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Musical Theater News, Production Tips, New Musicals and More on The MTI Marquee Blog
Musical Theatre News and information for schools, community and professional theaters
Few shows straddle the opera-musical line like Frank Loesser’s THE MOST HAPPY FELLA. Some musicals, such as LES MISERABLES and RENT, follow the common operatic characteristic of being sung-through. Others, like SWEENEY TODD and Michael John LaChiusa’s MARIE CHRISTINE, have scores and subject matter that seem more appropriate for an opera house than a Broadway [...]
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“Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat” from Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows’ GUYS & DOLLS is the kind of show-stopping number that audiences eagerly await. Often occuring towards the end of the second act, these numbers are commonly referred to as “11 o’clock numbers,” since, in a lengthy Broadway show, such numbers would be performed [...]
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On the surface, it seems easy to dislike J.P. Finch, the main character of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. His main goal is to become rich and successful by doing as little work as possible. He tricks fellow employees out of promotions. He shamelessly flatters people he thinks could be of use [...]
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Many of Frank Loesser’s male characters experience an inexplicable urge to keep moving from place to place, without any obligations tying them down. From the gamblers and their floating craps game in GUYS & DOLLS to Joe’s beautiful ode to wandering in THE MOST HAPPY FELLA to Finch’s avoidance of Rosemary’s domestic intentions as he [...]
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Before MRS. DOUBTFIRE, TOOTSIE, and SOME LIKE IT HOT, there was WHERE’S CHARLEY?, Frank Loesser and George Abbot’s musical cross-dressing farce. Oxford University students Charley and Jack invite the young and winsome Kitty and Amy to lunch under the chaperoning eye of Donna Lucia, Charley’s wealthy aunt (it is, after all, 1892). But when Donna [...]
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Gambling features prominently in Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows’ musical, GUYS & DOLLS. Finding a safe location for the floating crap game drives much of the story – as does Sky’s bet that he’ll take Sarah Brown, one of the Mission workers, to Havana. But gambling is also an underlying theme of the [...]
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In 2006, NPR interviewed Frank Loesser’s widow, Jo Sullivan Loesser, who he met during THE MOST HAPPY FELLA. Tirelessly championing his work for the past forty years, Jo Sullivan Loesser has performed in concerts and on recordings to ensure Frank Loesser’s legacy will live on. To listen to the article, click here.
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Frank Loesser’s brilliance as a bookwriter, composer, and lyricist is enjoyed across the world in shows such as GUYS & DOLLS and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. But did you know that the man who uses such vivid imagery in his lyrics was also an avid doodler? Loesser’s doodling was so incessant [...]
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At the beginning of Frank Loesser’s sprawling masterwork, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, two characters are getting ready to move on. For Joe, traveling is a way of life; he’ll stay in one place for a few months, working in the fields, and then quit and go somewhere else. Amy, however, is a waitress who isn’t [...]
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“He gets up early, drinks a pot of strong coffee, and digs.” That’s how Frank Loesser’s first wife Lynn described his work habits, and his impressive output certainly reflects that. By his death at age 59, Frank Loesser had written five Broadway shows, a movie score, countless songs for films, and sketches for soldiers to [...]
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