Darling of the Day (1968)

September 29 - October 9, 1994
New Conservatory Theatre

Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg
Book by Nunnally Johnson, revised by Greg MacKellan
(based on Arnold Bennett's Buried Alive)

Directed by: Greg MacKellan
Musical Director: Michael Horsley
Choreography: Jacinta Gorringe

Playbill Notes

New York's major reviewer greeted the opening of Darling of the Day on January 28, 1968 with such rhapsodic quotes as "a superior musical comedy", "a bountiful musical" and "scrumptious and embraceable...the show wins and is winning." Unfortunately none of these plaudits could dispel the effect of the negative report from Dan Sullivan, filling in for the ailing New York Times critic Clive Barnes. When Barnes returned two weeks later he declared the show "easily the best musical of the season" and Sunday Times essayist Walter Kerr went so far as to write this stinging rebuttal to Sullvian's opinion: "I understand there are some people going around town saying they didn't care all that much for Darling of the Day. I'd stay away from them, if I were you. They look perfectly normal, but after all, Blanche DuBois looked pretty good until the fellows with the straitjacket came for her, and I've been told Adolf Hitler was often winsome."

The damage was done, however. When the Tony Awards rolled around, with nominations for the score, choreography, and star Patricia Routledge, Darling of the Day had been gone for three months. (Miss Routledge won, incidentally, in a tie with Leslie Uggams.)

This sad end was unfortunately indicative of the way things had gone all along the way for the Jule Styne-E.Y. (Yip) Harburg adaptation of Arnold Bennett's novel Buried Alive. Originally titled The Great Adventure, (and known briefly during try-outs as Married Alive!), the show had already been through several directors and bookwriters by the time rehearsals began. Reports from the road indicated major dissension among the creators as to the proper tone for the piece, and final librettist Nunnally Johnson (who had written a mid-forties film adaptation of the story, Holy Matrimony) had his name removed from the credits the week before the opening.

And yet...somehow or other Darling of the Day has attained status as a beloved (if obscure) "cult classic." Which of course put it right up 42nd Street Moon's alley. A chance encounter with Harburg's daughter, Marge, led us to the Harburg Foundation (run by Harburg's son Ernie). Long a believer in the potential of the piece (which he felt had been seriously crippled by mis-cast leading man Vincent Price), Ernie Harburg enthusiastically encouraged us as we began the process of putting Darling of the Day back together.

Utilizing an audio tape of the original Broadway performance and the files of the Harburg Foundation and the Library of Congress, a score was cobbled together, and a new book (deriving some material from the original novel as well as from the film Holy Matrimony) was created (approximately half of Nunnally Johnson's Broadway version remains). Bringing Darling of the Day back has been 42nd Street Moon's biggest challenge yet. We hope you'll agree that Mr. Styne's lovely score and Mr. Harburg's clever and witty lyrics are well worth the effort, and that you'll join us in welcoming this truly "lost" musical back to the stage.

--Greg MacKellan

Plot Summary

In 1905 London, Priam Farll is an artist, brilliant, unconventional and shy, although he can be violently outspoken. He once offended Queen Victoria and was exiled to the South Pacific (shades of Gauguin), but Edward VII has succeeded to the throne, and Farll has been recalled to London to receive a knighthood.

Appalled by "society's" expectations of its "darling of the day" (a common Victorian/Edwardian term meaning something like "fashionable celebrity") Farll seizes the chance to "get out of the world alive" when his faithful butler Henry Leek suddenly dies, and their identities are confused by an official. Instead of correcting the error, Farll quietly assumes the identity of the deceased, and Leek's corpse is officially buried in Westminster Abbey as the famous artist.

He soon finds himself married to Alice Challice, a bright, well-to-do Cockney widow who had been corresponding with the real Henry Leek - and settles down to a happy "upper working class" existence. Farll continues to paint, and when his wife runs into financial difficulties he sells a few paintings. Complications naturally ensue, and his "cover" becomes increasingly flimsy. Just as it looks as if he will be compelled to resume his real identity, a piece of truly Gilbertian nonsense brings all to a satisfactory conclusion, and he is allowed to stay plain Henry Leek after all. (wikipedia)

Press Release

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 Street 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 Street Moon productions Oh, Lady! Lady!!, Fifty 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 Street. 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.