I Can Get It for You Wholesale
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| I Can Get It For You Wholesale | |
| Music | Harold Rome |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Harold Rome |
| Book | Jerome Weidman |
| Based upon | Novel by Jerome Weidman I Can Get It For You Wholesale |
| Productions | 1962 Broadway |
I Can Get It For You Wholesale is a 1962 Broadway musical, which became notable as the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The book by Jerome Weidman was based on his own 1937 novel of the same title, and the music and lyrics were by Harold Rome. The songs utilize Jewish harmonies evocative of the setting and the period of the show. In 1951, a film had been made with the same title, although this film was based only very loosely on the original novel.
Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the action of the musical takes place in the New York City garment industry and revolves around an ambitious, unscrupulous young businessman, Harry Bogen, who will stop at nothing to get to the top. He lies to his mother and girlfriend, Ruthie, who try to help him become a better person, embezzles company funds and betrays his friends and partners. Harry loses all his friends and becomes bankrupt, but his mother and Ruthie stand by him.
The show premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on March 22, 1962 and played for 301 performances. Elliot Gould played Harry, and Streisand had the small part of Bogen's secretary, Miss Marmelstein, who sang the number "Miss Marmelstein". Others in the cast were Lillian Roth, Marilyn Cooper, Harold Lang, Bambi Linn, Ken LeRoy, and Sheree North. Gould and Streisand were later married and divorced.
Though the show held on for over 300 performances, it garnered mixed reviews and lost money. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying had opened five months earlier with a similar, but more palatable, story. J. Pierrepont Finch is a much more "cuddly betrayer... and audiences were less willing to confront Wholesale's unflinching portrayal of Harry's little world of "men and ulcers on parade". ...that shouldn't detract from the fact that it was a daring and distinctive musical.[1]
Goddard Lieberson, who produced the Wholesale cast album for Columbia Records, signed Streisand to a contract, and her first solo album was released two months after Wholesale closed.
[edit] Songs
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[edit] References
- I Can Get It for You Wholesale at the Internet Broadway Database
- Detailed description and analysis of the show
- Guinness Who's Who of Stage Musicals - editor Colin Larkin - ISBN 0-85112-756-8
- Information from Stage Agent
- Streisand's performance
- Playbill from the Shubert Theatre
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