''Love Life'' is a musical written by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

(music) and

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 bot ...

(book and lyrics). The musical opened at the 46th Street Theatre on

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 Stre ...

(now the

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

) on October 7, 1948, and closed on May 14, 1949, after having played 252 performances. The original production starred Ray Middleton and

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

, was directed by

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

, and choreographed by

Michael Kidd Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and who staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, s ...

. Fabray won the

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

for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance.

Synopsis

The show told the story of a married couple, Sam and Susan Cooper, who never age as they progress from 1791 to 1948, encountering difficulties in their marriage (and thus the very fabric of marriage) as they struggle to cope with changing social mores. One of the earliest examples of the

concept musical A concept musical is a work of musical theatre with a libretto, book and score structured to develop and embody a theme (arts), theme or message, rather than convey a narrative plot (narrative), plot. The form was popularized by ''Man of La Mancha ...

, the action of ''Love Life'' was interspersed with vaudeville-style numbers that commented on the story, in a way very similar to ''Cabaret'' (which opened in 1966).

Revivals

In 2017 ''Love Life'' was staged at Theater Freiburg using a German-language translation of Lerner's libretto by Rüdiger Bering. His translation was approved of by the Kurt Weill Foundation and was praised for successfully "striking a tone reminiscent of the great song and operetta lyricists of the German and Viennese interwar years, such as

Marcellus Schiffer Marcellus Schiffer was the name used by Otto Schiffer (20 June 1892 – 24 August 1932), a German cabaret writer, graphic designer, painter and librettist. Life Schiffer was born in Berlin. His father, Siegfried Schiffer (1849–1897), was a Je ...

and

Fritz Löhner-Beda Fritz Löhner-Beda (24 June 1883 – 4 December 1942), born Bedřich Löwy, was an Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer. Once nearly forgotten, many of his songs and tunes remain popular today. He was murdered in Auschwitz III Monowitz conce ...

". The show will be revived twice in 2025, by

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays a ...

in Leeds, UK (the show's UK premiere and first UK recording), with a cast headed by Quirijn de Lang and Stephanie Corley, and by

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

in 2025 as part of their Encores! series starring

Kate Baldwin Katherine Baldwin (born May 2, 1975) is an American singer and actress known for her work in musical theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''Finian's Rainbow''. She also co-starred opposite Be ...

and

Brian Stokes Mitchell Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a ...

.Gans, Andre
Brian Stokes Mitchell Will Join Kate Baldwin in Love Life for City Center Encores!
Playbill, March 3, 2025

Original cast and characters

Musical Numbers

Part One

;The Magician *Opening (Waltz) - The Magician, Sam, and Susan ;The Cooper Family *Who Is Samuel Cooper? - Mary Jo, George, Jonathan, Charlie, Hank, and Women *My Name Is Samuel Cooper - Sam *Here I'll Stay - Sam and Susan ;Eight Men *Progress - The Go-Getters ;The Farewell *I Remember It Well - Sam and Susan *Green Up-Time - Susan, Men and Women *Polka and Green Up-Time (Reprise) - Susan, Johnny, Men and Women *I Remember It Well (Reprise) - Sam, Susan, Johnny and Elizabeth ;Quartette *Economics - Quartette *Susan's Dream ut Song- Quartette ;The New Baby *Prelude and Postlude to Scene - Orchestra ;Three Tots and A Woman *Mother's Getting Nervous - Three Tots *Trapeze Specialty - Trapeze Artist *Foxtrot (with Encore) - Three Tots ;My Kind of Night *My Kind Of Night - Sam *Women's Club Blues - Susan and Women *My Kind of Night (Reprise) - Sam ;Love Song *Progress (Reprise with Soft Shoe) ut Song- The Go-Getters *Love Song - Hobo ;The Cruise *I'm Your Man - Sam, Slade, Boylan, Harvey, and Leffcourt *You Understand Me So ut Song- Susan and Taylor *Finale Part One: I'm Your Man (Reprise) - Entire Company

Part Two

;Madrigal Singers *Ho, Billy O! - Leader and Singers ;Radio Night ;The Locker Room Boys ut and Replaced with Madrigal Singers*The Locker Room - Locker Room Boys ;Farewell Again *I Remember It Well (Reprise) - Sam and Susan *Is It Him or Is It Me? - Susan ;The All-American Puppet Ballet Present ''Punch and Judy Get A Divorce'' *Prologue - Punch, Judy, Lawyer, Judge, Bell Hop, Correspondent *Courtroom - The same in addition to Two Lawyers, Flighty Pair, and Speedy Pair *Family Trio (Green Up-Time) - Child, Father, and Mother *Hep Cats (Economics) - Hep Cats ;A Hotel Room *This Is The Life - Sam ;The Minstrel Show *Here I'll Stay (Reprise) - Interlocutor *We're Sellin' Sunshine - Interlocutor and Minstrels *Introduction - Interlocutor, Sam, Susan, and Minstrels *Madame Zuzu - Miss Horoscope and Miss Mysticism *Takin' No Chances - Mr. Cynic *Mr. Right (Introduction) - Miss Ideal Man *Mr. Right - Susan *Finale Ultimo - Sam and Susan No official cast recording of ''Love Life'' has been made as of 2024; a strike at the time of the original production prevented preserving the original cast of this show, as also happened with ''

Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play '' Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway ...

,'' which opened four days later, on Oct. 11, 1948. The January 2025 Opera North production should provide the first cast recording. The song "I Remember it Well" is the original version of a lyric Lerner revised for use in the 1958 film, '' Gigi''.

References

External links

*
Ovrtur.com listing
1948 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Alan Jay Lerner Musicals by Kurt Weill Tony Award–winning musicals {{musical-theat-stub