A Current Affair

"It's time for a cheer-up song" because hosts Bobby and Kristina are finally back after an extended intermission to discuss 1978's A Broadway Musical on the act two opener of My Favorite Flop.

 

ABOUT A BROADWAY MUSICAL

Based on the real-life experiences of the creative teams' journeys working on the original Broadway productions of The Wiz and the musical version of Golden Boy, A Broadway Musical tells the story of a sleazy white theatre producer's attempt to adapt an African-American writer's serious play as a commercial stage musical. The musical features a book by William F. Brown, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Lee Adams.

Following a dismal October–November tryout with Helen Gallagher and Julius LaRosa at the theatre in the Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, the producers fired most of the cast and creative personnel, including director/choreographer George Faison. Gower Champion was called in to rescue the Broadway-bound production with only a month to go, but he feared that the show's defects were too serious to remedy and insisted on receiving a "Production supervised by" credit only. After 14 previews, the Broadway production opened and closed the same night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on December 21, 1978. It lost $1 million.

The creators hoped that the backstage story about the making of a musical would cash in on the success of A Chorus Line as well as the popularity of the black-themed musical, including Brown's own The Wiz, which was still running at the time. But Brown's much-criticized book failed to capture any of the socially-relevant subject matter in a serious way and instead became a clichéd spoof of show business lawyers, idealistic young playwrights, glitzy Las Vegas performers, blue-haired matinée ladies, and the black-themed musical itself. The Wiz proved to be Brown's only success.

 

Original Broadway Cast

• Warren Berlinger as Eddie Bell
• Gwyda DonHowe as Stephanie Bell
• Irving Allen Lee as James Lincoln
• Larry Marshall as Richie Taylor
• Anne Francine as Shirley Wolfe
• Jackée Harry as Melinda Bernard
• Tiger Haynes as Sylvester Lee
• Reggie Jackson as Louie
• Patti Karr as Maggie Simpson
• Christina Kumi Kimball as Kumi Kumi
• Robert Melvin as Junior
• Martin Rabbett as Jake
• Larry Riley as Lonnie Paul
• Albert Stephenson as Big Jake
• Alan Weeks as Stan Howard
• Sydney Anderson as Richie Taylor's Lawyer
• Gwen Arment as Rehearsal Pianist
• Nate Barnett as Policeman
• Michael Gallagher as Richie Taylor's Lawyer
• Jo Ann Ogawa as Richie's Secretary
• Loretta Devine as Smoke and Fire Backup Singer