| Flora the Red Menace | |
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| Cover of Original Cast Recording | |
|---|---|
| Music | John Kander |
| Lyrics | Fred Ebb |
| Book | originally adapted by George Abbott and Robert Russell revised by David Thompson |
| Based upon | Love is Just Around the Corner, by Lester Atwell |
| Productions | 1965 Broadway 1987 Off-Broadway |
Flora the Red Menace is a musical with a book by David Thompson, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb, starring Liza Minnelli in the title role (her Broadway debut). John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927 in Kansas City Missouri) is the American Composer Fred Ebb ( April 8 1933 &mdash September 11 2004) was a Musical theatre lyricist George Francis Abbott ( June 25, 1887 - January 31, 1995) was an American Theater producer and director, Playwright Robert or Bob Russell may refer to Robert Hamilton Russell (1860–1933 English-born Australian surgeon Robert Russell (actor There are several men named David Thompson: In exploration David Thompson (less commonly Thomson — founder (1623 of the first European settlement in Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927 in Kansas City Missouri) is the American Composer Fred Ebb ( April 8 1933 &mdash September 11 2004) was a Musical theatre lyricist Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946) is a legendary American actress and singer Minnelli won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented This was the first collaboration between Kander and Ebb, who later wrote Broadway and Hollywood hits such as Cabaret and Chicago. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States.
Although not full of well-known or show-stopping numbers, the score does present a valuable insight into the later work of Kander and Ebb. Like Cabaret and Chicago, it features a headstrong heroine with passion and idealism, and has a strong dose of political content.
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Productions
Flora the Red Menace opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on May 11, 1965 and ran for 87 performances. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located The Neil Simon Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 250 West 52nd Street in midtown- Manhattan. Minnelli won the Tony Award, the youngest person to do so at age 19, until Frankie Michaels won in 1966 at age 11.
Flora was not written for Liza Minnelli as is sometimes said– Robert Russell was rumored to have written the show as a vehicle for Barbra Streisand. Barbra Streisand (ˈstraɪsænd "STRY-sand" born April 24 1942 is an American Singer, Film and Theatre Actress George Abbott became involved and thought it would be a vehicle for Eydie Gormé. Eydie Gorme (alternative spelling Eydie Gormé; born Edith Gormezano August 16, 1931) is an American Singer credited heavily Receiving promising out-of-town reviews in New Haven and Boston, the show was recorded two days before its Broadway opening. However, the New York critics were not enthusiastic, and when it closed it had lost almost all of its $400,000 investment. [1]
The New York Times reviewer wrote: "The voice [of Minelli] is not yet distinctive. . . She is going to be a popular singer, all right. It [Flora the Red Menace] has the appearance of being pasted together with bits and pieces. A promising idea has not been enlivened by a creative spark. " [2]
The show was revived in New York at the off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre in December 1987 with a new book by David Thompson. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. The Vineyard Theatre is a non-profit Off-Broadway Theatre located in New York City. Directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, Flora was played by Veanne Cox with Peter Frechette as Harry. Scott Ellis ( 19 April[[ 957]] Washington DC) is an American Stage director and Television director. Susan Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American Broadway director, Choreographer, Film director, and Veanne Cox (born January 19, 1963) is an American stage and screen actress and former ballet dancer Peter Frechette (born October 3 1956) is an American film stage and television actor [3]
The most recent professional production in the UK was at Dundee Repertory Theatre, Scotland, autumn 2003. Dundee Repertory Theatre or Dundee Rep is a Theatre and Arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. [4]
There is currently a reprise at the Freud Theatre in Los Angeles, CA in which the role of Flora is played by Eden Espinosa.
Plot synopsis
The story is told as though in a presentation by the Federal Theatre Project, part of the WPA established by President Roosevelt (voiced by Art Carney). The Federal Theatre Project (FTP was a New Deal project to fund Theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the The Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 the Work Projects Administration; WPA) was the largest New Deal agency employing millions of people Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney ( November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an Academy Award - and Emmy Award -winning A company of actors play all the roles, with obvious props and scenery, not trying to hide the 'amateur' look and feel of the show. Headstrong wannabe fashion designer Flora Mezaros (Liza Minnelli), is a member of an artists' co-operative of bohemian types -dancers, musicians, designers - struggling to find work during the Great Depression. Hoping to find a job which pays at least $15 a week, she is hired by the head of a large department store at $30.
She falls in love with Harry Toukarian (Bob Dishy), another struggling designer, who attempts to convert Flora to his Communist ideals. Bob Dishy (born in 1934 in Brooklyn New York) is an actor known for his deadpan humor Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Even though it compromises her job in an organisation which does not recognise the new unions she seeks to hold down both job and relationship. Complicating matters is a predatory Communist matriarch, Comrade Charlotte, (Cathryn Damon) who wants Harry for herself, a secretary with designs on her boss, and Kenny and Maggie, a jazz dancing duo with their sights on greater things. Cathryn Lee Damon ( September 11, 1930 - May 4, 1987) was an American actress, best known for her roles on television
In the end, however, Flora finds herself torn between the vastly different ideals, and has to sacrifice one or the other for true happiness.
Songs
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Recording
The Original Broadway cast recording was released by RCA Victor Broadway in May 1965; a CD was released March 10, 1992. [5]
References
- ^ Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops, Ken Mandelbaum, p. 233, 1991, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0312064284
- ^ New York Times, Howard Taubman, May 12, 1965, p. 41
- ^ New York Times, Walter Goodman, December 7, 1987
- ^ Dundee Rep Theatre
- ^ Amazon.com: Flora The Red Menace: The Original Broadway Cast Recording (1965): Music: John Kander,Fred Ebb
External links
- Flora the Red Menace at the Internet Broadway Database
- Synopsis from noda
- Talkin Broadway review of regional San Francisco production
- Time Magazine review, May. 21, 1965