Kelly (musical)

Kelly is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eddie Lawrence and music by Mark Charlap. It was inspired by Steve Brodie, who in 1886 claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived. The 1965 musical is notable for having closed after its opening night performance on Broadway, becoming one of the biggest flops in Broadway history.

Background

Inspired by the 1880s tale of Brooklyn Bridge-jumper Steve Brodie, the musical features period characters Diamond Jim Brady, Frank and Jesse James, Tony Pastor, Lillian Russell and John L. Sullivan.

Of the show's origins, Eddie Lawrence, lyricist and librettist, recalled that: "Moose Charlap had finished doing his songs for Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin, and a couple of one-acts of mine were being performed while I toured late night TV plugging my comedy album. During the afternoons, we worked on Kelly. It was a labour of love." At that early stage, the show was titled Never Go There Anymore.

Lawrence further recalls that "we ran into some producers who said they'd been waiting for this show all their lives and wanted to present it on Broadway." The show's original producer was Broadway stalwart Edward Padula (in association with January Productions), whose deal included a motion picture adaptation. Toward the end of 1963, it was reported that the budget had been set at $350,000, with $100,000 to be invested by Roulette Records. At this early stage, a number of actors were named as possible leads. Impressionist Frank Gorshin and film actor Richard Harris were both considered for the lead male role, while Mark Charlap's wife, pop singer Sandy Stewart, was considered for the lead female role. Lindsey Anderson was engaged as the show's director. Rehearsals were scheduled to start on 27 January 1964, with a Broadway opening planned for March. None of this, however, came to pass.

Kelly

Kelly may refer to:

People

Places

Other uses

Kelly (Kelly Price album)

Kelly is the fifth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Kelly Price released on May 3, 2011 on the labels My Block Records and Malaco Records. The album received three Grammy nominations at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best R&B Song, Best R&B Performance (both for the song "Not My Daddy") and Best R&B Album. Price arranged all of the vocals on the album.

Track listing

All songs written by Kelly Price. Additional writers as follows.

Singles

Kelly (Australian TV series)

Kelly is an Australian children's television series that first screened on Network Ten in 1991. The series was produced by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions and featured the adventures of a former police dog called Kelly.

Plot

Kelly is a highly trained German Shepherd police dog who needs to recover from an injury on duty. Sergeant Mike Patterson sends him to stay with his son's family. Kelly becomes the constant companion of Jo Patterson, Mike's granddaughter, and her friend Danny Foster. Kelly has many classic adventures with the family and other friends, and was considered Australia's answer to 'Lassie' and 'The Littlest Hobo.

Cast

Musical film

The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing.

The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate "production numbers".

The musical film was a natural development of the stage musical after the emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of lavish background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater; performers often treat their song and dance numbers as if there is a live audience watching. In a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as the performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it.

Musical films in the Western world

The classical sound era

The 1930s through the early 1950s are considered to be the golden age of the musical film, when the genre's popularity was at its highest in the Western world.

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.

Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre works of American creators like George M. Cohan. The Princess Theatre musicals and other smart shows like Of Thee I Sing (1931) were artistic steps forward beyond revues and other frothy entertainments of the early 20th century and led to such groundbreaking works as Show Boat (1927) and Oklahoma! (1943). Some of the most famous and iconic musicals through the decades that followed include West Side Story (1957), The Fantasticks (1960), Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), Les Misérables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Rent (1996), The Producers (2001) and Wicked (2003).

1776 (musical)

1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It dramatizes the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote for American independence and to sign the document.

It premiered on Broadway in 1969, earning warm reviews, and ran for 1,217 performances. The production was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three, including the Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1972 it was made into a film adaptation. It was revived on Broadway in 1997.

History

In 1926, Rodgers and Hart had written a musical about the American Revolution, called Dearest Enemy. Additionally, in 1950, a musical about the Revolution had been presented on Broadway, titled Arms and the Girl, with music by Morton Gould, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and a book by Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields, and Rouben Mamoulian, the show's director.

Sherman Edwards, a writer of pop songs with several top ten hits in the late fifties and early sixties, spent several years developing lyrics and libretto for a musical based on the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Edwards recounted that, "I wanted to show [the founding fathers] at their outermost limits. These men were the cream of their colonies... They disagreed and fought with each other. But they understood commitment, and though they fought, they fought affirmatively." Producer Stuart Ostrow recommended that librettist Peter Stone collaborate with Edwards on the book of the musical. Stone recalled,