself to Norma as a woman. Norma is horrified. Labisse witnesses this moment of naked truth. Victoria is horrified. Toddy tells her not to worry. "Trust me!" Dissolve to Victor's farewell appearance (''Victor/Victoria''). Labisse tries to expose him/her as a fraud. Toddy, thrilled to be back in drag, replaces Victoria in a blink, to thwart Labisse and leave the way clear for a happy ending for our two loving couples -King and Victoria, and Toddy and Squash.

Production history

A stage musical of the film was mooted after the movie's release. Robert Preston and Julie Andrews were meant to reprise their respective roles but then Preston pulled out saying there was no way the musical could be profitable. "It's just this big ego trip for Blake", he said. ''Victor/Victoria'' premiered in out-of-town tryout at the Orpheum Theatre in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

, Minnesota in June 1995. Another tryout was held at the Shubert Theatre in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois from July to September 1995. The musical opened on

at the

Marquis Theatre The Marquis Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the New York Marriott Marquis hotel in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1986, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization. There are abou ...

on October 25, 1995 and closed on July 27, 1997 after 734 performances and 25 previews. The show was directed by Edwards and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice 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 is one who cr ...

Rob Marshall Robert Doyle Marshall Jr.http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/images/editor_documents/alumnirelations/getinvolved/alumniawards/all_honorees_2018june1.pdf (born October 17, 1960) is an American film and theater director, producer, and choreographer. ...

. The original cast included

, Tony Roberts, Michael Nouri, Rachel York,

Richard B. Shull Richard Bruce Shull (February 24, 1929 – October 14, 1999) was an American character actor. Biography Early life Shull was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Zana Marie (née Brown), a court stenographer, and Ulysses Homer Shull, a manufa ...

, and Greg Jbara. When Andrews received the lone

nomination for the production, she made headlines when she rejected the honor with the statement, "I have searched my conscience and my heart and find that I cannot accept this nomination." Andrews further stated that she would "stand instead with the egregiously overlooked" cast and crew. The incident stimulated ticket sales for the musical, and Andrews declined to perform at the Tony Awards ceremony, which suffered that year from a lack of star wattage. During Andrews' four-week vacation in early 1997,

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

took over the role. Later Andrews, who boasted a four-octave vocal range, was forced to quit the show permanently when she developed vocal problems. She subsequently underwent surgery to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat and was left without a singing voice. Her lawsuit against surgeon Stuart Kessler was settled for $20 million. Andrews was succeeded by

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

for the duration of the run. A filmed performance was broadcast on television in 1995 and is available for digital download on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

. A US national tour ran from September 1998 through June 1999, starring

Toni Tennille Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song is " Love Will Keep Us ...

Dennis Cole Dennis Cole (July 19, 1940 – November 15, 2009) was an American actor in film and television. A familiar face on the screen during the 1960s and 1970s, Cole made guest appearances in numerous television series. After the 1991 murder of J ...

, Jamie Ross, Dana Lynn Mauro and A.J. Irvin. Anna Francolini played the lead role in a 2012 small-scale production at the Southwark Playhouse in London.Shenton, Mark
"London Fringe Revival of ''Victor/Victoria'' Planned for Southwark Playhouse"
''playbill'', September 6, 2012

Songs

;Act I * Paris by Night – Toddy & Les Boys * If I Were a Man – Victoria * Trust Me (music by Frank Wildhorn) – Toddy & Victoria *

Le Jazz Hot! "Le Jazz Hot!" is a song from the 1982 musical film ''Victor/Victoria''. It is sung by Victor/Victoria, performed by Julie Andrews in both the film and the original Broadway cast. Le Jazz Hot was also choreographed by Katherine Dunham. Synopsis ...

– Victor and Ensemble * The Tango – Victor & Norma * Paris Makes Me Horny – Norma * Crazy World (replaced by "Who Can I Tell?" during Minnelli's run) – Victoria ;Act II * Louis Says (music by Wildhorn, cut early in the run) – Victor & Ensemble * King's Dilemma – King * Apache – Les Boys * You & Me – Toddy and Victor * Paris by Night (Reprise) – Street Singer * Almost a Love Song – King and Victoria * Chicago, Illinois – Norma & The Girls * Living in the Shadows (music by Wildhorn) – Victoria * Victor/Victoria – Victoria, Toddy & Company

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Notes

External links

*
Musical Heaven listing Victor Victoria on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor Victoria 1995 musicals Broadway musicals LGBT-related musicals Musicals based on films Musicals based on multiple works Musicals by Frank Wildhorn Compositions by Henry Mancini