Mr. President (musical)

Mr. President
Original Cast Recording
Music	Irving Berlin
Lyrics	Irving Berlin
Book	Howard Lindsay Russel Crouse
Productions	1962 Broadway

Mr. President is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and lyrics and music by Irving Berlin.

It focuses on U.S. President Stephen Decatur Henderson, who loses his bid for re-election following a disastrous trip to the Soviet Union. Bored with life as a civilian, he decides to return to political life as a Senator.

Performance history

After four previews, the Broadway production, directed by Joshua Logan and choreographed by Peter Gennaro, opened on October 20, 1962 at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 265 performances. The cast included Robert Ryan, Nanette Fabray, Anita Gillette, and Baayork Lee.

In a season dominated by hits like Oliver!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, critics found the show to be old-fashioned and the score missing the magic of earlier Berlin works. It received lukewarm reviews, ran a respectable 265 performances, and proved to be Berlin's last musical.

The out-of-town premiere at the National Theatre in Washington, DC, was attended by President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie Kennedy. The first couple afterward congratulated Berlin on a hit. Kennedy later sent his aides, Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David Powers, the two toppers in Kennedy's "Irish Mafia," to apologize for his having to leave the performance early. ^[1] (This day of Kennedy's presidency is the one featured in an exhibit at the JFK Museum and Library.)

In 1964, former President Harry S. Truman made an opening night cameo appearance in a production of the show at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. He left by ambulance at intermission due to an appendicitis attack [1].

In 2001, Gerard Alessandrini extensively revised the book and converted the plot into a spoof of the 2000 Presidential election debacle. After thirty previews, it opened on August 2, 2001 at the off-Broadway Douglas Fairbanks Theater where, hampered by reviews worse than those received by the original, it closed after ten performances.

Song list

Act I Let's Go Back to the Waltz In Our Hide-Away The First Lady Meat and Potatoes I've Got to Be Around The Secret Service It Gets Lonely in the White House Is He the Only Man in the World? They Love Me Pigtails and Freckles Don't Be Afraid of Romance Laugh It Up Empty Pockets Filled with Love In Our Hide-Away (Reprise)

Act II Glad to Be Home Laugh It Up (Reprise) You Need a Hobby Don't Be Afraid of Romance (Reprise) The Washington Twist Pigtails and Freckles (Reprise) The Only Dance I Know Meat and Potatoes (Reprise) Is He the Only Man in the World? (Reprise) I'm Gonna Get Him This Is a Great Country Finale

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Fabray, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director (nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Stage Technician (winner)

References

1. ^ "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye" 1970, Kenneth P. O'Donnell; David Powers; Joe McCarthy

External links

• Mr. President at the Internet Broadway Database