Darling of the Day

SAN FRANCISCO (30 September 1994) -- For the first time in 26 years theatregoers will get a glimpse (and a sweet earful) of Jule Styne's 1968 musical DARLING OF THE DAY, to be presented by 42nd St. Moon's acclaimed Lost Musicals Series in a first-ever revival. Containing a score that the New York Times considered to be one of Styne's best, and lyrics by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg, this production also features a revised book by Lost Musicals co-producer Greg MacKellan, who has been specially commissioned by the Harburg Foundation to revise and resurrect the show. DARLING OF THE DAY performs September 29 - October 9, 1994 at the New Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

MacKellan was personally tapped by Harburg's son Ernie, head of the Harburg Foundation, to re-write DARLING OF THE DAY's book. Says MacKellan, "It's a show that both Harburg and Styne loved dearly and always hoped would be given another chance to find its audience." Potential 1968 audiences were too busy prepping for Woodstock and protesting the Vietnam War to take in a romantic musical comedy. In a year where Hair and George M! were just groovy, DARLING's sweetness seemed out of place. Though Patricia Routledge won a Tony award for best actress and Styne considered the score to be his best after Gypsy, DARLING disappeared quickly and has not been seen since.

This joint effort between composer Styne (Funny Girl and Gypsy) and lyricist Harburg (The Wizard of Oz and Finnian's Rainbow) earned a Tony nomination for the music and lyrics. DARLING's book, however, was another story. After much debate, revision and eyebrow mopping, Nunnally Johnson, author of the original book, threw up his hands and pulled his name off of the project, causing critics to wonder over an apparently authorless musical that opened with no book credit.

"DARLING's original book was rather unwieldy," says MacKellan. "It tried to cover two very distinct worlds -- London's cockney underclass and the highbrow world of art collectors and society people -- and they just didn't mesh well." MacKellan has restored scenes from the original source material to bridge those two elements and restored two songs that were cut from the original score.

DARLING OF THE DAY is based on Arnold Bennett's early century novel Buried Alive, comedic despite the somewhat morbid title. The story is of Priam Farll, a famous painter who sees an opportunity to duck out of London's stifling high society by assuming the identity of his recently deceased valet, who has been buried as Farll in Westminster Abbey. Farll moves to a small town and strikes up friendships over ale with the local pub folk as well as a romance with Alice Challice, the late valet's pen-pal.

MacKellan takes the helm to direct DARLING OF THE DAY, with Michael Horsley providing musical direction and Jacinta Gorringe strapping on the tap shoes for choreography. Starring will be George Maguire as the painter Priam Farll and Anna Marie Gutierrez as Alice Challice. Maguire has won a 1994 Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle award for his work with Peninsula Civic Light Opera and has also appeared in ACT, Berkeley Rep and San Jose Civic Light Opera productions. He appeared in the original Broadway production of Canterbury Tales and recently with Kevin Bacon in the film Murder in the First. Gutierrez played Grizabella in the national tour of Cats and the title role in Evita. Locally she has been seen in Concord CitiArts' Closer Than Ever and in 42nd St. Moon productions Oh, Lady! Lady!, 50 Million Frenchmen and The Cat and The Fiddle. Sean Sharp portrays Mr. Oxford, an art dealer conspiring to reveal Farll's true identity. Sharp has performed locally in Gilbert and Sullivan productions and in 42nd St. Moon's Oh, Lady! Lady! and The Cat and the Fiddle. Rounding out the cast are Diana Sheehan as Lady Vale and Juliette Morgan and Steven Sutherland as cockney chums.

42nd St. Moon co-producers MacKellan and Stephanie Rhoads present the Lost Musicals Series as staged readings. Sets and costumes are kept to a minimum in order to highlight the story and especially the musical numbers, which are sung and danced as they would be in a full-scale production. Says MacKellan, "There are so many wonderful musicals by classic composers that don't get done anymore due to prohibitive economics. Our budget-conscious approach allows us to do our part to help keep America's musical theatre history alive."

42nd St. Moon, named after a 1920's song about the lights on Broadway, is a collaboration that began in 1993. Rhoads, a long-time performer on the Bay Area scene, has been seen in the national tour of Some Like it Cole and in Beach Blanket Babylon. Actor/director MacKellan has also produced six compact discs of forgotten show tunes. "Greg and I were both profoundly influenced by the romance of Broadway's past," says Rhoads. "The Lost Musicals Series is the result of that shared love." The company presents two series per year, with three musicals in each series.

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