Call Me Madam

Infobox Musical
name= Call Me Madam
subtitle=


caption= Original Broadway Playbill
music= Irving Berlin
lyrics= Irving Berlin
book= Howard Lindsay
Russel Crouse
basis=
productions= 1950 Broadway
1953 film
awards= Tony Award for Best Score

"Call Me Madam" is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.

A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed socialite widow who is appointed US Ambassador to the fictional European country of Lichtenburg. While there, she charms the local gentry, especially Cosmo Constantine, while her press attache Kenneth Gibson falls in love with Princess Maria.

The musical was inspired by the 1949 appointment of Washington, D.C. hostess and Democratic Party fundraiser Perle Mesta as the Ambassador to Luxembourg, although the "Playbill" distributed at each performance humorously noted that "neither the character of Mrs. Sally Adams nor Miss Ethel Merman resemble any person living or dead."

After a tryout period in New Haven, Connecticut, the Broadway production, directed by George Abbott and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, opened on October 12 1950 at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 644 performances. The original cast included Ethel Merman, Paul Lukas, Pat Harrington, Sr., Russell Nype, and Lilia Skala. Merman's understudy Elaine Stritch later starred in the national tour.

Film adaptation

The 1953 film, with a screenplay by Arthur Sheekman directed by Walter Lang, starred Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, Billy DeWolfe, George Sanders, and Walter Slezak. The film replaced "Washington Square Dance" with the older "International Rag", and added a new song by Irving Berlin, "What Chance Have I With Love?" (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor). A soundtrack album was released by Decca as a 10-inch LP, but it has never been released on CD although the numbers "The Hostess with the Mostes'" and "You're Just in Love" are included on the Rhino Records CD set "Irving Berlin in Hollywood". The film was out of circulation for many years but was issued on DVD in 2004.

Merman won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Alfred Newman won the Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, and Irene Sharaff was nominated for her costume design. Lang was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures by the Directors Guild of America and the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and Sheekman's screenplay was nominated Best Written American Musical by the Writers Guild of America.

ong list

;Act I
*Mrs. Sally Adams
*The Hostess With the Mostes' on the Ball
*Washington Square Dance
*Lichtenburg
*Can You Use Any Money Today?
*Marrying For Love
*The Ocarina
*It's a Lovely Day Today
*The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me);Act II
*Lichtenburg (Reprise)
*Something To Dance About
*Once Upon a Time Today
*They Like Ike
*You're Just in Love
*The Best Thing for You (Would Be Me) (Reprise)
*It's a Lovely Day Today (Reprise)
*Mrs. Sally Adams (Reprise)
*Finale

Recordings

In a highly unusual situation, two LP albums of the score were released. The recording rights had been granted to RCA Victor who had invested in the show, but Merman was under contract to Decca Records, who refused to allow her to record the original cast album. Decca issued a 10-inch Lp featuring Merman singing some of her songs with others performed by Dick Haymes, Eileen Wilson and th3 Gordon Jenkins chorus. RCA Victor went ahead with the original cast album replacing Merman with Dinah Shore. Merman was called back into the Decca studios to record additional songs from th3 show and the label quickly withdrew the 10-inch album and re-released it as a 12-inch Lp under the title "Ethel Merman in 12 songs from Call Me Madam." The Victor album did not sell particularly well and was out of print from the mid-1950s until RCA Red Seal reissued it briefly in 1977. Merman's Decca recording stayed steadily in print until the end of the Lp era, and is currently available on CD from Decca Broadway.

Merman can also be heard on the film soundtrack album (with George Sanders and Donald O'Connor) issued in 1953 as a 10-inch album, also on teh Decca label. It has not been legally issued on CD.

A 1995 Broadway concert cast album, featuring Tyne Daly, Lewis Cleale, Christopher Durang, Ken Page, and Melissa Errico, is available on the DRG label.

The original London West End cast recording, starring Billie Worth, has been released on the Sepia label.

Awards

*Tony Award for Best Original Score
*Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Merman)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Nype)
*Tony Award for Best Stage Technician
*Theatre World Award (Nype)

ee also

*Gypsy Robe

External links

*ibdb title|1871
*imdb title|45592