Hazel Flagg is a 1953 musical, book by Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street. The lyrics are by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred, the primary screenwriter of which was Ben Hecht.[1]
| Hazel Flagg | |
|---|---|
 Original cast recording | |
| Music | Jule Styne |
| Lyrics | Bob Hilliard |
| Book | James H. Street |
| Basis | Film Nothing Sacred |
| Productions | 1953 Broadway |
Production
editThe musical opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on February 11 and closed on September 19, 1953, after 190 performances.[2] Direction was by David Alexander, with musical staging by Robert Alton and costumes by Miles White.[2][3]
The cast included Helen Gallagher (Hazel), John Howard (Wallace Cook), Thomas Mitchell (Dr. Downer), Benay Venuta (Laura Carew), Jack Whiting (mayor of New York), Ross Martin (Dr. Egelhofer), Jonathan Harris (Oleander), Sheree North in her Broadway debut (Whitey), and John Brascia (Willie).[2][4]
Paramount Pictures, which owned the rights to the source material for Nothing Sacred, also acquired the rights to produce a film version of Hazel Flagg. The Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film Living It Up (1954) is based on the musical,[2] with Hazel Flagg rewritten as a man, Homer Flagg (played by Lewis) and Wallace Cook rewritten as a woman, Wally Cook (played by Janet Leigh). The one hit song from Hazel Flagg, "Every Street's a Boulevard in Old New York", was performed in this movie by Martin and Lewis.[5]
Plot synopsis
editWallace Cook, a writer for Everywhere magazine, suggests that his editor should run an article about small-town girl Hazel Flagg, purportedly dying from exposure to radium. Cook invites her to New York City for an interview. After accepting, she discovers that she was misdiagnosed, but eager to visit the big city, decides not to reveal the truth, and becomes a media darling embraced by a public deeply moved by her sad story.
Song list
editSources: Dietz, Dan (2014) The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals;[2] Guide to Musical Theatre website[3]
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Awards
edit- 1953 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Thomas Mitchell)[6][7]
- 1953 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (Play or Musical) (Miles White)[6][7]
- 1953 Theatre World Award (Sheree North)[6][7]
Further reading
edit- Mandelbaum, Ken (1992). Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops (softcover) (1st ed.). New York, NY: St. Martins Press. ISBN 978-0-312-08273-4.
- Mordden, Ethan (2001). Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s (softcover) (1st ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514058-3.
References
edit- ^ Robinson, Mark A. (2014). The World of Musicals: An Encyclopedia of Stage, Screen, and Song (hardcover) (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. p. 308. ISBN 978-1-4408-0097-9.
- ^ a b c d e Dietz, Dan (2014). The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals (hardcover) (1st ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-3504-5.
- ^ a b "Hazel Flagg (1953)". guidetomusicaltheatre.com. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ^ "Hazel Flagg (1953)". Playbill. (Inside the Playbill). Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ^ "Living It Up (1954)". allmovie.com. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Hazel Flagg (1953)". playbill.com. Playbill. (Awards). Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Hazel Flagg (1953)". concordtheatricals.co.uk. Concord Theatricals. (Accolades). Retrieved October 6, 2021.
External links
edit- Hazel Flagg at the Internet Broadway Database
- Suskin, Steven (27 June 2004). "On the Record: Make a Wish and Hazel Flagg". Playbill.com. (review of original cast album on CD)
- "New Musical in Manhattan". Time. February 23, 1953. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008.