Musical (1983)


Musique: George Gershwin
Paroles: Ira Gershwin
Livret: Peter Stone • Timothy S Mayer
Production à la création:

Captain Billy Buck Chandler wants to be the first to make a solo flight across the Atlantic. Edythe
Herbert, a champion swimmer, is being blackmailed by her wicked Russian manager who has some
compromising photographs of her . This devious baddy known as Prince Nikki (and secretly a spy) will get his
come-uppance, thanks to Billy’s airplane engineer, a rather butch lady called Mickey (who turns out to be a
secret agent). By then, however, Billy and Edythe have fallen in love, have crashed on a desert island (actually
Staten Island!), and have seen off a bootlegging Harlem minister and a tap-dancing philosopher called Mr
Magix.

Captain Billy Buck Chandler is determined to be the first man in history to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. His mission is somewhat sidetracked at a railroad station when he first lays eyes on Edith Herbert, ex-Channel swimmer and current star attraction of Prince Nicolai Erraclyovitch Tchatchavadze's International Aquacade -Blah, Blah, Blah. To the chagrin of his female mechanic Mickey, Billy dreams of her -Soon while Edith dreams of romance -Boy Wanted.
Determined to meet and win her, Billy takes a crash course in sophistication at Mr. Magix' Tonsorial and Sartorial Emporial, where the urbane, all-knowing Mr. M tells Billy what it's all about -Sweet n'Low Down.
Arranging to run into Edith "accidentally" at the movies where she often goes to fantasize - the Russian Prince Nikki keeps a tight rein on her, having in his possession certain compromising photographs - Billy and Edith fall in love -He Loves and She Loves.
Seeing Billy as her only hope of escaping Prince Nikki, Edith persuades Billy to fly her to Cuba, but Nikki sabotages the plane and the two lovebirds fall to earth on a seemingly deserted island which they quickly turn into Paradise -It's Wonderful.
But when Nikki finds them and forces Edith to go back to the Aquacade by threatening to reveal her past, Billy, left alone, bitterly returns to the only dream left him - his flight to Paris and the fame he will achieve -Strike Up the Band.
Life at the Aquacade goes on -In the Swim, but Edith is despondent -Nice Work If You Can Get It, and decides to run away.
Billy, however, is unable to forget Edith. He returns to Mr. Magix for fresh advice. What should he do now? Mr. M counsels him that only love matters -My One and Only.
After a brief interlude that finds Prince Nikki and Billy's female mechanic Mickey falling head over heels for one another -Funny Face, Billy takes off in his plane, the Lone Star, in search of Edith.
He finds her in Morocco - it was the location of the movie they fell in love at - and persuades her to return to America with him and get married, which they do -Kickin' the Clouds Away. After the ceremony, happiness theirs, Edith pauses to wonder at it all -How Long Has This Been Going On. To the surprise of practically no one, they will live happily ever after.


Just prior to out of town tryouts in Boston, the original director, Peter Sellars, was fired, with the musical director and arranger, the book writer, Tim Mayer, and set designer, Adrianne Lobel, dismissed soon after. Tommy Tune "nominally took over the direction with his co-choreographer Thommie Walsh, and Mike Nichols, Tony Walton and...Michael Bennett were brought in to help with the direction, choreography and set design."

Productions
My One and Only opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on May 1, 1983 and closed on March 3, 1985 after 767 performances and 37 previews. The musical was directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh. The cast included Tune, Twiggy, Roscoe Lee Browne, Denny Dillon, Charles "Honi" Coles, and Nana Visitor. Notable replacements during the run included Sandy Duncan, Don Correia, Jeff Calhoun, and Georgia Engel.

The musical opened in the UK at the Chichester Festival Theatre and then opened in the West End at the Piccadilly Theatre in February 2002, starring Janie Dee as Edythe Herbert and Tim Flavin as Captain Billy Buck Chandler, with direction by Loveday Ingram and choreography by Craig Revel Horwood.

Cabaret singer and Gershwin historian Michael Feinstein served as the musical consultant for the project. An extensive review of the show's creation can be found in his book" Nice Work If You Can Get It" in a chapter entitled My One and Only Tommy Tune Fling.

There were several tours, all with Tommy Tune. The first was in 1985 with Sandy Duncan which started at the Kennedy Center in March 1985 and included a six week engagement in Japan. Lucie Arnaz replaced Duncan in this tour. Stephanie Zimbalist starred in the US national tour in 1987.


Act I
I Can't Be Bothered Now
Blah, Blah, Blah
Boy Wanted
Soon
High Hat/Sweet and Low
Just Another Rhumba
He Loves and She Loves
'S Wonderful
Strike Up the Band

Act II
In The Swim
Nice Work If You Can Get It
My One And Only
Funny Face
Kicking The Clouds Away
How Long Has This Been Going On?

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant My one and only

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant My one and only


Version 1

My one and only (1983-03-St James Theatre-Broadway)

Type de série: Original
Théâtre: St. James Theatre (Broadway - Etats-Unis)
Durée : 1 an 10 mois 1 semaine
Nombre : 37 previews - 767 représentations
Première Preview : 31 March 1983
Première: 01 May 1983
Dernière: 03 March 1985
Mise en scène : Tommy Tune • Thommie Walsh
Chorégraphie : Tommy Tune • Thommie Walsh
Producteur :
Star(s) :

Version 2

My one and only (2002-02-Piccadilly Theatre-London)

Type de série: Original London
Théâtre: Piccadilly Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Durée : 5 mois 1 semaine
Nombre : 183 représentations
Première Preview : 09 February 2002
Première: 25 February 2002
Dernière: 03 August 2002
Mise en scène : Loveday Ingram
Chorégraphie : Craig Revel Horwood
Producteur :
Star(s) :
Avec: Tim Flavin (Captain Billy Buck), Janie Dee (Edythe), Hilton McRae (Prince Nikki), Jenny Galloway (Mickey), Richard Calkin (Revd. Montgomery), Richard Lloyd King (Mr Magix), Paul J. Medford, Horace Oliver, Mykal Rand, Omar F. Okai, Kevin Brewis.
Commentaires : This show started life as a revival of the Gershwins’1927 musical “Funny Face”, but by the time it opened in New York in May 1983 it had been given a new story, cut half the original songs and added numbers from other Gershwin shows); and had gone through 4 directors and 6 librettists. Given a new title, “My One and Only”, ran for 767 Broadway performances starring Twiggy and Tommy Tune. Its UK premiere was at Chichester in July 2001, and transferred to the West End. It generally received good notices, with special praise for the choreography but only managed 183 performances and a five month run.
Presse : NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, “You come out tap-dancing on air, thanks to the addictive rhythms of the songs and music.”

MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, “The songs are delightful, the choreography first rate - and even if the show feels as if it has been assembled rather than actually created, it leaves us with a pleasantly comfortable glow.”

PAUL TAYLOR for THE INDEPENDENT says, “The show is dance-driven, with hit-and-miss (mostly hit) synchronised tap choreography”

CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says it is a “warm, glamorous production” and goes on to say, “My One and Only looks like a splash hit to me.”

JOHN THAXTER for THE STAGE says, "Gorgeous, tuneful staging".

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