Lorelei (musical)

Infobox Musical
name= Lorelei


image_size=175px
caption=2003 Decca combined cast recordings release
music=Jule Styne
lyrics=Adolph Green and Betty Comden
book=Kenny Solms and Gail Parent
basis="Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"
productions= 1974 Broadway
awards=

"Lorelei" is a musical with a book by Kenny Solms and Gail Parent, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Jule Styne. It is a revision of the Joseph Fields-Anita Loos book for the 1949 production "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and includes many of the Jule Styne-Leo Robin songs written for the original.

The 1974 Broadway production of "Lorelei", directed by Robert Moore and starring Carol Channing, ran for 320 performances.

ynopsis

Subtitled "Gentlemen Still Prefer Blondes", it opens with the title character, a heavily-bejeweled, very wealthy widow, about to set sail on the SS Ile de France. The moment reminds her of a past voyage she took with her best friend and fellow showgirl Dorothy Shaw, and in a flashback we relive their madcap adventures after Lorelei's plans to marry Gus Esmond are derailed by his father and the two women sail from New York City to Paris and settle in at the Hôtel Ritz.

Productions

The show toured the country for nearly a year before opening on Broadway. Directed by Robert Moore and choreographed by Ernest O. Flatt, it opened at the Palace Theatre on January 27 1974 following 11 previews, and ran for a total of 320 performances.

Carol Channing, who had originated the role of Lorelei Lee in 1949, reprised her role, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Also in the cast were Tamara Long as Dorothy and Peter Palmer as Gus, with Brandon Maggart, Dody Goodman, and Lee Roy Reams in supporting roles.

In her review in "Time", Martha Duffy described the show as "a particularly tawdry retread . . . The book, which always had the flaw of seeming more heartless than its heroine, now seems just plain crass." Of its star, she noted, "Channing, who is now 51, looks much too old for the part . . . Instead of throwing herself into the proceedings, Carol seems to expend her energy with utmost calculation . . . she remains almost stationary and is offstage altogether for the strenuous tap-dance sequences."

ong list

;Act I
*Looking Back
*Bye, Bye Baby (from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes")
*High Time (from "Gentlemen")
*Little Rock (from "Gentlemen")
*I Love What I'm Doing (from "Gentlemen")
*I'ts Delightful Down in Chile (from "Gentlemen")
*I Won't Let You Get Away
*Keeping Cool With Coolidge (from "Gentlemen")
*Men;Act II
*Coquette (from "Gentlemen")
*Mamie is Mimi (from "Gentlemen")
*Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (from "Gentlemen")
*Homesick (from "Gentlemen")
*Miss Lorelei Lee
*Button Up With Esmond (from "Gentlemen")
*Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (Reprise)

Recordings

The show's cast album was recorded on February 18, 1973 [http://product.half.ebay.com/Lorelei_W0QQprZ3522095QQtgZinfo] , prior to the tryout tour. During eleven months on the road, songs were discarded and new ones added, so when the show reached New York City, it was decided to make a new recording on March 1 1974 [http://product.half.ebay.com/Lorelei_W0QQprZ3522095QQtgZinfo] . In 2003, Decca Broadway combined the two recordings, resulting in a definitive cast recording that includes all the songs from both [http://iclassics.com/featureArticle?contentId=3480] [http://www.iclassics.com/productDetail?contentId=54392] .

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3699 Internet Broadway Database entry]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908501,00.html?promoid=googlep "Time" review]