A Doll's Life
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A Doll's Life is a Broadway musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Larry Grossman. It is among the most notorious flops in Broadway history.
Set within the framework of a contemporary rehearsal of Henrik Ibsen's classic play A Doll's House, it addresses the question of what might have transpired after Nora slammed the door and abandoned her tyrannical husband Torvald. Borrowing the fare from a young violinist, Otto, she takes the train to Christiania, where she accepts work in a cafe and soon becomes involved not only with Otto, but Eric Didrickson, the wealthy owner of shipping lines and fish canneries, and Johan Blecker, a lawyer, as well. Throughout the show, scenes in her new life mingle with intermittent flashbacks to the one she left behind.
After eighteen previews, the Hal Prince-directed production opened on September 23, 1982 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. Reviews were brutal, and the show closed after five performances.
The cast included George Hearn, Betsy Joslyn, and Peter Gallagher.
Despite its spectacular failure, the show garnered some attention during awards season, and an original cast recording was released on the Bay Cities label.
[edit] Song list
Act I
- Prologue
- A Woman Alone
- Letter to the Children
- New Year's Eve
- Stay With Me, Nora
- Arrival
- Loki and Baldur
- You Interest Me
- Departure
- Letter From Klemnacht
- Learn to Be Lonely
- Rats and Mice and Fish
- Jailer, Jailer
- Excerpts From Loki and Baldur
- Rare Wines
Act II
- No More Mornings
- There She Is
- Power
- Letter to the Children (Reprise)
- At Last
- The Grand Cafe
- Finale
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Hearn, nominee)
- Theatre World Award (Gallagher, winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (nominee)
