Dear World (1969)

Dear World (1969)

Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman,
Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee,
Based on The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jan Giraurdoux, as adapted by Maurice Valency

Directed by Greg MacKellan
Musical Director: Dave Dobrusky
Choreographer: Jayne Zaban

Playbill Notes

Some musicals have abbreviated Broadway runs but manage to attain the status of "cult favorites," usually due to a well-produced cast album, a legendary star or composer, or a notoriously troubled try-out period. Dear World, Jerry Herman’s 1969 musical version of Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, qualifies on all counts.

Herman has one other "cult musical" to his credit, of course: Mack & Mabel, a 1974 musicalization of the lives of Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand which cemented Bernadette Peters’ Broadway stardom and which inspires devotion bordering on the rabid among fans. Herman regards both of these shows as among his finest work; most musical theatre historians likewise regard them as his best scores.

Originally conceived by Herman and bookwriters Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee as a chamber musical, Dear World fell victim to "big-Broadway" syndrome. Angela Lansbury, in the second of her four Tony-winning performances, was magical in the role of Countess Aurelia, but was unfortunately surrounded by a massive production that effectively squelched the original tale, in which the forces of poetry, love, and idealism win over those of materialism, cold science, and business. Materialism won in 1969, and Herman’s richly-scored fable lasted only a few months.

The try-out had been beset by numerous cast and director changes and several lovely Herman songs came and went. After the Broadway closing, Herman, Lawrence, and Lee rewrote the show, restoring some of the cut songs as well as the intimacy that they felt had been undermined on Broadway. The revised seldom-seen version is the one which we are presenting tonight. 42nd Street Moon is not the only group to be taking note of Dear World these days: the unusual musical was recently workshopped in a version featuring a new book by David Thompson which the Goodspeed Opera House will present this fall.

Jean Giraudoux wrote La Folle de Chaillot during the Nazi occupation of France, but it was not performed until after the fall of Germany and the author's death. The Paris opening in 1945 was a national event; a Broadway production (translated by Maurice Valency) followed in 1948. A drastically re-written film, starring Katharine Hepburn, Margaret Leighton, and Giulietta Masina as the the three Madwomen opened the same year as Dear World.

Such song as "Kiss Her Now," "I Don't Want to Know," "Through the Bottom of the Glass" (one of the cut songs restored here), and the bizarre show-piece, "Tea Party" are among the finest Herman ever wrote. We hope you'll find The Madwoman and her vagabond friends to be enchanting company.

-- Greg MacKellan

Plot Summary

A corporation has discovered oil under the streets of Paris, directly under a bistro. The Countess Aurelia (known as The Madwoman of Chaillot) lives in the bistro's basement, driven mad because of a lost lover and reminiscing about her past. When the corporation decides to blow up the bistro to get the oil, a young executive, Julian, helps to foil the plan because he has fallen in love with Nina, the bistro's waitress. Aurelia lures the corporation executives to the underground in the sewer system. (wikipedia)

Press Release

Dear World tells the romantic fable of a loveable eccentric named Countess Aurelia and her misfit friends, who fight to save Paris from a group of business presidents and financiers who plan to drill for oil in the beautiful old neighborhood of Chaillot. Countess Aurelia conspires to dispose of the troublesome capitalists (with a little help from such memorable characters as the King of the Sewers), and Idealism triumphs over Business. Herman tells the story with a darkly enchanting score including "Kiss Her Now," "I Don’t Want to Know," "Through the Bottom of the Glass" (cut on Broadway but restored here, along with one other cut song), and the bizarre "Tea Party" for a trio of madwomen.

Starring as Countess Aurelia will be a favorite of 42nd Street Moon audiences, Meg Mackay. Mackay has been praised by the San Francisco Examiner as "simply superb .... she’s the kind of artist who buoys an entire ensemble number and can provide invaluable support even when she’s silent. When she gets a chance to solo, she brings down the house."

Mackay is supported by Bettina Devin and Coralie Persse as fellow madwomen Constance and Gabrielle, Mike Earley as Julian, John-Elliott Kirk as the philosophical sewerman, and Lianne Marie Dobbs as Nina. Nick Hoffa, Steve Rhyne,and Roy Steele portray the evil businessmen, and rounding out the cast are Anthony Martinez, Christian Cagigal, Marissa DeClercq, and Dan Bernstein.

Greg MacKellan, 42nd Street Moon’s co-founder, directs, with Dave Dobrusky musical directing and Jayne Zaban choreographing.