:''The article is about the stage musical. For the 1956 film, see

The Catered Affair :''The article is about the film. For the stage adaptation, see A Catered Affair.'' ''The Catered Affair'' (also known as ''Wedding Party'') is a 1956 American comedy drama film directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a scr ...

.'' ''A Catered Affair'' 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

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He gained notice for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'', winning both the Tony Award for Best ...

and music and lyrics by

John Bucchino John Bucchino (born 1952) is an American songwriter of both lyrics and music, an accompanist, a cabaret performer, and a teacher. He has been called "super-talented". Stephen Schwartz said his songs have "insightful lyrics and gorgeous melo ...

. It is based on both the 1956 film ''

'' written by

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

and the original 1955 teleplay by

Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (; January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He w ...

, set in 1953 in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. This is the first of Bucchino's scores produced on Broadway.

Production

The show premiered on September 20, 2007 at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collec ...

in tryouts, with the official opening on September 30, running through November 11. The show began previews on Broadway at the

Walter Kerr Theatre The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructe ...

on March 25, 2008 and opened officially on April 17. The production closed on July 27, 2008 after 116 performances and 27 previews. John Doyle directed the production, which stars Fierstein,

Faith Prince Faith Prince is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in ''Guys and Dolls'' in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations. Life and career Prince wa ...

and Tom Wopat. This production received 12

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

nominations, the most of any show from the 2007–08 season.

Plot synopsis

In the

in 1953, young lovers Jane Hurley and Ralph Halloran decide to get married. Meanwhile, Jane's father, Tom, who owns a third-share in a taxi, agrees with one of his partners, Sam, that they will buy out the share of the third driver, Pasternak. Jane and Ralph, along with Tom and Sam, happily exclaim the virtues of partnership ("Partners"). Timing is inauspicious, since the bride's brother has just been killed in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. The couple does not want a large, expensive wedding, and Tom needs the money to buy out Pasternak. As Jane's mother Aggie announces that the upcoming wedding will be held quickly and quietly in City Hall, the neighborhood women react ("Women Chatter"). Dinner with Ralph's wealthier family leads Aggie to decide to give the couple a huge formal affair, committing her and Tom's life's savings and bereavement check to an elaborate wedding with an extensive guest list and a lavish catered reception ("Our Only Daughter"). Aggie feels guilty about having neglected Jane and sees an opportunity to plan the

white wedding A white wedding is a traditional formal wear, formal or semi-formal wear, semi-formal wedding originating in Great Britain. The term originates from the white colour of the wedding dress, popularised by Victorian era elites after Queen Victoria ...

that she never had. The bride's gay Uncle Winston, initially hurt and furious at having been left off the original guest list, becomes a support for Aggie. Jane is initially beguiled by the attention, and happily picks out a wedding dress ("One White Dress"). But soon relationships are strained to the breaking point under the pressure of costly bridesmaids' dresses, cake layers, and each detail. Aggie confesses to Jane that she and Tom were married because she was pregnant ("Vision"), and because her father bought Tom his share in the taxi. Finally Jane and Ralph decide to call off the elaborate wedding and party and marry quietly as they had planned. The quiet and unemotional Tom finally expresses his love and caring for Aggie ("I Stayed"), and Tom and Aggie come closer together. As they get ready for the small wedding ceremony, Aggie secretly makes arrangements for Tom to buy his share of the taxi, which arrives in time for him to drive her to their daughter's wedding. Uncle Winston has the last word ("Coney Island"):

"You paid your money, took the ride, but missed the view."

Song list

*Partners — Tom Hurley, Sam, Ralph Halloran and Jane Hurley *Ralph and Me — Jane Hurley *Married — Aggie *Women Chatter — Myra, Pasha and Dolores *No Fuss — Aggie *Your Children's Happiness — Mr. Halloran and Mrs. Halloran *Immediate Family — Uncle Winston *Our Only Daughter — Aggie *Women Chatter 2 — Dolores, Pasha and Uncle Winston *One White Dress — Jane Hurley and Aggie *Vision — Aggie *Don't Ever Stop Saying "I Love You" — Jane Hurley and Ralph Halloran *I Stayed — Tom Hurley *Married (Reprise) — Aggie *Coney Island — Uncle Winston *Don't Ever Stop Saying "I Love You" (Reprise) — Ralph Halloran, Jane Hurley and Tom Hurley *Coney Island (Reprise) — Uncle Winston and Company

Roles and original cast

*Uncle Winston -

*Aggie Hurley -

*Jane Hurley - Leslie Kritzer *Tom Hurley - Tom Wopat *Ralph Halloran - Matt Cavenaugh *Mr. Halloran/Sam - Philip Hoffman *Alice/Army Sergeant - Katie Klaus *Delores/Caterer - Heather MacRae *Mrs. Halloran/Pasha - Lori Wilner *Myra/Dress Saleswoman - Kristine Zbornik

Recording

The original cast recording was recorded by

PS Classics PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin. Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics includ ...

and released on May 27, 2008.

Critical response

''A Catered Affair'' received mixed reviews.

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', wrote: "From Mr. Bucchino's trickling, self-effacing score to the tight-lipped stoicism of its leading performances, from David Gallo's tidy tenement-scape set to Zachary Borovay's tentative photographic projections, this show is all pale, tasteful understatement that seems to be apologizing for asking for your attention... Ms. Prince, best known for her madcap musical turns in revivals of ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''Bells Are Ringing'', scrubs down to raw-skinned plainness here. Her performance is tight, disciplined and at times quite affecting, never more so than when Aggie looks silently at some distant horizon of missed opportunities."

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, the ''New York Post''. Barnes had sign ...

, reviewing for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'', wrote: "Under John Doyle's expert, discreet direction, it emerges less like a musical and more like a play with music: lovely, urban chamber music. But you won't come out humming the tunes, or even the scenery. You'll come out humming the characters." But Linda Winer, for ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', wrote: "How bold to make a Broadway musical on such restrained material as ''A Catered Affair''. How sad that the results are so glum. Despite the dedication of a fine cast...this is a colorless little piece of '50s social realism about a Bronx family that isn't so much emotionally repressed as emotionally deficient." She panned the "meandering, conversational melodies ba ed by innocuous accompaniments", and the "tasteful but bland production", and concluded: "Winston, who wants the big wedding, observes, 'Resigning oneself to small is sad. Requesting it is tragic.' He could be talking about the show."''Newsday'', Winer, Linda, April 18, 2008
Retrieved May 28, 2008

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

*
Official siteJohn Bucchino official siteReview of the San Diego production
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080424161339/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/116998.html April 22, 2008, "74th Annual Drama League Award Nominees Announced" Retrieved 5-4-2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Catered Affair, A 2007 musicals Broadway musicals One-act musicals Musicals based on films Works about weddings Musicals based on plays Musicals by Harvey Fierstein Musicals set in New York City