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Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It)
Encyclopedia
Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It) is a musical
with a book by Paul Jabara
and Tom Eyen
, music by Jabara, and lyrics by Jabara, David Debin
, and Paul Issa.
The convoluted plot revolves around the misadventures of the title character (whose first name sports the extra "a" dropped by Barbra Streisand
from her own) and her journey from a Brooklyn
fish market to fame as a Hollywood gossip columnist and then a career culminating in an Academy Award nomination and a nervous breakdown. The score is a mix of disco
and typical Broadway
show tunes.
Jabara had written the show specifically for Bette Midler
, who passed on the project. Eyen was brought in to overhaul the book and replace original director Ron Link, and Grover Dale
was hired to assist Tony Stevens with the choreography.
The Broadway production began previews on November 26, 1973. Within days, it was obvious to everyone involved that it was beyond repair. On December 1, a small notice in the local newspapers announced the show would be closing that night, prior to its official opening.
The demand for tickets was immediate. Theatre buffs who revel in the calamitous as much as the classical were determined to see what was destined to go down in the Broadway annals as one of the all-time biggest flops. When the curtain went up that night, the cast was facing a sold-out house. Frank Rich
of the New York Times noted that the musical had a small hardcore group of fans who had followed its evolution from the beginning and already had seen it several times: "In scattered pockets throughout the otherwise shell-shocked house were claques of theatergoers who sang along with the musical numbers and gave mini-standing ovations at the end of most of them." http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9E05EFDC1539F933A15750C0A965948260
Producers Robert Stigwood
and Ahmet Ertegün
lost all of their $500,000 investment in the production. In addition to Ellen Greene
in the title role, the cast included Jabara, Wayne Cilento
, Anita Morris
, Thommie Walsh
, and André DeShields
.
Act I
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 Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara was an American actor, singer, and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry. He wrote Donna Summer's "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday and Barbra Streisand's song "The Main Event/Fight" from The Main Event...
and Tom Eyen
Tom Eyen
Tom Eyen was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and theatre director.Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends of the theatrical spectrum...
, music by Jabara, and lyrics by Jabara, David Debin
David Debin
David Debin is an American writer and former producer.His father was a talent agent, and after graduating from Adelphi University, Debin began his career in Hollywood as a writer for The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game....
, and Paul Issa.
The convoluted plot revolves around the misadventures of the title character (whose first name sports the extra "a" dropped by Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
from her own) and her journey from a Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
fish market to fame as a Hollywood gossip columnist and then a career culminating in an Academy Award nomination and a nervous breakdown. The score is a mix of disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and typical 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...
show tunes.
Jabara had written the show specifically for Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, who passed on the project. Eyen was brought in to overhaul the book and replace original director Ron Link, and Grover Dale
Grover Dale
Grover Dale is an American actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director.-Early years:Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur, and Emma Bertha Ammon...
was hired to assist Tony Stevens with the choreography.
The Broadway production began previews on November 26, 1973. Within days, it was obvious to everyone involved that it was beyond repair. On December 1, a small notice in the local newspapers announced the show would be closing that night, prior to its official opening.
The demand for tickets was immediate. Theatre buffs who revel in the calamitous as much as the classical were determined to see what was destined to go down in the Broadway annals as one of the all-time biggest flops. When the curtain went up that night, the cast was facing a sold-out house. Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
of the New York Times noted that the musical had a small hardcore group of fans who had followed its evolution from the beginning and already had seen it several times: "In scattered pockets throughout the otherwise shell-shocked house were claques of theatergoers who sang along with the musical numbers and gave mini-standing ovations at the end of most of them." http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9E05EFDC1539F933A15750C0A965948260
Producers Robert Stigwood
Robert Stigwood
Robert Stigwood is an impresario and entertainment entrepreneur who relocated to England in 1954...
and Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
lost all of their $500,000 investment in the production. In addition to Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
in the title role, the cast included Jabara, Wayne Cilento
Wayne Cilento
Wayne Louis Cilento is an American dancer and choreographer. He is best known for originating the role of "Mike" in the Broadway show A Chorus Line, and later becoming one of Broadway's most prolific choreographers.-Early life:...
, Anita Morris
Anita Morris
-Career:Among many roles, Morris's most prominent film role was as Carol Dodsworth, the mistress to Danny DeVito, in Ruthless People and for her sensual performance as Carla in the musical Nine opposite Raul Julia. While nominated for a Best Featured Actress Tony Award as Carla, she lost to Liliane...
, Thommie Walsh
Thommie Walsh
Thomas Joseph “Thommie” Walsh III was an American dancer, choreographer, and director.-Biography:Born in Auburn, New York, Walsh was interested in dance from the age of five, but seriously considered foregoing it as a career when he was rejected by Juilliard...
, and André DeShields
André DeShields
André De Shields is an American actor, singer, dancer, acclaimed novelist, choreographer, and college professor....
.
Songs
Act I
- Academy Awards Theme
- Dear Miss Streisand
- Delivery Boys' Lament
- Me and My Perch
- Gorgeous Lily
- Get Your Show Rolling
- Hollywood! Hollywood!
- East Brooklyn Blues
- Broadway Rhythm
- Hollywood is Dying
- Broadway I Love You
- Raymond's Song
- Seduction Samba
- Rona, Mona and Me
- Working for Stella
- Silver Diamond Rhinestone Glasses
- Party Sickness
- Take Me Savage
- Overdose
- Get Your Show Rolling (Reprise)
Act II
- Academy Awards Theme (Reprise)
- Change in Raquel
- Raquel Gives the Dish
- Gorgeous Lily (Reprise)
- Ochos Rios
- Cobra Woman
- Things
- One Man
- We'll Be There
- One Man (Reprise)
- Broadway Rhythm (Reprise)
- We'll Be There (Reprise)