"A Musical Fable of Broadway": Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows

“A Musical Fable of Broadway”
Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows

Basic Information
● Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser

● Libretto by Abe Burrows ● Opened 11/24/1950 at the 46th Street
● Direction by George S. Kaufman Theatre
● Choreography by Michael Kidd ● Played for a total of 1,200
● Produced by Feuer & Martin performances
● Musical Direction by Irving Actman ● The show was revived on Broadway
● Scenic Design by Jo Mielziner five times (1955, 1965, 1976, 1992,
● Costume Design by Alvin Colt 2009) and produced into a movie in
● Lighting Design by Jo Mielziner 1955.
Basic Information cont.
● Original Cast
○ Robert Alda (Sky Masterson)
○ Vivian Blaine (Miss Adelaide)
○ Sam Levene (Nathan Detroit)
○ Isabel Bigley (Sister Sarah Brown)
○ Pat Rooney Sr. (Arvide Abernathy)
○ B.S. Pully (Big Jule)
○ Stubby Kaye (Nicely Nicely Johnson)
○ Tom Pedi (Harry the Horse)
○ Jonny Silver (Benny Southstreet)
Original Production Values
● Origin
○ Based on a series of short stories and characters written by Damon Runyon between the 1920’s and
1930’s about gamblers, gangsters, and other activities of the New York underworld.
○ “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown”, “Blood Pressure”, and “Pick the Winner”.
● Reviews
○ Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway to a very excited and welcoming audience. A review from the
production left the reviewer completely in awe and wanting to come back for more as he wrote, “I
did not want to leave the theatre after the premiere last night and come back here and write a piece
about the show. I wanted to hang around, on the chance that they would raise the curtain again and
put on a few numbers they'd forgotten,” (Chapman).
○ https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/guys-dolls-new-york-musical-comedy-1950-review-article-1.244529
3
Original Production Values cont.
● Designs
○ Original set design concepts by Jo Mielziner seem to have a very cartoon-like, unique, and
interactive approach. Surely, it could lend itself to the idea that this was based off short story
and characters or simply to add to the comedic effect of the musical itself. Being titled a “Fable
of Broadway” one would deduce that this is to ensure that all of this is simply a ridiculous
reenactment of what really happened below the streets of New York.
○ In all the set featured a series of painted backdrop with some simple props, like tables and
chairs or items pertinent to the story or comedy. Productions now feature a more grandiose set
complete with big lights, moving sets, elaborate designs, etc. due to the advancement of
theatrical design by Mielziner whose set designs were absolutely essential and paramount to
the production and were pioneering for the design world of Broadway.
○ Featured a colorful set that looked, “like so much cotton candy,” (Krebs).
● Costumes, Hair, and Makeup
○ Though Guys and Dolls was written and produced in 1951, the setting follows Gamblers during
prohibition in the 1920s. Men are seen in a suit attributed to gangster/gambler wear, similar to the
“zoot suit” of the 20’s. Women are seen in “hot box” girl attire, very on brand for the time of
Broadway showing off the legs and sexuality of chorus girls, especially in the underground of New
York. Fitting the idea of “no legs, no laughs, no chance” perfectly.
● Iconic Performances
○ In this clip, Sam Levene and Vivian Blaine reprise their roles in the West End production of Guys and
Dolls. The most recent notable production (2009 aside) with Nathan Lane and Faith Prince features a
performance with Adelaide and Nathan seen as more of a caricature of what the classic 1920’s
gangster and doll might be seen as in a contemporary eye. Levene and Blaine have less of the
“character voice” expected of Adelaide and Nathan and give a more genuine and comedic
performance focused on the subject matter and not so much of the physical schtick that Lane and
Prince portray in 1992.
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kTkgnOyoUA
○ Blaine reprises her role as Adelaide, performing in the 1971 Tony Awards Ceremony. She uses more
physical/vocal comedy, though it’s hard to tell if this is contemporized or original practice
considering it is 20 years after the OBC and very few video recordings of the original production exist.
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oNsYpuuJEk
Acting style
- While there may be little footage of the actual Original Broadway Cast, there was a movie released shortly
after the stage production began its run. This, along with minimal footage of performances delivered by
the original cast can help us somewhat create an idea of what the acting style was. The cast Recording also
gives insight into the style in which this show was originally performed.
- The acting is very rooted in the music from what I can tell. The actors do the absolute bare minimum and
let the music do most of the work for them.
- Most of the acting is very presentational. The use of gesturing and facial takes are both very prominent.
Many times, a motion with be repeated for comedic effect.
- While some seem to have an intentional disconnect, others are extremely over the top. Many of the female
actresses use these incredibly farse-like acting styles. This creates comedic contrast for songs like sue me.
Gender roles of the times clearly play a role in this choice of direction. Women were viewed as more
emotional and men were viewed as emotionally disconnected.
- A lot of the scenes with two men are very one leveled to possibly show masculinity.
Music and Dance Styles
● Musically speaking, we will need to look at the musical stylings of Frank Loesser. Taking note of his musical
inspiration and how this affected the show. Being a comedy filled with moments of physicality and
opportunity for the actors to use the music with their beats how did the orchestration help the
performance.
● It may also be valuable to note the vocal variety during the 1950’s on Broadway and how vocal choice
relates to character development. Adelaide and Nathan remain the essential secondary plotline and the
true comic relief to the driving storyline of Sky and Sarah. These two, especially in Sue Me, utilize more of
the belt which was introduced in the 30’s and became heavily prominent into the 50’s, just before we see a
shift into the Rock/Pop introduction into Musical Theatre.
● For the world of dance, this was a turning point where we begin to abandon the idea of heavy technical
dance shows and begin to get into political theatre on Broadway with Hair. Michael Kidd was a driving force
for the integrated musical. He utilized choreography that arose from dramatic action and helped drive the
plot. How did this affect a show like Guys and Dolls that was more comedy based and focused on lead
characters who might not have a lot of dance training rather than the usual ensemble of dance chorus
members. Jazz dance, Ballet dance prominently.
Deportment
- Nuclear Family
● Perfect American Family in Dangerous World
● Devoted wife (Loves cleaning, cooking, caring for children/husband)
- Men were given the mentality that they could live freely and women were taught to adjust their lifestyles to
how men were living.
- Women were made to feel like men’s property. The women of this time were expected to have lives
revolving around men.
- Men acted with a lot of violence.
- Men were taught that issues could be easily fixed so there was very little consideration of what might come
of one’s actions.
- Ultimately, men were in power and taught that women were subordinate to their efforts.
Cultural Events
- Korean War
- The first credit cards are released
- NATO is established
- “Iron Curtain” Speech - Winston Churchill
- Gandhi is assassinated
- The first commercial passenger jet is created
- USA builds Hydrogen Bomb
- “I Love Lucy” premiers
- Presidents are limited to two terms
- Television is very prominent culturally
Show Revivals
● From reviewing clips below, most of the shows follow the same production concept, stealing from the era
of the 20’s and sticking with Gambler/Gangster/Chorus Girl stereotype characterizations. What does change
is musical/dance influence, especially in the 2009 production. Because Guys and Dolls follows such a
specific storyline that was developed 30 years past it’s time that isn’t even necessarily historically accurate
itself it’s hard to say if even the original production was accurate.
● 1976 Broadway Revival
○ http://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-the-1976-revival-of-guys-and-dolls-on-broadway

○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBS_fboOq8I&t=3078s
● 1996 West End Revival

○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F7_VvMlddk

○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Pw4OT1oHo
○ Guessing by the technical difficulty of the Tony performance that’s how well this revival went...
Bibliography
Bibliography cont.
“Guys+and+Dolls+1950.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!,
video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrCwLC195NdxWAAEAkPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTB0N2Noc21lBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNwaXZz?p=guys%2Band%2Bdo
lls%2B1950&type=ANYS_A08TE_ext_bsf&hspart=Lkry&hsimp=yhs-SF01¶m1=na3P9yVrJGqvPvD-WkP1D1VfpmayCA_xyoUcMqGgxZr8Ank5gMWs5r3U9EzhViV6e8A1QUHQTsknfQqi
CET2eZvBYYONUXnv2vd-1INiZKMDyZq3vlZ3s9sRZPiA392hQFbTAs68GK8uvMpi-SwD_zz_9lWiDzFy8_4_oMUZaDvSbvx0DmkwQ1GzdWlLyG3Tnbt_-5pUweMQMuShbiU2a3E%2C&
ei=UTF-8&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01#id=1&vid=8be61b3f784da87c182f3be372da8e7f&action=view.

ei=UTF-8&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01#id=6&vid=44ab0382d13f981b50c6a3bdaa578506&action=view.

ei=UTF-8&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01#id=6&vid=44ab0382d13f981b50c6a3bdaa578506&action=view
“Masculinity, Gender Roles, and T.V. Shows from the 1950s.” The Artifice, the-artifice.com/masculinity-gender-roles-tv-1950s/
Pearson, Steve. “1950s Important News and Events, Key Technology Fashion and Popular Culture.” The People History, www.thepeoplehistory.com/1950s.html.
Bibliography

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“A Musical Fable of Broadway”

Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows

● Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser

● 1992 Broadway Revival

● 1996 West End Revival

● 2009 Broadway Revival

“Guys+and+Dolls+1950.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!,

“Guys+and+Dolls+1950.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!,

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