The Body Beautiful

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The Body Beautiful
Original Cast Recording
Music Jerry Bock
Lyrics Sheldon Harnick
Book Joseph Stein
Will Glickman
Productions 1958 Broadway

The Body Beautiful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.

The first collaboration by Harnick and Bock, and the only one to have a contemporary setting, its plot focuses on a wealthy Dartmouth College graduate who aspires to be a prize-winning boxer and the girl he loves who disapproves of his ambitions. His fight manager must cope with uninspired fighters, two ex-wives and a new girlfriend.

After a tryout at the Erlanger Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Broadway production, directed by George Schaefer and choreographed by Herbert Ross, opened on January 23, 1958 at The Broadway Theatre, where it ran for 60 performances. The cast included Mindy Carson, Steve Forrest, Jack Warden, Barbara McNair, William Hickey, and Brock Peters.

Despite the show's failure, its score captured the attention of director George Abbott and producer Hal Prince, who hired the songwriting team for their next project, the politically-themed Fiorello!, which proved to be a hit. [1]

[edit] Song list

Act I
  • Where Are They?
  • The Body Beautiful
  • Pffft!
  • Fair Warning
  • Leave Well Enough Alone
  • Blonde Blues
  • Blonde Blues Dance
  • Uh-Huh, Oh Yeah!
  • All of These and More
  • Nobility
  • The Body Beautiful (Reprise)
Act II
  • Summer Is
  • The Honeymoon is Over
  • Just My Luck
  • All of These and More (Reprise)
  • Art of Conversation
  • Gloria
  • A Relatively Simple Affair
  • Finale

[edit] References

[edit] External links