The Grand Tour (musical)
The Grand Tour | |
---|---|
Basis | S. N. Behrman's play Jacobowsky and the Colonel |
Premiere | November 1978: Curran Theatre, San Francisco |
Productions | 1979 Broadway |
The Grand Tour is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.
Based on
Productions
The Grand Tour premiered in San Francisco for a tryout engagement in November–December, 1978. The San Francisco reviews "were of the 'good potential but needs work' " type. Joel Grey noted "There were big changes out there in terms of the shape of the show... In terms of material, there weren't that many. One of my songs was cut, and Jerry Herman wrote a new one for me and for Florence Lacey..." Also, Tommy Tune went to California to work on the show.[1]
The musical premiered on
An
Analysis
Along with
In an article for the New York Public Library, Diana Bertolini speculated: "The star performance, was by all accounts one of the most special anyone had ever seen. And Herman's score is terrific... This show didn't really have anything wrong with it! Good book, good score, good cast… all I can imagine is that it was in the wrong place at the wrong time....Herman said in interviews that he thought The Grand Tour had actually suffered from Grey's strong performance, because it turned Jacobowsky into the star part and The Colonel a supporting one, a change from Berman's play, in which the roles had been equal."[3]
Ken Mandelbaum wrote that "Herman's least admired and performed flop score is nonetheless filled with nice things...'The Grand Tour' was moderately pleasant, and more enjoyable on disc."[4]
In a review of a 2005 regional production at the Colony Theater in Burbank, California, Steve Oxman of Variety wrote: "it’s not really a mystery why this show doesn’t work, although it’s a bit baffling that anyone thought a minor adjustment would fix it. Herman... delivers a number of tunes here that linger pleasurably in the ear. But the tone of his work does battle with the story itself, in which clever Jewish refugee S.L. Jacobowsky... bombastic Polish Colonel Stjerbinsky... and his French girlfriend Marianne... try to stay one step ahead of the Nazis in occupied France.[5]
Synopsis
- Act I
S. L. Jacobowsky relates that his incurable
In St. Cyrille the two meet Marianne, a lovely young French woman to whom the Colonel has promised to return. Mme Vauclain tries to persuade Marianne to leave St. Cyrille before the Germans come, but she will do nothing of the kind ("I Belong Here"). Late that night the car bearing Jacobowsky, the Colonel, and Szabuniewicz arrives outside Marianne's house, gives a final gasp, and expires. The Colonel wakens Marianne with music ("Marianne"), and although she is reluctant to leave St. Cyrille, Jacobowsky persuades Marianne that the best way to fight for her home is by leaving and remaining free. As she sews the Colonel's papers into her hat for safekeeping, they hurry to catch a local train heading west ("We're Almost There").
The train is halted by a bombed-out rail section and the group moves on to its next mode of transport, the caravan of the traveling Carnival Manzoni. Jacobowsky and Marianne talk, and we see that he is slowly falling in love with her. When the Carnival stops, Jacobowsky sets up a picnic at the side of the road and entertains Marianne while the Colonel glowers jealously in the background ("More and More / Less and Less"). The furious Colonel challenges Jacobowsky to a duel, and they are only stopped from shooting each other by the sudden arrival of an SS Captain. To save themselves, the four masquerade as performers in the Carnival: The Colonel and Szabuniewicz as two clowns, Jacobowsky as the human cannonball, and Marianne as his assistant ("One Extraordinary Thing"). Jacobowsky is about to climb into the cannon when the Colonel inadvertently gives the game away and they are forced to fire the cannon and make their escape under cover of its smoke and confusion.
They meet several hours later. Jacobowsky has arranged for a truck hauling nets to take them to the coast, but he will not go. It is time for him to head south to Spain and safety. But in his rush the Colonel has left the papers behind. Moments too late, Jacobowsky finds the papers and inspired by duty and the thought of seeing Marianne once more, he starts off to find her and the Colonel in St. Nazaire.
- Act II
Jacobowsky, on his way to St. Nazaire aboard a small barge, reflects on the one person who has never been a part of his life ("Mrs. S. L. Jacobowsky"). When he arrives at Papa Clairon's café, his friends have not yet shown up. But a wedding is about to take place, and he momentarily mistakes the
En route to the café and now very much aware of the missing papers, Marianne, the Colonel, and Szabuniewicz agonize over their loss. The Colonel realizes how much like Jacobowsky he is — running, hunted, and in fear of his life ("I Think, I Think"). Arriving on a bicycle the waitress tells them of the new meeting place.
At 23 Rue Mace, the convent of the Sisters of Charity, the Germans have come to billet their troops in spite of Mother Madeleine's outrage. The foursome arrive for their meeting and over-power the Germans. The Colonel is forced to kill the SS Captain, and Jacobowsky throws the other soldiers into the coal cellar and gives the Colonel the secret papers. By now the last barriers are down between the two men, and we see that Jacobowsky and the Colonel are friends at last ("You I Like").
Later that night on the wharf outside St. Nazaire they wait for the boat that will take them to England, but there will be room only for two of the four. Szabuniewicz will not go but will return to Poland and fight the Nazis there. Jacobowsky, though he knows that there is no place for him in France, insists that Marianne leave with the Colonel. Jacobowsky's flight will continue, but this time with a difference; if he has found a place in the heart of a Marianne, then what can stop him from finding his place in the world? His Grand Tour is just beginning ("I'll Be Here Tomorrow (Reprise)").
Songs
|
|
Cast
Original Broadway (1979) | Off-Broadway Revival (1988) | Musicals in Mufti (2009) | |
---|---|---|---|
S. L. Jacobowsky | Joel Grey | Stuart Zagnit | Jason Graae |
Colonel Tadeusz Boleslav Stjerbinsky | Ron Holgate | Paul Ukena, Jr. | James Barbour |
Marianne | Florence Lacey | Patricia Ben Peterson | Nancy Anderson |
Mme. Vauclain/Mme. Manzoni/Bride's Aunt | Chevi Colton | Patti Mariano | |
Captain Meuller | George Reinholt | Don Atkinson | |
Claudine | Jo Speros | Jeanne Montano | |
Szabuniewicz | Stephen Vinovich
|
Steven Fickinger |
Awards and nominations
Source: Playbill[2]
- 1979 Nominee - Tony Awardfor Best Original Score
- 1979 Nominee - Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Grey)
- 1979 Nominee - Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Holgate)
- 1979 Nominee - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Grey)
References
- ^ Berkvist, Robert. "Can Joel Grey Make Jacobowsky Sing?" The New York Times, January 7, 1979, accessed december 22, 2016
- ^ a b "The Grand Tour Broadway" Playbill, accessed December 22, 2016
- ^ Bertolini, Diana. "The Lost Musicals: Joel Grey’s Star Vehicles, Part Two: 'The Grand Tour'" nypl.org/blog, June 7, 2012, accessed December 22, 2016
- ^ Mandelbaum, Ken. "Ken Mandelbaum's Musicals On Disc: Jerry Herman on Disc, Part 2" Playbill, July 19, 1998
- ^ Oxman, Steve. "Review: ‘The Grand Tour’" Variety, November 7, 2005