A Catered Affair
Encyclopedia
A Catered Affair is a musical
with a book by Harvey Fierstein
and music and lyrics by John Bucchino
. It is based on both the 1956 film The Catered Affair
written by Gore Vidal
and the original 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky
, set in 1953 in the Bronx. This is the first of Bucchino's scores produced on Broadway
.
in tryouts, with the official opening on September 30, running through November 11. It began previews on Broadway
at the Walter Kerr Theatre
on March 25, 2008 and opened officially on April 17. The production closed on July 27, 2008 after 116 performances and 27 previews. John Doyle
directed the production, which stars Fierstein, Faith Prince
and Tom Wopat
. This production received 12 Drama Desk Award
nominations, the most of any show from the 2007-2008 season.
. The couple does not want a large, expensive wedding, and Tom needs the money to buy out Pasternak. As Jane's mother Aggie announces that the upcoming wedding will be held quickly and quietly in City Hall, the neighborhood women react ("Women Chatter"). Dinner with Ralph's wealthier family leads Aggie to decide to give the couple a huge formal affair, committing her and Tom's life's savings and bereavement check to an elaborate wedding with an extensive guest list and a lavish catered reception ("Our Only Daughter"). Aggie feels guilty about having neglected Jane and sees an opportunity to plan the white wedding that she herself never had. The bride's gay Uncle Winston, initially hurt and furious at having been left off the original guest list, becomes a support for Aggie.
Jane is initially beguiled by the attention, and happily picks out a wedding dress ("One White Dress"). But soon relationships are strained to the breaking point under the pressure of costly bridesmaids' dresses, cake layers and each detail. Aggie confesses to Jane that she and Tom were married because she was pregnant ("Vision"), and because her father bought Tom his share in the taxi. Finally Jane and Ralph decide to call off the elaborate wedding and party and marry quietly as they had planned. The quiet and unemotional Tom finally expresses his love and caring for Aggie ("I Stayed"), and Tom and Aggie come closer together. As they get ready for the small wedding ceremony, Aggie secretly makes arrangements for Tom to buy his share of the taxi, which arrives in time for him to drive her to their daughter's wedding. Uncle Winston has the last word ("Coney Island"):
and was released on May 27, 2008.
Ben Brantley
for the New York Times, wrote: "From Mr. Bucchino’s trickling, self-effacing score to the tight-lipped stoicism of its leading performances, from David Gallo’s tidy tenement-scape set to Zachary Borovay’s tentative photographic projections, this show is all pale, tasteful understatement that seems to be apologizing for asking for your attention... Ms. Prince, best known for her madcap musical turns in revivals of Guys and Dolls and Bells Are Ringing, scrubs down to raw-skinned plainness here. Her performance is tight, disciplined and at times quite affecting, never more so than when Aggie looks silently at some distant horizon of missed opportunities."
Clive Barnes
, reviewing for the New York Post
, wrote: "Under John Doyle's expert, discreet direction, it emerges less like a musical and more like a play with music: lovely, urban chamber music. But you won't come out humming the tunes, or even the scenery. You'll come out humming the characters."
But Linda Winer, for Newsday
, wrote: "How bold to make a Broadway musical on such restrained material as A Catered Affair. How sad that the results are so glum. Despite the dedication of a fine cast...this is a colorless little piece of '50s social realism about a Bronx family that isn't so much emotionally repressed as emotionally deficient." She panned the "meandering, conversational melodies ba[c]ked by innocuous accompaniments", and the "tasteful but bland production", and concluded: "Winston, who wants the big wedding, observes, 'Resigning oneself to small is sad. Requesting it is tragic.' He could be talking about the show."
Drama Desk Award
(nominations)
Outer Critics Circle Awards (nominations)
Drama League Award
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
and music and lyrics by John Bucchino
John Bucchino
John Bucchino is an American composer. His hometown is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.He has done work for several off-Broadway shows and highly acclaimed concerts...
. It is based on both the 1956 film The Catered Affair
The Catered Affair
The Catered Affair , also known as Wedding Party, is a family drama film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a screenplay by Gore Vidal, based on a television play by Paddy Chayefsky...
written by Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
and the original 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky , was an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for Best Screenplay....
, set in 1953 in the Bronx. This is the first of Bucchino's scores produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Production
The show premiered on September 20, 2007 at San Diego's Old Globe TheatreOld Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
in tryouts, with the official opening on September 30, running through November 11. It began previews on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Walter Kerr Theatre
Walter Kerr Theatre
The Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
on March 25, 2008 and opened officially on April 17. The production closed on July 27, 2008 after 116 performances and 27 previews. John Doyle
John Doyle (director)
John Doyle is a Tony Award winning Scottish stage director for musicals and plays, as well as operas. He has served as artistic director at several regional theatres in the United Kingdom, where he has staged more than 200 professional productions during his career spanning 30...
directed the production, which stars Fierstein, Faith Prince
Faith Prince
Faith Prince is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work on Broadway. Prince has won the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical and received three Tony nominations.-Life and career:...
and Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
. This production received 12 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nominations, the most of any show from the 2007-2008 season.
Plot synopsis
In the Bronx in 1953, young lovers Jane Hurley and Ralph Halloran decide to get married. Meanwhile Jane's father, Tom, who owns a third-share in a taxi, agrees with one of his partners, Sam, that they will buy out the share of the third driver, Pasternak. Jane and Ralph, along with Tom and Sam, happily exclaim the virtues of partnership ("Partners"). Timing is inauspicious, since the bride's brother has just been killed in the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. The couple does not want a large, expensive wedding, and Tom needs the money to buy out Pasternak. As Jane's mother Aggie announces that the upcoming wedding will be held quickly and quietly in City Hall, the neighborhood women react ("Women Chatter"). Dinner with Ralph's wealthier family leads Aggie to decide to give the couple a huge formal affair, committing her and Tom's life's savings and bereavement check to an elaborate wedding with an extensive guest list and a lavish catered reception ("Our Only Daughter"). Aggie feels guilty about having neglected Jane and sees an opportunity to plan the white wedding that she herself never had. The bride's gay Uncle Winston, initially hurt and furious at having been left off the original guest list, becomes a support for Aggie.
Jane is initially beguiled by the attention, and happily picks out a wedding dress ("One White Dress"). But soon relationships are strained to the breaking point under the pressure of costly bridesmaids' dresses, cake layers and each detail. Aggie confesses to Jane that she and Tom were married because she was pregnant ("Vision"), and because her father bought Tom his share in the taxi. Finally Jane and Ralph decide to call off the elaborate wedding and party and marry quietly as they had planned. The quiet and unemotional Tom finally expresses his love and caring for Aggie ("I Stayed"), and Tom and Aggie come closer together. As they get ready for the small wedding ceremony, Aggie secretly makes arrangements for Tom to buy his share of the taxi, which arrives in time for him to drive her to their daughter's wedding. Uncle Winston has the last word ("Coney Island"):
"You paid your money, took the ride, but missed the view."
Song list
- Partners — Tom Hurley, Sam, Ralph Halloran and Jane Hurley
- Ralph and Me — Jane Hurley
- Married — Aggie
- Women Chatter — Myra, Pasha and Dolores
- No Fuss — Aggie
- Your Children's Happiness — Mr. Halloran and Mrs. Halloran
- Immediate Family — Uncle Winston
- Our Only Daughter — Aggie
- Women Chatter 2 — Dolores, Pasha and Uncle Winston
- One White Dress — Jane Hurley and Aggie
- Vision — Aggie
- Don't Ever Stop Saying "I Love You" — Jane Hurley and Ralph Halloran
- I Stayed — Tom Hurley
- Married (Reprise) — Aggie
- Coney Island — Uncle Winston
- Don't Ever Stop Saying "I Love You" (Reprise) — Ralph Halloran, Jane Hurley and Tom Hurley
- Coney Island (Reprise) — Uncle Winston and Company
Roles and original cast
- Uncle Winston - Harvey FiersteinHarvey FiersteinHarvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
- Aggie Hurley - Faith PrinceFaith PrinceFaith Prince is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work on Broadway. Prince has won the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical and received three Tony nominations.-Life and career:...
- Jane Hurley - Leslie KritzerLeslie KritzerLeslie Kritzer is an award-winning Broadway actress. She is from Livingston, New Jersey.-Biography:Kritzer, a 1999 graduate of the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, has also appeared on Broadway in Hairspray and was the character Serena in Legally Blonde The Musical...
- Tom Hurley - Tom WopatTom WopatTom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
- Ralph Halloran - Matt CavenaughMatt CavenaughMatt Cavenaugh is an American stage, film, and television actor. He graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in 2001. Cavenaugh's film debut was in Little Monsters as a child actor, and has more recently played starring roles on Broadway and Off Broadway...
- Mr. Halloran/Sam - Philip Hoffman
- Alice/Army Sergeant - Katie Klaus
- Delores/Caterer - Heather MacRae
- Mrs. Halloran/Pasha - Lori Wilner
- Myra/Dress Saleswoman - Kristine Zbornik
Recording
The Original Cast recording was recorded by PS ClassicsPS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals. Founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin, their releases have been critically acclaimed for their meticulous sonic detail and high-quality packaging and...
and was released on May 27, 2008.
Critical response
A Catered Affair received mixed reviews.Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
for the New York Times, wrote: "From Mr. Bucchino’s trickling, self-effacing score to the tight-lipped stoicism of its leading performances, from David Gallo’s tidy tenement-scape set to Zachary Borovay’s tentative photographic projections, this show is all pale, tasteful understatement that seems to be apologizing for asking for your attention... Ms. Prince, best known for her madcap musical turns in revivals of Guys and Dolls and Bells Are Ringing, scrubs down to raw-skinned plainness here. Her performance is tight, disciplined and at times quite affecting, never more so than when Aggie looks silently at some distant horizon of missed opportunities."
Clive Barnes
Clive Barnes (critic)
Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
, reviewing for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, wrote: "Under John Doyle's expert, discreet direction, it emerges less like a musical and more like a play with music: lovely, urban chamber music. But you won't come out humming the tunes, or even the scenery. You'll come out humming the characters."
But Linda Winer, for Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, wrote: "How bold to make a Broadway musical on such restrained material as A Catered Affair. How sad that the results are so glum. Despite the dedication of a fine cast...this is a colorless little piece of '50s social realism about a Bronx family that isn't so much emotionally repressed as emotionally deficient." She panned the "meandering, conversational melodies ba[c]ked by innocuous accompaniments", and the "tasteful but bland production", and concluded: "Winston, who wants the big wedding, observes, 'Resigning oneself to small is sad. Requesting it is tragic.' He could be talking about the show."
Awards and nominations
Tony Awards (nominations)- Best Actress in a Musical - Faith Prince
- Best Actor in a MusicalTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalThe Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival...
- Tom Wopat - Best OrchestrationsTony Award for Best Orchestrations-1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King...
- Jonathan TunickJonathan TunickJonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
(nominations)
- Outstanding Musical
- Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Prince)
- Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Wopat)
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Kritzer)
- Outstanding Director of a Musical
- Outstanding Music and Lyrics
- Outstanding Book of a Musical
- Outstanding Orchestrations (Tunick)
- Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (Gallo)
- Outstanding Costume Design (Hould-Ward)
- Outstanding Projection and Video Design (Zachary Borovay)
Outer Critics Circle Awards (nominations)
- Outstanding New Broadway Musical
- Outstanding Actress In A Musical (Prince)
Drama League Award
Drama League Award
The Drama League Awards, created in 1935, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing...
- Win: Distinguished Production of a Musical
- Nomination: Distinguished Performance Award (Prince, Wopat)
External links
- A Catered Affair at the IBDB database
- Official site
- Playbill article, July 18, 2007
- John Bucchino official site
- Review of the San Diego production
- Playbill article, Andrew Gans, April 28, 2008, "Drama Desk Nominees Announced; Catered Affair Garners 12 Noms." Retrieved 4-28-2008
- April 22, 2008, "74th Annual Drama League Award Nominees Announced" Retrieved 5-4-2008