A while back, I presented one of my occasional Elisberg International Film Festivals, where I cobbled together as many videos as I could of songs from the musical Fiorello! The show, written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, a few years before they would write Fiddler on the Roof. The musical told the story of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York and not only tied with The Sound of Music for the Best Musical Tony Award in 1959 (beating West Side Story), but also became only the third musical to receive the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Much as readers of these pages know that I love to write about Fiorello!, there's actually an added point to this here. Bear with me.
About 50 years after writing the show, and despite its awards and acclaim, lyricist Harnick thought that there was a moment in the second act that always needed a new song for Fiorello. Not only because the character doesn't have many songs to sing in the second act, but more because it's a very dramatic moment in the show and he had always felt LaGuardia had to express himself and without that, something was missing. He got composer Bock's permission to come up with what was needed, and remarkably they wrote three versions over the next few years, finally coming up with what they were happy with, It was largely a reprise of the music of an earlier song, "The Name's LaGuardia" with a section with new music composed by Bock. With the significant alternations, it's not a strict reprise, but closer to a soliloquy. I saw the first two versions in separate productions -- one in Los Angeles done by the Reprise! organization, and the other in Chicago done by the Timeline Theatre. This below is the final version that Harnick and Bock added.
(By the way, it's important to note that, despite their huge success as a team, Harnick and Bock had broken up their partnership around 1970, 30 years earlier. They hadn't written together since -- although, it's important to add, they'd remained good friends and in regular touch.)
I mention all this because I think some of the lyrics have fascinating resonance to today.
At this point in the story, LaGuardia's life is fraying. During his campaign for mayor, pressure from the dangerous and crooked Tammany Hall grows, and threats by their flunkies are made against his life, from which he barely escapes. Then, the voters reject him in favor of Tammany's figurehead mayor, the corrupt playboy Jimmy Walker, and he loses the election. But worst of all, throughout all this, his wife Thea's health takes a serious turn, and she passes away.
Left alone, all his hopes and plans spun out of control, and the love of his life gone, Fiorello is left alone on stage. Which brings us to the new reprise of "The Name's LaGuardia." The song features Kenny Francouer as LaGuardia in an NYU production -- and is a moving number on its own but which, as I said, surprisingly holds a prescient and eerie connection to the world of politics today.
Since the show was written, Fiorello! has had few productions and no film or TV version made -- despite winning the Tony Award and Pultizer Prize. The main reason is that the perception is the show is only about New York City and of interest to New Yorkers. It's not even remotely, it's a double love story with a political tale of universal appeal, as this video makes clear.
P.S. There's a happy, very real ending: Jimmy Walker later goes to prison, and LaGuardia is elected mayor in his second race.
Much as readers of these pages know that I love to write about Fiorello!, there's actually an added point to this here. Bear with me.
About 50 years after writing the show, and despite its awards and acclaim, lyricist Harnick thought that there was a moment in the second act that always needed a new song for Fiorello. Not only because the character doesn't have many songs to sing in the second act, but more because it's a very dramatic moment in the show and he had always felt LaGuardia had to express himself and without that, something was missing. He got composer Bock's permission to come up with what was needed, and remarkably they wrote three versions over the next few years, finally coming up with what they were happy with, It was largely a reprise of the music of an earlier song, "The Name's LaGuardia" with a section with new music composed by Bock. With the significant alternations, it's not a strict reprise, but closer to a soliloquy. I saw the first two versions in separate productions -- one in Los Angeles done by the Reprise! organization, and the other in Chicago done by the Timeline Theatre. This below is the final version that Harnick and Bock added.
(By the way, it's important to note that, despite their huge success as a team, Harnick and Bock had broken up their partnership around 1970, 30 years earlier. They hadn't written together since -- although, it's important to add, they'd remained good friends and in regular touch.)
I mention all this because I think some of the lyrics have fascinating resonance to today.
At this point in the story, LaGuardia's life is fraying. During his campaign for mayor, pressure from the dangerous and crooked Tammany Hall grows, and threats by their flunkies are made against his life, from which he barely escapes. Then, the voters reject him in favor of Tammany's figurehead mayor, the corrupt playboy Jimmy Walker, and he loses the election. But worst of all, throughout all this, his wife Thea's health takes a serious turn, and she passes away.
Left alone, all his hopes and plans spun out of control, and the love of his life gone, Fiorello is left alone on stage. Which brings us to the new reprise of "The Name's LaGuardia." The song features Kenny Francouer as LaGuardia in an NYU production -- and is a moving number on its own but which, as I said, surprisingly holds a prescient and eerie connection to the world of politics today.
Since the show was written, Fiorello! has had few productions and no film or TV version made -- despite winning the Tony Award and Pultizer Prize. The main reason is that the perception is the show is only about New York City and of interest to New Yorkers. It's not even remotely, it's a double love story with a political tale of universal appeal, as this video makes clear.
P.S. There's a happy, very real ending: Jimmy Walker later goes to prison, and LaGuardia is elected mayor in his second race.
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