History of The Musical Stage
1960s: Part II
by John Kenrick
(Copyright 1996-2003)

• Sunset of a Golden Age
• Funny Girl
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Man of La Mancha
• Mame
• Cabaret

1. Hello Dolly! (1964 - 2, 844) - For details on this show, please see the section discussing Gower Champion on the previous page.

2. Funny Girl (1964 - 1,348) - After torturous previews, multiple directors and extensive rewrites, this fictionalized biography of comedienne Fanny Brice made a star of Barbra Streisand – who wisely avoided imitating Brice, building her own fresh characterization. Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill's brassy score included the hit songs "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade." The gifted Streisand went off to Hollywood for the screen version, never to return to Broadway.

Barbra Stresiand appears in this ad for the original cast recording of Funny Girl.

3. Fiddler on the Roof (1964 - 3,242) - Composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick teamed with librettist Joseph Stein for this irresistible adaptation of Sholom Aleichem's stories about Tevya, a philosophical dairy farmer who tries to uphold Jewish cultural tradition against overwhelming odds in Tsarist Russia. Zero Mostel's powerful but self-indulgent performance in the lead helped establish the show. It then went on to a record-setting run under a long series of Tevya's. Audiences the world over identified with this unlikely hit. The much loved score included "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I Were a Rich Man," and "Do You Love Me?," and "Sunrise, Sunset." The last and most memorable Broadway staging by Jerome Robbins, it included wedding celebrants dancing with wine bottles balanced on their hats, and a communal circle that embodied the idea of a community coming together and coming apart.

4. Man of La Mancha (1965 - 2,328) - Librettist Dale Wasserman, composer Mitch Leigh and lyricist Joe Darion built a musical around the story of Spanish novelist Cervantes. He is thrown into prison by the Inquisition and tries to save the manuscript for his masterful Don Quixote by enacting it for (and with an assist from) his fellow prisoners. Richard Kiley scored the greatest triumph of his career in the title role, as did co-star Joan Diener playing the tattered kitchen girl Aldonza. Despite mixed reviews, the show enjoyed long runs everywhere from London to Tokyo, and "Impossible Dream (The Quest)" became a standard. Director Albert Marre's staging was so effective that it was adhered to by almost all professional productions of La Mancha for more than thirty years. 

5. Mame (1966 - 1,508) - Jerry Herman followed up his smash Hello Dolly by teaming with playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee for an adaptation of their long-running comedy Auntie Mame. Angela Lansbury wowed audiences in the title role, winning her first Tony for Best Actress playing the eccentric heiress who liberates her orphaned nephew from a stodgy upbringing. Beatrice Arthur's hilarious performance as the bitchy actress Vera Charles brought her a Tony for Best Featured Actress. The score included the catchy title tune, the moving "If He Walked Into My Life," and the show-stopping Lansbury-Arthur duet "Bosom Buddies." Mame proved a worldwide favorite, enjoying successful productions into the next century.

6. Cabaret (1966 - 1,165) - Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb worked with librettist Joe Masteroff on this searing adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's play I Am a Camera. As a young American writer falls in love with a cabaret singer, we meet raffish chorus girls, Nazi storm troopers, and other members of the early 1930s Berlin demi-monde. Joel Grey gave an electrifying performance as the leering Master of Ceremonies, a role he repeated in the acclaimed 1972 film version – becoming one of the few actors to win both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role. The score included "Wilkommen" and the hit title song. An innovative 1998 Broadway revival would rack up an even longer run of 2,398 performances.

It is no wonder that decades later these six shows remain among the most performed musicals. Their stories and characters speak to the heart of human experience – the search for love in a harsh world and the triumph of the human spirit. But America was rocking to a different beat, and the Broadway musical was about to be dragged into a new era. The changes that paved the way for this were painful for many.

Next: 1960s Part III - "Age of Aquarius"