Allegro

Allegro
Original Cast Album
Music	Richard Rodgers
Lyrics	Oscar Hammerstein II
Book	Oscar Hammerstein II
Productions	1947 Broadway

Allegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), their fourth collaboration together.

Production history

Allegro opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on October 10, 1947, running for only 315 performances. It starred John Battles as Joseph Taylor, Jr., Annamary Dickey as Majorie Taylor, William Ching as Dr. Joseph Taylor, Roberta Jonay as Jennie Brinker, Lisa Kirk as Emily West, and John Conte as Charlie Townsend. It was directed and choreographed by Agnes de Mille. The production received mixed reactions from critics,^[1] and along with only two other Rodgers and Hammerstein productions (Me and Juliet and Pipe Dream) was never filmed. However, it won three Donaldson Awards including Best Book, Lyrics and Score.

According to Stephen Sondheim (who was a production assistant for the original Broadway production), in his introductory remarks prior to the 1994 New York City Center Encores! concert reading of the show, Allegro may have suffered the most disastrous opening night in theatre history. In addition to a falling flat, during a dance number in Act One, one of the actors caught his tap shoe in a track on the stage, tearing every ligament in his leg, and had to be carried - screaming - from the stage. In Act Two, Lisa Kirk, who was making her professional stage debut, caught a heel in another track and fell headlong into the orchestra.^[2] Sondheim confesses his memory may be faulty, but he recalls that she was back up on the stage without missing a note. Also, there was a fire in a local alley ashcan and the fire extinguisher went off during Act Two, causing many audience members to leave in panic.^{[citation needed]}

Oscar Hammerstein often claimed that he wished he could go back and rewrite the second act of Allegro; he felt audiences didn't get the show properly, leaving the show thinking it was a simple story of an Everyman returning to his roots. Hammerstein said the show was his most autobiographical work, and that Joseph Taylor, Jr.'s life was a mirror of some of his own experiences.^[3]

Encores! Concert

In March 1994 a staged concert version was presented by New York City Center Encores!, with a cast that included Stephen Bogardus (Joseph Taylor, Jr.), Karen Ziemba, Jonathan Hadary and Christopher Reeve, and directed by Susan H. Schulman.^[2]

Revised revival – 2004

A revised version of Allegro, re-written by Joe DiPietro, who was a protege of James Hammerstein, was produced at the Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) in January 2004. This version cut the musical in size and scale. The cast was cut with some characters being combined; the original, lavish orchestrations were simplified. ^[4]

Plot

The plot follows the life of "Everyman" protagonist Joseph Taylor, Jr. in a series of vignettes from birth to age thirty-five. Taylor, a doctor, grows up, marries a local woman, Jennie Brinker, and his wife's infidelity eventually drives him to move back home with nurse Emily West to serve the sick and needy. Themes in the musical include the corruption of large institutions.

In contrast to several of their other shows, Allegro contains almost no comedy. Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, Flower Drum Song, The Sound of Music, and even the downbeat Carousel all had generous helpings of comedy interspersed with their dramatic scenes.

Musical numbers

Recordings

The Original Cast recording was released in 1947 and on CD on March 9, 1993 by RCA Victor Broadway, but did not contain the complete score.^[5]

A studio recording of the complete score was made in 2008, with Patrick Wilson as Joe, and Nathan Gunn and Audra McDonald as his parents. The album, produced by Sony Masterworks Broadway, was released on February 3, 2009.^{[6] [7]}

References

Green, Stanley. The Broadway Fake Book

External links

• Allegro at the Internet Broadway Database
• Allegro at R&H Theatricals Production information
• Allegro info page on StageAgent.com - Allegro plot summary & character descriptions
• Opera News Online, August 2008 article