Hot Spot (musical)
Encyclopedia
Hot Spot is a musical with the book by Jack Weinstock
and Willie Gilbert
, lyrics by Martin Charnin
, music by Mary Rodgers
, and additional lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim
. It had a brief run on Broadway
in 1963. The musical is a political satire.
volunteer in newly-independent Nigeria
, Marjorie Michelmore, caused a furor because she had written a postcard on October 13, 1961, describing the primitive living conditions there. Nigerians were indignant, and some accused the volunteers of being American
spies. This led to a public relations crisis for the fledgling Peace Corps.
, Washington, D.C.
, and on February 28 at the Shubert Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Majestic Theater on April 19, 1963 and closed on May 25, 1963 after 43 performances and 5 previews. (Although reporting 5 "official" previews, according to The New York Times, "the musical expects to run up 36 [previews] at the Majestic by the time it opens".) Scenic and costume design was by Rouben Ter-Arutunian
, and lighting design by John Harvey. At least five directors worked on the show: the original director was Morton DaCosta
, followed by Martin Charnin
, Robert Fryer, Richard Quine
, Arthur Laurents
, and Herbert Ross
. The original choreographer was Onna White
. There was no credit given to either director or choreographer, although the New York Times review credits read "staged by Herbert Ross".
Stephen Sondheim, a friend of Rodgers', was brought onto the creative team, resulting in the show's opening and closing number, "Don't Laugh" and the song "That's Good, That's Bad".
The cast starred Judy Holliday
and included Conrad Bain
, Joe Bova, Joseph Campanella
, Mary Louise Wilson
, Carmen De Lavallade
, and George Furth
. This marked Judy Holliday's final stage performance. (She was quoted as saying "You can only live through one or two Hot Spots in your life.")
One of Broadway's most well-known flops, it had 58 "preview" performances, setting a record by cancelling its official opening four times, and then running for only 43 "official" performances. According to Steven Suskin, "it was one of those big-budget, big-advance-sale bonanzas which go wrong and turn into highly public busts." According to the review in Billboard, "Predictions of failure preceeded the show and these were confirmed when the New York Critics Circle passed a unanimous negative judgement."
volunteer, hygiene teacher "Sally Hopwinder", is stationed in a fictional nation, "D'hum" with decent living conditions. She concocts a plan to obtain U.S. aid for D'hum by convincing the Pentagon that Russia is about to invade it.
Act 2
Jack Weinstock
Jack Weinstock was an American author and playwright who is best known for writing the musical book for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He also co-authored the play Catch Me If You Can with Willie Gilbert and wrote the book for the musical Hot Spot.-External links:...
and Willie Gilbert
Willie Gilbert
Willie Gilbert was an American author and playwright.Born William Gomberg in Cleveland, Ohio, Gilbert's proclivity for creating gags emerged as the humor writer for the Glenville High School Torch on which he worked alongside future playwright Jerome Lawrence and the creators of Superman, Jerry...
, lyrics by Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director and lyricist of the hit musical Annie....
, music by Mary Rodgers
Mary Rodgers
Mary Rodgers is an American composer of musicals and an author of children's books. She is a daughter of composer Richard Rodgers and his wife, Dorothy Rodgers, as is her sister, Linda Rodgers Emory...
, and additional lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
. It had a brief run 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...
in 1963. The musical is a political satire.
Background
A Peace CorpsPeace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteer in newly-independent Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Marjorie Michelmore, caused a furor because she had written a postcard on October 13, 1961, describing the primitive living conditions there. Nigerians were indignant, and some accused the volunteers of being American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
spies. This led to a public relations crisis for the fledgling Peace Corps.
Production
Hot Spot began out-of-town try-outs on February 11, 1963 at the National TheaterNational Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
The National Theatre is located in Washington, D.C., and is a venue for a variety of live stage productions with seating for 1,676.Despite its name, it is not a governmentally funded national theatre, but operated by a private, non-profit organization....
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and on February 28 at the Shubert Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Majestic Theater on April 19, 1963 and closed on May 25, 1963 after 43 performances and 5 previews. (Although reporting 5 "official" previews, according to The New York Times, "the musical expects to run up 36 [previews] at the Majestic by the time it opens".) Scenic and costume design was by Rouben Ter-Arutunian
Rouben Ter-Arutunian
Rouben Ter-Arutunian was a costume and scenic designer for dance, opera, theater and television.Born in Tiflis, Georgia, he attended the Reimann Art School from 1939 to 1941, studied film music at the Hochschule fur Musik and took courses at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University , 1941–43, and at the...
, and lighting design by John Harvey. At least five directors worked on the show: the original director was Morton DaCosta
Morton DaCosta
Morton DaCosta was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor.-Career:Born Morton Tecosky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth starring Tallulah Bankhead in 1942...
, followed by Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director and lyricist of the hit musical Annie....
, Robert Fryer, Richard Quine
Richard Quine
Richard Quine was an American stage, film, and radio actor and film director.Quine was born in Detroit. He made his Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May in 1939 and appeared in My Sister Eileen the following year...
, Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, stage director and screenwriter.After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S...
, and Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
. The original choreographer was Onna White
Onna White
Onna White was a Canadian choreographer and dancer nominated for eight Tony Awards.-Career:Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventually her studies took her to the famed San Francisco Ballet Company, where she danced in the first full-length...
. There was no credit given to either director or choreographer, although the New York Times review credits read "staged by Herbert Ross".
Stephen Sondheim, a friend of Rodgers', was brought onto the creative team, resulting in the show's opening and closing number, "Don't Laugh" and the song "That's Good, That's Bad".
The cast starred Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
and included Conrad Bain
Conrad Bain
Conrad Stafford Bain is a Canadian-American actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and as Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude.-Personal life:...
, Joe Bova, Joseph Campanella
Joseph Campanella
Joseph Campanella in Lewistown, Pennsylvania is an American character actor who has appeared in over 200 TV and film roles since 1955, including such shows as The Eleventh Hour, The Fugitive, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Road West, The Golden Girls and Mama's Family. He also had a role in...
, Mary Louise Wilson
Mary Louise Wilson
Mary Louise Wilson is an American stage, film and television actress.-Stage:Broadway* Hot Spot — 1963 as Sue Ann* Flora, The Red Menace — 1965 as Comrade Ada* Lovers and Other Strangers — 1968 as Bernice...
, Carmen De Lavallade
Carmen De Lavallade
Carmen De Lavallade is a dancer, choreographer, professor and stage and film actress.-Early Years:Carmen De Lavallade was born in Los Angeles on March 6, 1931, to Afro-Creole parents from New Orleans, Louisiana. She was raised by her aunt who owned one of the first African American history...
, and George Furth
George Furth
George Furth was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.-Biography:Furth was born George Schweinfurth in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Evelyn and George Schweinfurth...
. This marked Judy Holliday's final stage performance. (She was quoted as saying "You can only live through one or two Hot Spots in your life.")
One of Broadway's most well-known flops, it had 58 "preview" performances, setting a record by cancelling its official opening four times, and then running for only 43 "official" performances. According to Steven Suskin, "it was one of those big-budget, big-advance-sale bonanzas which go wrong and turn into highly public busts." According to the review in Billboard, "Predictions of failure preceeded the show and these were confirmed when the New York Critics Circle passed a unanimous negative judgement."
Synopsis
Peace CorpsPeace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteer, hygiene teacher "Sally Hopwinder", is stationed in a fictional nation, "D'hum" with decent living conditions. She concocts a plan to obtain U.S. aid for D'hum by convincing the Pentagon that Russia is about to invade it.
Songs
Act 1- Don't Laugh - Sally Hopwinder
- Don't Laugh (Reprise) - Sally Hopwinder and Peace Corps
- Welcome - D'humians
- This Little Yankee - Gabrel Snapper
- Smiles - Sally Hopwinder, Deva, Minister of State, Howard Mason, Rami and Members of the Ensemble
- A Little Trouble - Sally Hopwinder, Shim, The Nadir of D'hum and D'humians
- You'd Like Nebraska - Vernon Breen and Iram
- Hey Love - Sally Hopwinder
- I Had Two Dregs - Sally Hopwinder, Shim, Sumner Tubb, Sr. and D'humians
- Rich, Rich, Rich - Shim, Sue Ann, Peace Corps and D'humians
Act 2
- That's Good-That's Bad - Sally Hopwinder
- I Think the World of You - Sue Ann and Shim
- Gabie - Sally Hopwinder
- A Matter of Time - Gabrel Snapper and Sally Hopwinder
- Gabie (Reprise) - Gabrel Snapper
- Big Meeting Tonight - Rami, Grobanykov and Ensemble
- A Far, Far Better Way - Sally Hopwinder
- Don't Laugh (Reprise) - Sally Hopwinder, Gabrel Snapper and Ensemble