Oh, Captain!

For the Walt Whitman poem, see O Captain! My Captain!
Oh, Captain!
Music Jay Livingston
Ray Evans
Lyrics Jay Livingston
Ray Evans
Book Al Morgan
José Ferrer
Basis 1953 film The Captain's Paradise
Productions 1958 Broadway

Oh, Captain! is a musical comedy based on the film The Captain's Paradise with music and lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and the book by Al Morgan and José Ferrer. The basis of the musical was the 1953 film The Captain's Paradise, which had been written by Alec Coppel and Nicholas Phipps.

The musical updated the film's Gibraltar and Algiers setting to London and Paris. The production was dismissed by the critics as a "tired businessman's show", but the cast and choreography were much praised. The highlight of the show was an extended dance sequence between Tony Randall (in the title role) and prima ballerina Alexandra Danilova that has been referred to by musical theatre historians as perhaps the best number ever staged in a post-war musical.

Productions

Oh, Captain! opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) on February 4, 1958 and closed on July 19, 1958 after 192 performances. The musical was directed by José Ferrer, with set and lighting design by Jo Mielziner, costumes by Miles White, hair design by Ernest Adler, dances and musical numbers created by James Starbuck, and musical director Jay Blackton. The original cast included Tony Randall as Captain Henry St. James, Abbe Lane, Susan Johnson, Jackie McKeever, Edward Platt, Paul Valentine, and Stanley Carlson.

Abbe Lane was under contract to a rival studio, which refused to allow her to record the original cast album. Her songs were recorded by Eileen Rodgers. Lane did record two of her numbers on one of her subsequent solo albums. Hollywood musical star Dorothy Lamour made her Broadway debut when she replaced Lane for the last week of the Broadway run in July 1958.

Ram's Head, the Stanford theatrical society, produced the show in 1962, starring Laurence Guittard.[1][2]

42nd Street Moon (San Francisco) presented it in a staged concert in 2003.[3]

Songs

Act I
  • "A Very Proper Town" – Captain Henry St. James and the Company
  • "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Gives Him Simple Joys)" – Mrs. Maud St. James and Captain Henry St. James
  • "A Very Proper Week" – The English Townspeople
  • "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Leads Him Down to the Sea)" – Captain Henry St. James, Enrico Manzoni and the Crew
  • "Captain Henry St. James" – The Crew of the S.S. Paradise
  • "The Dock Dance" – The Dockworkers
  • "Three Paradises" – Captain Henry St. James
  • "Surprise" – Mrs. Maud St. James and the Neighbors
  • "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Puts Him in Paree)" – Captain Henry St. James
  • "Hey Madame" – Captain Henry St. James and Lisa
  • "Femininity" – Bobo
  • "It's Never Quite the Same" – Enrico Manzoni and the Crew
  • "It's Never Quite the Same" (Reprise) – Mrs. Maud St. James, Enrico Manzoni and the Crew
  • "We're Not Children" – Mrs. Maud St. James and the Spaniard
  • "Give it All You Got" – Mae and the Tourists
  • "Love is Hell" – Mae and the Ladies of the Ensemble
  • "Keep It Simple" – Bobo and Her Dancing Companions
Act II
  • "The Morning Music of Montmartre" – Mae and the People of Montmartre
  • "You Don't Know Him" – Bobo and Mrs. Maud St. James
  • "I've Been There and I'm Back" – Enrico Manzoni and Captain Henry St. James
  • "Double Standard" – Bobo and Mrs. Maud St. James
  • "All the Time" – Captain Henry St. James
  • "You're So Right for Me" – Enrico Manzoni and Bobo
  • "All the Time" (Reprise) – Mrs. Maud St. James
  • "Finale" – The Entire Company

Critical response

Frank Aston of the World Telegram and Sun said of the show, "splendiferous, gaudy. songful, comical, dancing joy that happens none too often!, José Ferrer's production of Oh, Captain! had smooth sailing all the way. It was the outstanding musical success of the Philadelphia season, and found New Yorkers equally eager to absorb its high spirits and salty humours. With no aim other than entertainment, it instantly became one of Broadway's biggest hits and seems securely berthed at the Alvin Theatre for many months to come."[4]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1958 Tony Award Best Musical Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Randall Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Susan Johnson Nominated
Jacquelyn McKeever Nominated
Best Scenic Design Jo Mielziner Nominated
Best Costume Design Miles White Nominated
Theatre World Award Jacquelyn McKeever Won

References

  1. ↑ "Ram's Head Stanford" www.stanford.edu/group/rams-head, accessed july 17. 2013
  2. ↑ "'Oh, Captain!', 2003", 42ndstmoon.org, accessed july 17. 2013
  3. ↑ "'Oh, Captain!', 2003", 42ndstmoon.org, accessed december 30. 2011
  4. ↑ "'Oh, Captain' Plot, Songs", GuideToMusicalTheatre.com, accessed December 30, 2011
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