''Seesaw'' is a 1973 American

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 Michael Bennett, music by

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

, and lyrics by

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include " The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (193 ...

. Based on the

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

play '' Two for the Seesaw'', the plot focuses on a brief affair between Jerry Ryan, a young lawyer from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and Gittel Mosca, a kooky, streetwise dancer from

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 ...

. The musical numbers evoke colorful aspects of New York City life but have relatively little to do with the story. The most notable feature of the score's original orchestrations by Larry Fallon was their wide use of brass instruments.

Production history

The production faced seemingly insurmountable problems during its pre-Broadway trial, and when it reached Detroit, producers Joseph Kipness and Lawrence Kasha brought in Bennett for advice. He recommended they abandon the book by Michael Stewart and fire director Edwin Sherin and leading lady Lainie Kazan, who he felt was too hefty to portray a dancer convincingly." 'Seesaw' History"
DorothyFields.co, accessed January 2, 2012 Upon agreeing to helm the show, Bennett recast most of the ensemble, convinced Robin Wagner to replace his original realistic design with a sleek, stylized set, had Coleman and Fields rework their score, and brought in

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

Wilson, John S
"Theater: 'Seesaw' Is Revived
''

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 ...

'', November 8, 1981 to help him rewrite the book, although final credit went solely to Bennett. The musical opened on Broadway at the

Uris Theatre The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 19 ...

on March 18, 1973 and transferred to the Mark Hellinger on August 1, 1973. Between the two venues, it ran a total of 296 performances and 25 previews. The director and choreographer was Bennett, with Grover Dale as co-choreographer and associate choreographers Bob Avian and

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

. Scenic design was by Robin Wagner, costume design was by

Ann Roth Ann Bishop Roth (born October 30, 1931) is an American costume designer. In a career spanning over six decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across stage and screen. She has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, tw ...

and lighting design and projections were by

Jules Fisher Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) is an American lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 300 productions over the course of his 50-year career of Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensiv ...

. The cast included

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in ''1776'' (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the televisi ...

Michele Lee Michele Lee (born June 24, 1942) is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera ''Knots Landing'', for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy A ...

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence by portraying Gus Fring in the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011), a role he reprised in ...

Thommie Walsh Thomas Joseph "Thommie" Walsh III (March 15, 1950 – June 16, 2007) was an American dancer, choreographer, director, and author. Biography Thommie Walsh was born in Auburn, New York, and began to study dance at age five at the Irma Baker School ...

Amanda McBroom Amanda McBroom (born August 9, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Notable among the songs she has written is " The Rose", which Bette Midler sang in the film of the same name, and which has been sung by many other recording art ...

and

Baayork Lee Baayork Lee (born December 5, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author. Early life and career Lee was born in New York City's Chinatown, to an Indian mother and Chinese father. She started danci ...

. Reviews were universally good, but there was no money for newspaper ads to quote them or television spots to promote the show. As a publicity stunt, New York City Mayor

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...

was persuaded to appear on stage during a production number set in Times Square, and the ensuing media coverage resulted in a boost at the box office. But the move from the Uris Theatre to the Mark Hellinger Theatre was costly, and although a post-Broadway run in Philadelphia and Boston was a financial success, ''Seesaw'' failed to earn back its sizable investment. During the Broadway run, Michele Lee left the show and was replaced by actress-singer-dancer-comedian Patti Karr. Karr had been Lee's standby. When the Broadway run ended, Lucie Arnaz, John Gavin, and

starred in the national tour of the musical in 1974. (Gavin played the role for seven months on Broadway replacing Ken Howard.) The Equity Library Theater, New York City, presented the musical in 1981. This production featured Diana Szlosberg (aka Diana Castle) as Gittel Mosca, Bill Tatum, Richard Ruth, Karen Ziemba and Thom Warren. Used in this production as the Act 1 closer was "The Party's on Me', a song used in the National Tour. The ''New York Times'' reviewer noted that this "was less a musical than a play, less a play than a musical, and not enough of either. The saving grace, to the extent that there was any, was the choreography by Mr. Bennett (who also served as director and partial librettist) and the high point of the production was Tommy Tune's long-legged, high-kicking dance up a set of stairs on a stage filled with balloons. Under the circumstances, this is not a musical that lends itself very well to revival, because its original merits depended so much on the individuals involved in the Broadway presentation." The J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company, founded by Jim Jimirro (Executive Producer) and Robert W. Schneider (Artistic Director), presented an Off-Broadway revival as part of its inaugural season. The production opened on February 13, 2020 at Theatre Row. Directed by Robert W. Schneider, the production starred Stephanie Israelson as Gittel Mosca, Andy Tighe as Jerry Ryan and J. Savage as David.

Songs

;Act I * Seesaw * My City * Nobody Does It Like Me * In Tune * Spanglish * Welcome to Holiday Inn! * You're a Lovable Lunatic * He's Good for Me * Ride Out the Storm ;Act II * We've Got It * Poor Everybody Else * Chapter 54, Number 1909 * The Concert * It's Not Where You Start * I'm Way Ahead * Seesaw (Reprise)

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Notes

References

*''One Singular Sensation: The Michael Bennett Story'' by Kevin Kelly, published by Doubleday (1990), pages 103-111

External links

*
''Seesaw'' Story and Songs at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seesaw 1973 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on plays Musicals by Cy Coleman Musicals set in New York City Tony Award–winning musicals