Fanny (musical)
Fanny | |
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Basis | Marius, Fanny, and César by Marcel Pagnol |
Productions | 1954 Broadway 1956 West End |
Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of works titled Marius (1929), Fanny (1931), and César (1936).
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1954 and ran for 888 performances, and later was staged in the West End.
Plot
Fanny is a young woman whose childhood love, Marius, leaves her to go to sea as a sailor for five years. His father Cesar, a tavern owner, disowns him. After his departure, Fanny discovers she is
The role of Acolyte was originated by then-child actor Gary Wright who went on to become a successful musician and is best known for his highly popular 1976 hit single, "Dream Weaver". While still in the show, Wright replaced Lloyd Reese in the role of Cesario (Fanny's son).
Productions
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The Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey produced Fanny in 1990. Directed by Robert Johanson, the cast featured George S. Irving as Panisse, José Ferrer as Cesar, and Teri Bibb as Fanny.[4]
42nd Street Moon[1] in San Francisco, California presented a concert version of "Fanny" in September 1997, as the fourth show in its Lost Musical Series 1997 "Composer-Lyricist Festival," celebrating five great Broadway composers who also wrote their own lyrics. The cast featured Caroline Altman as Fanny, Kelly Houston as Cesar, Pierce Peter Brandt as Marius, Darren Criss as Fanny's son (in his first professional acting role), Cesario and Lucinda Hitchcock-Cone as Honorine, Fanny's mother.
The LOST MUSICALS™ project presented Fanny at the Victoria and Albert's Theatre Museum in 1990 with Jonathan Adams and James Corden and in the Lilian Baylis Theatre,
Encores! presented a staged concert at City Center from February 4, 2010 to February 7. The director was Mark Bruni, choreography by Lorin Latarro, with a cast that featured Elena Shaddow (Fanny), Fred Applegate (Panisse), George Hearn (Cesar), David Patrick Kelly (The Admiral), Priscilla Lopez (Honorine), Michael McCormick (Escartifique), James Snyder (Marius) and Ted Sutherland (Cesario).[6] The production received mixed reviews.[7]
Musical numbers
The musical numbers from the 1954 Pre-Broadway production are as follows:
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The musical numbers from the 1954 Broadway production are as follows:
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The original Broadway cast album was released on compact disc by RCA Victor (9026-68074-2).[8] It includes some of the last recordings by former Metropolitan Opera basso Ezio Pinza.
Critical reception
Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times called the story "genuine and rueful," the music "melodic," and the casting "engaging," resulting "in a thoroughly absorbing theatre experience."[9]
Film adaptation
Joshua Logan directed a 1961 dramatic film adaptation based on both Pagnol's original plays and the book he and S. N. Behrman had written for the stage musical. Although the songs were eliminated, Harold Rome's music was heard in the soundtrack underscore. The film starred Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, and Horst Buchholz.
See also
- Illegitimacy in fiction
- Nejla Ateş and Mohammed El-Bakkar, belly dancer and oud musician appearing in the original Broadway production
References
- ISBN 0-306-80113-2, p. 118
- ^ "Fanny". IMDb.
- ^ Gussow, Mel."Theatre:'Fanny' At The Goodspeed"The New York Times, July 23, 1986
- ^ Holden, Stephen."Review/Theater;50's 'Fanny' Is Revived With All Due Sentiment",The New York Times, April 13, 1990
- ^ Koenig, Rhoda."Phantoms of the musical",The Independent (London), 1 March 2005
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Shaddow, Hearn, Reed, Applegate Cast in Encores! Fanny" playbill.com, January 12, 2010
- ^ Fick, David."Reviews for FANNY at Encores!" Musical Cyberspace, February 6, 2010
- ^ Harris, Kenn."Review: Fanny: A New Musical (1954 Original Broadway Cast)", musicalheaven.com
- ^ Atkinson, Brooks. "The Theatre:'Fanny' Has Debut at Majestic", The New York Times, November 5, 1954, p. 16
External links
- Fanny at the Internet Broadway Database
- Marcel Pagnol official website
- guidetomusicaltheatre listing
- DVD Shelf, Playbill, Aug. 11, 2008