03/12/2015
Lowell Sun
By Nancye Tuttle
Ever since Jack Neary and Leon Grande founded Greater Lowell Music Theatre nearly four years ago, Fiorello!, a lovely, mid-20th century musical, made their short list of shows they'd like to produce.
But each time they nixed the notion, worried about selling tickets to a show that few musical theater fans today know much about.
That changes next week, when GLMT presents a concert version of Fiorello!, March 20-22, in Durgin Hall on the UMass Lowell campus.
It is the first production in the company's 2015 three-show season that continues in June with Anything Goes and in late July-early August with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Fiorello! is an award-winning musical about the exciting life of 1930's three-term New York City Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. A diminutive firebrand in a huge black hat, he took on the Tammany Hall political machine and cleaned up city politics.
There's a love story, too, involving Thea, his first wife, and Marie, his secretary and second wife. It features songs by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, who wrote Fiddler on the Roof, with a book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman. It won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 1960, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, one of only eight musicals to do so.
"It's a fabulous show, with a beautiful score, and it has such a great pedigree -- both the Pulitzer and the Tony. It tied with Sound of Music that year to beat out Gypsy for the Tony for Best Musical," said Neary, GLMT's producer.
He's excited to present it in concert format, much like GLMT presented The Music Man three years ago.
"It features dancing, costumes and props, but no sets. The music is wonderful, and we have the voices to carry it," said Neary.
The cast includes GLMT favorites Dave Sullivan in the title role, plus Mara Bonde, Jessica Dee, Rick Sherburne, John Budzyna and Margaret Felice, with a "special appearance" by UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan.
The staging will resemble the Encores concerts at New York City Center, a program that brings great musicals to audiences in a concert format and featured Fiorello! as its first offering in 1994.
"I think our audiences will love seeing the show in this way," said Neary.
Musical highlights include "Little Tin Box," a political tune, and "When Did I Fall In Love?" a lovely musical theater ballad.
"People should come to see Fiorello!, enjoy the music and hear how musically superior our people are. We promise a great musical theater experience," said Neary.
Performances are Friday-Saturday, March 20-21, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m., in the Durgin Concert Hall, 35 Wilder St., UMass Lowell South Campus. Tickets $30-$35 at www.glmt.org.
Meet Mr. Mayor
Fiorello H. LaGuardia -- who's he? The guy they named an airport after?
That's true, but there's more to the legendary New York City mayor than a transportation hub and a musical, which both bear his name.
To prepare you for Greater Lowell Music Theatre's upcoming production of Fiorello!, here are a few other facts about the late, great mayor.
- The son of Italian immigrants, he was born on the East Side of Manhattan on Dec. 11, 1882, but grew up on military bases, primarily in the West, since his musican father was a bandmaster in the U.S. Army.
- He landed his first job at age 15 as a correspondent for the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper. Fluent in several languages, he worked as an interpreter at the U.S. Embassy in Fiume, then part of Austria-Hungary.
- Despite his short stature -- 5 feet, 2-inches -- he learned to fly planes and served as a bomber pilot on the Italian warfront during World War I.
- Prior to being elected Mayor, he served in Congress, where he was successful in helping liberalize the rules of the House.
- He was often called "the Little Flower," which is what his first name means in Italian.
- Elected Mayor of New York for three consecutive terms, the first in modern times, he served from 1933-1945.
- A dynamic, aggressive reformer, he took on the powerful Tammany Hall political machine that had controlled city politics for decades and routed out the old-line politicians almost single-handedly.
- His New York Times obituary dubbed him "probably New York's most colorful Mayor since Peter Stuyvesant."
- After serving as mayor, he was Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration from March-Dec., 1946.
- He died in September 1947, at age 64, from pancreatic cancer.
- Fiorello!, the musical about his years as mayor, starred actor Tom Bosley (best-known as amiable TV dad Howard Cunningham on the hit TV show Happy Days) in the title role. Bosley won a Tony Award for his performance in his breakout role.
And the players ...
- David Sullivan plays Fiorello. He last appeared as Amos Hart in GLMT's 2014 production of Chicago and was Nathan Detroit in GLMT's 2013 production of Guys and Dolls. He has appeared locally with Image Theater Company, Ghostlight Theater and Play by Players.
- Mara Bonde appears as Thea, his first wife. Previous GLMT performances include Marion in The Music Man and Sarah in Guys and Dolls. In December, she performed with Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops Holiday Pops in Lowell.
- Rick Sherburne playing Ben, a Republican leader, last appeared as Lazar Wolf in GLMT's Fiddler on the Roof last season. He directs the Office of Special Events at UMass Lowell.
- John Budzyna, playing Morris, a politician, appeared as Harold Hill in GLMT's The Music Man.
- Jessica Dee, appearing as Mitzi, a show girl, was Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Roxie in Chicago for GLMT.
- Margaret Felice, playing Marie, his secretary, sang "The Sound of Music" in GLMT's "My Favorite Things" concert in 2014.