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The Broadway musical theater Producer, Harold Prince, died today, July 31, 2019, in Reykjavík, Iceland; he was 91 years old.
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Flora the Red Menace was just one of dozens of musicals he was involved with in one way or another. Some of them were: West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Company, Candide, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Call Me Madam, The Phantom of the Opera, Kiss of the Spider Woman, , , , , ,
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The list of the film, opera and stage productions he has worked on staggers the imagination (links below) . . .
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Prince was born in Manhattan on January 30, 1928, the son of a family that was of German Jewish descent. He began work in the theatre as an assistant stage manager to theatrical producer and director George Abbott. With Abbott he co-produced The Pajama Game, which won the 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical.
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photo by Styrous® He was offered the job of directing Cats by Lloyd Webber but turned it down. Oh, well! Can't call 'em every time. He actually had a few clunkers along the way; it was not a perfect record, but oh boy! The record he left was astounding!
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Flora the Red Menace opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on May 11, 1965 and closed on July 24, 1965, after 87 performances. The cast featured Liza Minnelli as Flora, Bob Dishy as Harry Toukarian and Cathryn Damon as Comrade Charlotte. Direction was by George Abbott, choreography by Lee Theodore, with scenic design by William and Jean Eckart, costume design by Donald Brooks and lighting design by Tharon Musser. Minnelli won the Tony Award, the youngest person to have done so at age 19, until Frankie Michaels won in 1966 at age 11.
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The show was not written for Minnelli; Robert Russell was rumored to have written the show as a vehicle for Barbra Streisand. George Abbott became involved, thinking it would be a vehicle for Eydie Gormé.
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.
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.
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Of course, I have a favorite from this album, it is Sing Happy! Sung by Liza Minnelli,
it starts out as a bouncy but gentle and quiet tango then eventually
goes into a stock musical comedy song with a grand finale (link below).
The Flame is pretty good; sung by Mary Louise Wilson, it is a vibrant czardas that fits very nicely in a musical; it's also a whole lot of fun (link below).
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The story revolves around fashion designer hopeful Flora Meszaros (Liza Minnelli) and her involvement in the Communist Party during the Great Depression (link below) of the 1930's. The plot of the story bears out the Karl Marx warning that history repeats itself as farce. Complete plot below.
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In spite of the star poser of Minelli, the play was not a huge success. The Original Broadway Cast Rrecording was released by RCA Victor in May 1965.
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photo by Styrous® Viewfinder links:
Kiss of the Spider Woman film
The Pajama Game
West Side Story ~ Maria, Tony, Bimbo's & Leo Friedman
Net links:
Filmography
Stage productions
Synopsis
Time ~ Marx's Revenge
Variety ~ Flora, the Red Menace
YouTube links:
The Flame
Sing Happy
Liza Minnelli ~ Flora the Red Menace - 1965
I always had a good time in theatre,
even when shows don't turn out as well as I'd like.
~ Harold Prince
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, July 31, 2019
