- Irene (musical)
Infobox Musical
name= Irene
subtitle=
caption= Sheet music cover showingEdith Day
music=Harry Tierney
lyrics= Joseph McCarthy
book=James Montgomery
Joseph Stein later work
basis=James Montgomery ’s play
"Irene O'Dare "
productions= 1919 Broadway
1923 Broadway revival
1974 Broadway revival
awards="Irene" is a musical with a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by
Harry Tierney .Based on Montgomery's play "Irene O'Dare", it is set in
New York City 'sUpper West Side and focuses onimmigrant shop assistant Irene O'Dare, who is introduced toLong Island 's high society when she's hired by one of its leading "grande dame s" to help redecorate her home.Early productions
The original Broadway production, directed by Edward Royce, opened on
November 18 1919 at theVanderbilt Theatre , where it ran for 675 performances, at the time the record for the longest-running show in Broadway history, one it maintained for nearly two decades. The cast includedEdith Day as Irene, Walter Regan astycoon Donald Marshall, and Bobbie Watson as Madame Lucy, a flamboyant male dress designer.The show made a star of Day, who departed the cast after five months to recreate her role at
London 'sEmpire Theatre , where it ran for 399 performances. (Following its closing, she remained in England to become the first lady of West End musicals.) Day was replaced in the Broadway production byHelen Shipman , who had previously starred in the 1917 Broadway musical "Oh, Boy! " and went on to perform in many other Broadway musicals during the 1920s and early 1930s."Irene" enjoyed a brief Broadway revival at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre in 1923 with Dale Winter as Irene, Jere Delaney as Madame Lucy, and Walter Regan reprising his role as Donald. Eventually there were seventeen national touring companies, and it was filmed twice, first as a 1926 silent movie with
Colleen Moore and again in 1940 withAnna Neagle .Later productions
and Jack Lloyd, written specifically for the revival.
The production was troubled from the start.
Billy De Wolfe was forced to withdraw due to illness and was replaced byGeorge S. Irving as Madame Lucy. Reviews inToronto were mixed, and when Reynolds was stricken with a throat ailment, the producers, rather than cancel the sell-out performances, had her mime her dialogue and songs on stage to directorJohn Gielgud 's reading of them from the wings, much to the dismay of angry audiences.Philadelphia critics were brutal, and Gielgud, an odd choice for a lightweight musical comedy, was replaced byGower Champion , who had helmed aLos Angeles revival of "Annie Get Your Gun " with Reynolds.Peter Gennaro was hired to restage the musical numbers, andJoseph Stein was brought in to doctor the book, which now had Irene posing as acountess in cahoots with couturier Madame Lucy (the former Liam O'Dougherty) in a scheme to promote his fashions.Postponing the Broadway opening, the producers brought the work-in-progress to
Washington, D.C. , where it was seen by President Nixon and his family. Their declaration that "Irene" was a hit made headlines and spurred advance-ticket sales in New York City.After thirteen previews, the show opened on
March 13 1973 as the inaugural production of theMinskoff Theatre , where it ran for 594 performances. In addition to Reynolds and Irving (who won theTony Award for his performance), the cast includedPatsy Kelly ,Monte Markham as Donald,Ruth Warrick ,Janie Sell ,Meg Bussert , and Reynolds' daughterCarrie Fisher . While reviews were still mixed, the all-importantClive Barnes of the "New York Times " described it as "raucous, frequently cheerful, and the best 1919 musical in town."On
February 7 1974 , Reynold's formerMGM co-star,Jane Powell , replaced her. "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," which had been cut during the pre-Broadway run (although Reynolds' rendition was included in the original cast album), was restored to the score. Reynolds returned to play the final week in New York, then took the show on tour, playing for five months before being replaced again by Powell.The Broadway revival led to an
Australia n production with Julie Anthony, who then went on to star in a 1976 London revival that lasted 974 performances.ynopsis
Irene O'Dare is a humble but ambitious, hard-working Irish girl from West Side Manhattan, who runs a little music store with her widowed mother. Irene is sent to tune a piano for young tycoon Donald Marshall III, a Long Island society gentleman, and they promptly fall in love, each captivated by how different the other is from their usual friends. Donald's ne'er-do-well cousin Ozzie wants help to jump start a fashion business to be run by his friend, "Madame Lucy", a flamboyant male artiste. So Irene and her pretty best friends, Helen McFudd and Jane Burke, are recruited to model Madame Lucy's gowns, and Donald provides financing. Irene's mother and Donald's mother do not see eye-to-eye at first but grow to be friends. Irene poses as a society girl who convinces everyone to shop at Madame Lucy's, but she becomes angry with Donald when he asks her to continue the ruse. He finally relents, her true identity is revealed, and he sings "You made me love you."
ong list
;Act I
* The World Must Be Bigger Than an Avenue
* What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For
* The Family Tree
* Alice Blue Gown
* They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me
* An Irish Girl
* Stepping on Butterflies
* Mother Angel Darling
* The Riviera Rage;Act II
* I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
* The Last Part of Every Party
* We're Getting Away With It
* Irene
* The Great Lover Tango
* You Made Me Love YouAwards and nominations
*
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Reynolds, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Irving, winner)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Kelly, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominee)
*Theatre World Award (Markham, winner)
*Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance (Reynolds, winner)References
* [http://www.geocities.com/musictheater/irene/irene.html Background information from the Musical Theatre Project]
* [http://www.debbiereynoldsonline.com/irene.htm Extensive information about the show, particularly the 1973 revival]
* [http://www.nodanw.com/shows_i/irene.htm Information from the NODA website]
* [http://www.broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/irene.htm Profile of the show at Broadway Musical Home]External links
*ibdb show|ID=4763|title=Irene
* [http://www.world-theatres.com/longruns.html#longruns.broadway.html Site listing long-running shows, indicating the exceptional run of "Irene"]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.