Smile

Smile is a musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. It was originally produced on Broadway in 1986. The musical is based loosely on a 1975 film of the same title, from a screenplay by Jerry Belson.

Production

The original production opened on Broadway on November 24, 1986 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and closed on January 3, 1987 after only 48 performances. It was directed by Ashman with musical staging by Mary Kyte. ^[1] It received a Tony Award nomination, Best Book of a Musical, as well as Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Michael O'Gorman) and Outstanding Costume Design (William Ivy Long).

Smile chronicles the backstage troubles of the fictional 1985 California Young American Miss beauty pageant held in Santa Rosa, California. The main characters include Robin Gibson and Doria Hudson, two contestants who befriend and help each other throughout the week; Brenda DiCarlo Freelander, an ex-Young American Miss second-runner-up coordinating the pageant; and Brenda's husband Big Bob, an RV Salesman trying to help her through the week.

Smile is considered a "lost" musical because no official cast recording was ever made. However, there does exist a demo CD which is a primary source for groups performing the show. Some of the songs from the show, "Disneyland," "Smile," and "In Our Hands," have been released commercially in compilations of songs from little-known musicals. In November 2008, the record label PS Classics rectified this loss, releasing the album Howard Sings Ashman. The second disc comprised completely of songs from Smile, sung by Ashman with Hamlisch at the piano.^[2] They also put a transcript of a taped conversation between Ashman, Hamlisch and Bob Fosse discussing the development of the musical on their website^[3].

Subsequent activity

After the Broadway production of Smile flopped, Ashman and Hamlisch revised the show for stock productions. Among book changes include the change of Shawn's roommate from Connie-Sue to Maria, and the addition of some material for Bob. The score got more of a revision, gaining a completely re-structured opening number (though retaining most of the original melody and words), a new song for Brenda (Very Best Week of Your Lives) that completely replaced the Orientation Sequence musically, a new song for Bob (Bob's Song), a new number for the winner of the pageant (There Goes the Girl) and perhaps most notably, a completely new melody and lyric set for Robin's letters home and a slight decrease in the time given to them. The ending was also re-worked giving Bob a significant musical section new to the revised version.

Many of the small lyric changes to the licensed version actually originated before the Broadway production. When reading Lincoln Center's photocopy of the Broadway rehearsal script to Smile, many of the licensed lyrics are printed but scratched out and replaced with what was sung at the Lunt-Fontanne, handwritten.

An hour long recording of the licensed version was made for Samuel French (the licensing agent) to distribute to groups interested in performing Smile. It uses many of the original Broadway cast, including Marsha Waterbury, Jodi Benson, Anne Marie Bobby and Dick Patterson. This recording is often referred to incorrectly as an unreleased cast recording when it is in fact a demo.

Story

Act 1 Smile opens with all the contestants packing to leave for Santa Rosa, where the pageant is held (Typical High School Senior). At orientation, Brenda tells the girls what to expect during the upcoming week (The Very Best Week of Your Lives). The story switches over to the dorms where we meet Maria and Shawn, and Doria and Robin. Doria explains to Robin about the pageant and what happens while Robin writes a postcard to her Mom (Dear Mom #1). Doria then remembers seeing her first pageant in Disneyland and how one day she'll be there (Disneyland).

We then meet Little Bob Freelander, who wants to sneak into the dorms and take pictures of the girls while they're in the showers. The next day, the girls begin learning their dance routines under Tommy French (Shine). This song follows the typical day before the pageant. The girls learn to dance, while Brenda takes a few girls to speak at luncheons for the Elks, Lions Club, and Rotarians. At the end of the day, Brenda is determined to do better than she did eighteen years ago, and have everything go perfect; the girls have finally gotten a hold of the dance.

Robin, who has no experience in pageants, is worn out and wants to leave (Dear Mom #2). Meanwhile, Shawn has become angry that the judges like Maria's talent of cooking. Shawn wants to have Maria taken out of competition. The scene changes to Big Bob talking to the other judges. He warns them to look beyond the appearance of the girls and look at their hearts, and how the world never does this. (Bob's Song). Freddy and Little Bob are seen sneaking around that night. They plan on getting pictures of the girls that night. The scene changes to the next morning. Brenda is giving the girls their daily schedule, while they recover from the previous workout. (Nerves). The girls rehearse for their preliminary night, and Heidi falls. Preliminary night begins with three categories: Vim and Vigor, Scholastic Achievement, and Creative Talent. (Young and American). Sandra-Kay Macaffee, Robin Gibson, and Maria Gonzales win respectively in each category.

The girls return to their dorms and Doria talks to Robin about what she's doing wrong. Everyone then talks about their anxiousness for the final night. (Until tomorrow night).

Act 2 (opening act 2). Robin writes a third letter to her mom. Brenda talks about how this year is going to be the best year

Songs (Licensed Version)

Original Broadway characters and cast

The original Broadway cast included 16 contestants, a number of incidental roles, and the principal roles listed below.

Film

The original 1975 film was directed by Michael Ritchie with a screenplay by Jerry Belson. It starred Barbara Feldon as Brenda DiCarlo, Nicholas Pryer as Andy DiCarlo (Brenda's husband in the film), Bruce Dern as Big Bob Freelander, Geoffrey Lewis as Wilson Shears, Joan Prather as Robin Gibson, Annette O'Toole as Doria Hudson, Melanie Griffith as Karen Love, and choreographer Michael Kidd as Tommy French. The movie was filmed on location in Santa Rosa, California with the pageant festivities at Veteran's Memorial Auditorium.

References

• Transcript, "PS Classics Smile Transcript", PS Classics, November 11, 2008.

External links

• Smile at the Internet Broadway Database
• Internet Movie Database entry for Smile