Milk and Honey (musical)
Encyclopedia
Milk and Honey is a musical
with a book by Don Appell and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
. The story centers on a bus
load of lonely American
widows hoping to catch husbands while touring Israel
and is set against the background of the country's fight for recognition as an independent nation. It was Herman's first Broadway
book musical following a succession of off-Broadway
revue
s.
he hoped to mount on Broadway
. He sent Herman and Appell there to absorb the culture and hopefully find inspiration. Herman was determined that the musical not be a patriotic love letter and, while he liked most of what he saw during his visit, he incorporated some of what had not appealed to him ("rock and dust and sand") into the lyrics of the title song.
Directed by Albert Marre
and choreographed by Donald Saddler
, Milk and Honey began its pre-Broadway tryout run at the Shubert Theatre
in New Haven on August 28, 1961. The critical reception was positive, but Herman felt leading lady Molly Picon
, who clearly was an audience favorite, needed another song and composed "Chin Up, Ladies" for her. The company moved on to the Colonial Theatre
in Boston
, playing there from September 5 - 23.
After one preview, Milk and Honey opened on Broadway
on October 10, 1961 in the Martin Beck Theatre
and ran for 543 performances. In addition to Picon, the cast included Tommy Rall
, Jose Gutierrez
, and Metropolitan Opera
stars Mimi Benzell
and Robert Weede
. Hermione Gingold
replaced Picon later in the run. The musical director was Max Goberman
.
The musical was revived in 1994 at the off-Broadway
American Jewish Theatre, where it ran for 59 performances. The cast included Chevi Colton
, Katy Selverstone
, Ron Holgate
(who had a small role in the original production), and James Barbour
. In his review in the New York Times, David Richards wrote, "Jerry Herman's score is the best reason for reviving Milk and Honey.... Ranging from ballads... to marches... to waltzes, the songs have none of the show-business slickness that sometimes crops up in his subsequent musicals.... When all else fails... there is always Mr. Herman's score to soar to the rescue. I wouldn't want to dismiss Hello, Dolly!
or Mame. But is it possible that his very best work came first?"
In 2011 the musical will open the Magnormos
'A Jerry Herman Triptych' at Melbourne Recital Centre
, which will be followed by two other Herman works Dear World
and Hello, Dolly!
Recording
An original cast recording was released by RCA Victor. DRG re-issued this recording in 2008.
The calm of a morning street scene in modern Jerusalem is shattered when a policeman orders a Yemenite boy to remove his flock of sheep to a side street. Phil Arkin, an American visiting his married daughter, defends the boy, and in the ensuing fracas he meets Ruth Stein, a tourist travelling with a group of widows from the United States. She is impressed with Phil's command of Hebrew as he explains the meaning of the word "Shalom
".
They keep running into each other and together they celebrate Israel's Independence Day
. Their friendship begins to deepen and Phil's conscience starts troubling him. Although he has been separated from his wife for many years, he does not think it right to continue seeing Ruth since he is still a married man. Phil's daughter Barbara, however, likes Ruth and invites her to go with them to the farm that she and her husband own in the Negev
. After some hesitation, Ruth accepts.
On the farm - called a Moshav
- Phil tries to talk Barbara and David, her husband into going back to Baltimore with him. But the young man vows his devotion to his country and is joined in its praise by his neighbors, including his cynical friend Adi, who claims he would rather live in the city.
Phil, who is falling in love with Ruth, asks her to stay at the Moshav a little longer. In fact, he is even thinking of building a house of his own there that he would like her to share.
Meanwhile, the group of touring widows comes to visit the Moshav. When they eye the virile young farmers, the ladies, led by Clara Weiss reveal their hopes of finding suitable husbands. Though their dreams are quickly dashed when all the men turn out to be married, Clara is still optimistic.
Later, Phil tells Ruth that he has bought the property for a home, and she gives him her approval. But Barbara is shocked at the news, and urges her father to tell Ruth about his marriage. Reluctantly he does, but he also tells her why she must remain. At a wedding ceremony that they attend Phil and Ruth, envious of the younger people, express their deep love for each other and, forgetting the consequences for the moment, go off together.
Act 2
Phil energetically feels the spirit of the new land and goes out to work the fields with the other farmers. Barbara, however, brings news that Ruth, realizing the consequences of living with a married man, has run away to Tel Aviv, and Phil goes off to bring her back. When they are alone, David, convinced that Barbara really longs to go back to the United States, asserts that he would go anywhere to be with her.
In Tel Aviv
, Phil finds Clara at the Cafe Hotok, but she refuses to tell him where Ruth is. When he leaves, Clara accidentally meets Sol Horowitz, a widower from Jerusalem, and they promptly show mutual interest. Alone, she seeks her late husband's permission to remarry if Sol proposes.
Back at the Moshav, Phil, after much inner conflict, realizes that it would be wrong to live with Ruth. Although she comes back to him he tells her that she must leave.
At Lydda Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, the touring widows are preparing to board the airplane home. Phil and Ruth have their final, brief moment together during which he promises to fly to Paris, where his wife lives, and plead for a divorce. Ruth boards the plane with the hope that somehow Phil will succeed and she will be able to come back to him.
Act II
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 Don Appell and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
. The story centers on a bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
load of lonely American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
widows hoping to catch husbands while touring Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and is set against the background of the country's fight for recognition as an independent nation. It was Herman's first 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...
book musical following a succession of off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
s.
Production history
Herman was playing the piano for Parade, his most recent revue following I Feel Wonderful and Nitecap, when he was approached by theatre producer Gerard Oestreicher, who was seeking a composer for a project about IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
he hoped to mount 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...
. He sent Herman and Appell there to absorb the culture and hopefully find inspiration. Herman was determined that the musical not be a patriotic love letter and, while he liked most of what he saw during his visit, he incorporated some of what had not appealed to him ("rock and dust and sand") into the lyrics of the title song.
Directed by Albert Marre
Albert Marre
Albert Marre is an American director and producer in the theatre.Born in New York City, Marre made his Broadway debut as an actor and associate director of the 1950 revival of John Vanbrugh's Restoration comedy The Relapse...
and choreographed by Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler is an American choreographer, dancer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Van Nuys, California, Saddler studied dance at an early age to regain his strength after a bout of scarlet fever...
, Milk and Honey began its pre-Broadway tryout run at the Shubert Theatre
Shubert Theatre (New Haven)
The Shubert Theatre is a 1600-seat theatre located at 247 College Street in New Haven, Connecticut. Originally opened in 1914, it was designed by Albert Swazey, a New York architect and built by the H.E. Murdock Construction Company...
in New Haven on August 28, 1961. The critical reception was positive, but Herman felt leading lady Molly Picon
Molly Picon
Molly Picon was an American actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller....
, who clearly was an audience favorite, needed another song and composed "Chin Up, Ladies" for her. The company moved on to the Colonial Theatre
Colonial Theatre
The Colonial Theatre is the oldest continually-operating theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Designed by the architectural firm of Clarence Blackall and paid for by Frederick Lothrop Ames the theatre first opened its doors for a performance of Ben-Hur on December 20, 1900...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, playing there from September 5 - 23.
After one preview, Milk and Honey opened 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...
on October 10, 1961 in the Martin Beck Theatre
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It...
and ran for 543 performances. In addition to Picon, the cast included Tommy Rall
Tommy Rall
Thomas Edward "Tommy" Rall is an American ballet dancer, tap dancer and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies...
, Jose Gutierrez
José Gutiérrez
José Gutiérrez-Guerra, known as "the last Oligarch," was President of Bolivia between 1917 and 1920....
, and Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
stars Mimi Benzell
Mimi Benzell
Mimi Benzell was an American soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera before establishing herself as a Broadway musical theatre, television, and nightclub performer....
and Robert Weede
Robert Weede
-Biography:Born Robert Wiedefeld in Baltimore, Maryland, Weede studied voice at the Eastman School of Music and in Milan. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1937, as Tonio in Pagliacci...
. Hermione Gingold
Hermione Gingold
Hermione Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother reportedly encouraged her not to remove. She starred on stage, on radio, in films, on...
replaced Picon later in the run. The musical director was Max Goberman
Max Goberman
Max Goberman was an American conductor. He conducted ballets, Broadway musicals , and the classical repertoire...
.
The musical was revived in 1994 at the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
American Jewish Theatre, where it ran for 59 performances. The cast included Chevi Colton
Chevi Colton
Chevi Colton was an American stage, film and television actress.In November 1968 she appeared onstage in Cabaret on Broadway in New York City. In December 1978 she appeared in The Grand Tour at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. She appeared as one-half of a lesbian couple on a "very special" episode...
, Katy Selverstone
Katy Selverstone
Katy Selverstone is an American actress. She is primarily known for her work on The Drew Carey Show as Lisa Robbins, Drew's girlfriend in the first season and a couple of episodes in the second season of the show. After that, she got roles on other shows that lasted less than one season...
, Ron Holgate
Ron Holgate
Ronald "Ron" Holgate is a American actor and opera singer. He is known for winning the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor as Richard Henry Lee in the original Broadway production of 1776.-Early life:...
(who had a small role in the original production), and James Barbour
James Stacy Barbour
James Stacy Barbour , a.k.a. James Barbour, is a singer and Broadway actor. He graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in Acting and a minor in Philosophy.- Theatre credits :...
. In his review in the New York Times, David Richards wrote, "Jerry Herman's score is the best reason for reviving Milk and Honey.... Ranging from ballads... to marches... to waltzes, the songs have none of the show-business slickness that sometimes crops up in his subsequent musicals.... When all else fails... there is always Mr. Herman's score to soar to the rescue. I wouldn't want to dismiss Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
or Mame. But is it possible that his very best work came first?"
In 2011 the musical will open the Magnormos
Magnormos
Magnormos is an independent musical theatre production company based in Melbourne, Australia, that specialises in producing musicals written by Australian writers, and landmark international works....
'A Jerry Herman Triptych' at Melbourne Recital Centre
Melbourne Recital Centre
The Melbourne Recital Centre is Melbourne's second largest auditorium for classical music . It was opened in 2009, as part of the Melbourne Recital Centre and MTC Theatre complex, and is located on the corner of Southbank Boulevard and Sturt Street in the Melbourne Arts Precinct,...
, which will be followed by two other Herman works Dear World
Dear World
Dear World is a Broadway musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the only composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway...
and Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
Recording
An original cast recording was released by RCA Victor. DRG re-issued this recording in 2008.
Plot synopsis
Act 1The calm of a morning street scene in modern Jerusalem is shattered when a policeman orders a Yemenite boy to remove his flock of sheep to a side street. Phil Arkin, an American visiting his married daughter, defends the boy, and in the ensuing fracas he meets Ruth Stein, a tourist travelling with a group of widows from the United States. She is impressed with Phil's command of Hebrew as he explains the meaning of the word "Shalom
Shalom
Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye...
".
They keep running into each other and together they celebrate Israel's Independence Day
Yom Ha'atzmaut
Yom Ha'atzmaut commemorates Israel's declaration of Independence in 1948. It is celebrated on 5 Iyar according to the Hebrew calendar. Yom Ha'atzmaut is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day.-History:...
. Their friendship begins to deepen and Phil's conscience starts troubling him. Although he has been separated from his wife for many years, he does not think it right to continue seeing Ruth since he is still a married man. Phil's daughter Barbara, however, likes Ruth and invites her to go with them to the farm that she and her husband own in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
. After some hesitation, Ruth accepts.
On the farm - called a Moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
- Phil tries to talk Barbara and David, her husband into going back to Baltimore with him. But the young man vows his devotion to his country and is joined in its praise by his neighbors, including his cynical friend Adi, who claims he would rather live in the city.
Phil, who is falling in love with Ruth, asks her to stay at the Moshav a little longer. In fact, he is even thinking of building a house of his own there that he would like her to share.
Meanwhile, the group of touring widows comes to visit the Moshav. When they eye the virile young farmers, the ladies, led by Clara Weiss reveal their hopes of finding suitable husbands. Though their dreams are quickly dashed when all the men turn out to be married, Clara is still optimistic.
Later, Phil tells Ruth that he has bought the property for a home, and she gives him her approval. But Barbara is shocked at the news, and urges her father to tell Ruth about his marriage. Reluctantly he does, but he also tells her why she must remain. At a wedding ceremony that they attend Phil and Ruth, envious of the younger people, express their deep love for each other and, forgetting the consequences for the moment, go off together.
Act 2
Phil energetically feels the spirit of the new land and goes out to work the fields with the other farmers. Barbara, however, brings news that Ruth, realizing the consequences of living with a married man, has run away to Tel Aviv, and Phil goes off to bring her back. When they are alone, David, convinced that Barbara really longs to go back to the United States, asserts that he would go anywhere to be with her.
In Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Phil finds Clara at the Cafe Hotok, but she refuses to tell him where Ruth is. When he leaves, Clara accidentally meets Sol Horowitz, a widower from Jerusalem, and they promptly show mutual interest. Alone, she seeks her late husband's permission to remarry if Sol proposes.
Back at the Moshav, Phil, after much inner conflict, realizes that it would be wrong to live with Ruth. Although she comes back to him he tells her that she must leave.
At Lydda Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, the touring widows are preparing to board the airplane home. Phil and Ruth have their final, brief moment together during which he promises to fly to Paris, where his wife lives, and plead for a divorce. Ruth boards the plane with the hope that somehow Phil will succeed and she will be able to come back to him.
Original Broadway cast
- Mimi Benzell - Ruth
- Molly Picon - Clara Weiss
- Robert Weede - Phil
- Juki Arkin - Adi
- Diane Goldberg - Mrs. Segal
- Thelma Pelish - Mrs. Perlman
- Tommy Rall - David/Barbara's Husband
- Lanna Saunders - Barbara/Phil's Daughter
Songs
Act I- Shepherd's Song - Shepherd Boy and Phil
- Shalom - Phil and Ruth
- Independence Day Hora - The Company
- Milk and Honey - David, Adi and Company
- There's No Reason in the World - Phil
- Chin Up, Ladies - Mrs. Weiss and Widows
- That Was Yesterday - Ruth, Phil, Adi and Company
- Let's Not Waste a Moment - Phil
- The Wedding - Ruth, Phil and Company
Act II
- Like A Young Man - Phil
- I Will Follow You - David
- Hymn to Hymie - Mrs. Weiss
- There's No Reason in the World (Reprise) - Ruth
- Milk and Honey (Reprise) - Adi and Company
- As Simple as That - Ruth and Phil
- Shalom (Reprise) - Ruth, Phil and Company
Tony Award nominations
- Tony Award for Best MusicalTony Award for Best MusicalThis is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
- Tony Award for Best Original ScoreTony Award for Best Original ScoreThe Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics...
- Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a MusicalTony Award for Best Leading Actress in a MusicalThe Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is the Tony Awards award given to the actress who was voted as the best leading actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival...
(Molly Picon) - Tony Award for Best Costume DesignTony Award for Best Costume DesignThese are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals...
(Miles White) - Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical
Reference and notes
- Showtune by Jerry Herman and Marilyn Stasio, published by Donald I. Fine Books (1996), pages 37-55 ISBN 1-55611-502-4