''Lend an Ear'' 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 ...
revue with a book, music, and lyrics by
Charles Gaynor and additional sketches by
Joseph Stein and
Will Glickman.
[Gaynor, Charle]
Lend an Ear:An Intimate Musical Revue
google books), Samuel French, Inc., 1948,
Productions
Background
''Lend an Ear'' was commissioned by Frederick Burleigh, and
played as a small revue in April 1941 in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Pennsylvania, at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, directed by Burleigh with the performers from
Carnegie Tech and in a "straw hat" theatre, but plans to produce the show in New York ended. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
ended, it was decided to proceed with the revue, and it began rehearsals in May 1948 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California.
Gower Champion became involved and went from advisor to choreographer to being credited as "Dances and Musical Numbers Staged by..." ''Lend an Ear'' premiered at the Las Palmas Theatre, Los Angeles, on June 14, 1948. Rehearsals for a New York opening began on July 26, 1948, at the Coronet Theatre (now the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre). The show went to
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
for its tryout, opening at the Majestic Theatre in August 1948.
[Lend an Ear]
'Life Magazine'', (google books), Vol. 26, No. 9 ISSN 0024-3019, Published by Time Inc., February 28, 1949
Broadway
''Lend an Ear'' opened on Broadway on December 16, 1948, at the
National Theatre[Atkinson, Brooks, "At the Theatre", ''The New York Times'', December 17, 1948, p. 38] and moved three times before closing on January 21, 1950, after 460 performances.
[ Green, Stanley and Green, Ka]
''Broadway Musicals Show By Show'', 'Lend an Ear'
'Broadway Musicals Show By Show'' (google books). Hal Leonard Corporation, 1996, , p. 139 After the National Theatre, the show ran at the
Broadhurst Theatre from February 21, 1949, to October 8, 1949, then the Shubert Theatre from October 10, 1949, to October 29, 1949, and finally the
Mansfield Theatre from October 31, 1949, to January 21, 1950.
Playbill.com noted that "The brilliant revue 'Lend an Ear' moved in
o the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (Broadway)from another theatre in 1949 and played for three months."
Directed by
Hal Gerson, with musical staging by Gower Champion and assistant to the choreographer
Marge Champion; the costumes, setting and lighting were by
Raoul Pene DuBois. The cast featured
Carol Channing, Yvonne Adair, Jennie Lou Law, Gloria Hamilton,
Gene Nelson,
Bob Scheerer, and
William Eythe.
[ Channing, Nelson, and Scheerer won the Theatre World Award, and Gower Champion won the Tony Award for Best Choreography.
The musical gave Carol Channing her break "where the wide-eyed beauty displayed her fabulous comic talents and vocal abilities". This led to her being cast, the following year, in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''.]["Carol Channing biography"]
Turner Classic Movies, retrieved March 6, 2010
No cast album was made.
Revival
A revival was produced Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the Renata Theatre by Steven Slane and Jenny Lou Law in September 1959, with direction by Law and choreography by Bill Hooks. The cast featured Elizabeth Allen, Charles Nelson Reilly, and June Squibb.
Revue sketches and songs overview
The sketch topics included psychoanalysts, gossip columnists, Santo Domingo as seen by a tourist, silent screen stars, a poor opera company that has no orchestra, and "The Gladiola Girl".[ The most famous sketch was the first act finale, "The Missing Road Company", featuring an imaginary lost touring troupe of the 1925 musical hit ''The Gladiola Girl,'' which was a spoof of 1920s musicals.][Mandelbaum, Ke]
Obscure Videos: Two Revues
broadway.com, November 18, 2005 In the sketch "Friday Dancing Class" a young man's (Gene Nelson) mother makes him go to a dance class; when he misbehaves and is forced to dance alone, he is saved by one of the young ladies.[ Channing played "such diverse characters as a French movie star, a British Christian Scientist, and 1920s flapper."][
Songs included "Who Hit Me?", "Neurotic you and psychopathic me", "Where Is the She for Me?",][ "Give Your Heart a Chance to Sing", "Doin' the Old Yahoo Step", and "Molly O'Reilly".][
]
The sketches and songs
''Source:[''
;Act 1
*After Hours – The Company
*Give Your Heart a Chance to Sing – Dorothy Babbs (The Girl); Robert Dixon, Arthur Maxwell, Bob Hergert, Tommy Morton, Bob Scheerer (The Boys)
*Neurotic You and Psychopathic Me – Lee Stacy (The Nurse), Anne Renee Anderson (The Patient), William Eythe (The Doctor)
*I'm Not in Love – Arthur Maxwell (The Boss Who Dictates); Yvonne Adair (The Secretary Who Sings); Gene Nelson, Tommy Morton, Bob Scheerer (The Bosses Who Dance)
*Do It Yourself – William Eythe, Al Checco, Jenny Lou Law, Hal Hackett
*Friday Dancing Class – Gene Nelson and Company
*Ballade – Anne Renee Anderson
*When Someone You Love Loves You – Sung by: Gloria Hamilton and Robert Dixon; Danced by: Antoinette Guhlke and Gene Nelson
*The Missing Road Company (The Gladiola Girl) – William Eythe (Announcer) and Company
;Act 2
*Santo Domingo – Arthur Maxwell (Travel Agent), Yvonne Adair (The Tourist), The company (Santo Domingans)
*I'm On the Lookout – Gloria Hamilton
*Three Little Queens of the Silver Screen – Lee Stacy, Anne Renee Anderson, Carol Channing
*Molly O'Reilly – Dancers: Bob Scheerer, Dorothy Babbs; Sung by: Jenine Smith, Gloria Hamilton, Beverly Hosier, Robert Dixon, Arthur Maxwell, Larry Stewart
*All the World's – Arthur Maxwell (Announcer), William Eythe (Mr. Playgoer), Carol Channing (Mrs. Playgoer), George Hall (A Bartender)
*Who Hit Me? – Sung by: Yvonne Adair; Danced by: Gene Nelson
*Words Without Song – Arthur Maxwell, Carol Channing, Anne Renee Anderson, George Hall, William Eythe and Chorus
*Finale
]
Response
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
, in his ''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 ...
'' review, wrote that "Gaynor's intimate musical is a model of skill and taste in this style of fooling, and it is performed by some fresh-grown youngsters whose talents have not been corrupted yet...He is lightly satirizing some of the more palatable follies of the day, and he is so neat in his touch that he does not have to clever…At the end of the first act Mr. Gaynor offers a very funny burlesque of old-time musical comedy—'The Gladiola Girl'."[
According to Playbill.com, "In December 1948, a delirious revue, 'Lend an Ear,' entirely written by Charles Gaynor, set the town on its ear. Carol Channing was an overnight success as a loony, wide-eyed blonde in such numbers as 'The Gladiola Girl' and 'Opera Without Music,' and Yvonne Adair, William Eythe, Gene Nelson, and the rest of the cast made this one of the theatre's best revues of all time.""At This Theatre, Nederlander Theatre (Broadway)"]
playbill.com, retrieved March 6, 2010
Television
Excerpts of the musical appeared on the first episode of the CBS Television
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
series '' Tonight on Broadway'' in 1948. Highlights of the revue were recreated for the October 28, 1954 broadcast of the CBS monthly variety series '' Shower of Stars''.[
]
References
External links
Internet Broadway Database entry
{{Joseph Stein
1948 musicals
Broadway musicals
Revues
Tony Award–winning musicals