The Gay Life

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The Gay Life
Original Cast Recording
Music Arthur Schwartz
Lyrics Howard Dietz
Book Fay Kanin
Michael Kanin
Based upon Seven plays by Arthur Schnitzler
Productions 1961 Broadway

The Gay Life is a musical with a book by Fay and Michael Kanin, lyrics by Howard Dietz, and music by Arthur Schwartz.

Based on a cycle of seven short plays by Arthur Schnitzler, published in 1893 and first staged in 1910, The Gay Life focuses on womanizing playboy Anatol Von Huber, who has decided the time has come to settle down and get married. His target is the sister of his best friend Max, the virginal Liesl, whose longtime crush on him makes her the likeliest candidate. But the young lady is determined to tame the philanderer and make him swear to be true to her before she accepts his proposal.

The score is a mixture of traditional Broadway show tunes and operetta.

The Gay Life had a tryout period at the Fisher Theater in Detroit and the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto before heading to Broadway. After three previews, the production, directed by Gerald Freedman and choreographed by Herbert Ross, opened on November 18, 1961 at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 113 performances. The cast included Walter Chiari as Anatol, Barbara Cook as Liesl, and Jules Munshin as Max, with Elizabeth Allen in a supporting role.

An original cast recording was released by Capitol Records and later released on CD by Angel, then DRG.

Because of the connotation the term "gay" had acquired since the show's original staging, its title was changed to The High Life when it was presented by the off-Broadway company Musicals Tonight! in October 2005 [1].

Songs

Act I
  • What A Charming Couple
  • Why Go Anywhere at All?
  • Bring Your Darling Daughter
  • Now I'm Ready for a Frau
  • Magic Moment
  • Who Can? You Can
  • Oh, Mein Liebchen
  • The Label on the Bottle
  • This Kind of a Girl
  • The Bloom Is Off the Rose
  • Who Can? You Can (Reprise)
  • Now I'm Ready for a Frau (Reprise)
  • Magic Moment (Reprise)
Act II
  • I'm Glad I'm Single
  • Now I'm Ready for a Frau (Reprise)
  • Something You Never Had Before
  • You Will Never Be Lonely
  • You're Not the Type
  • Come A-Wandering With Me
  • I Never Had a Chance
  • I Wouldn't Marry You
  • For the First Time

[edit] Awards and nominations

  • Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Allen, nominee)
  • Tony Award for Best Scenic Design (nominee)
  • Tony Award for Best Costume Design (winner)
  • Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director (nominee)

[edit] External links

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Arthur Schwartz