John Murray Anderson's Almanac is a musical revue, featuring the music of the songwriting team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, as well as other composers. It was conceived by John Murray Anderson. An earlier version of the show had been produced in 1929 with the title Murray Anderson's Almanac. The earlier production included Henry Sullivan for composing the music and Noël Coward as part of the script writing team. Sullivan would go on to write music for the 1953 production mentioned here. The full title for the show was John Murray Anderson's Almanac: A Musical Harlequinade.
Contents
Productions
John Murray Anderson's Almanac began with a tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Boston from November 5, 1953 to December 5, 1953.
The production opened on Broadway on December 10, 1953, at the Imperial Theatre, New York City, and closed on June 26, 1954, after 229 performances. The revue was conceived and staged by John Murray Anderson, with sketches directed by Cyril Ritchard and dances and musical numbers staged by Donald Saddler. Scenic design was by Raoul Pene Du Bois. The revue starred Harry Belafonte, Hermione Gingold, Polly Bergen, Orson Bean, Carleton Carpenter, Tina Louise, Monique van Vooren, and Billy DeWolfe.
Richard Adler and Jerry Ross provided the majority of the songs for the show. They later wrote songs for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees over the course of the next two years (1954-1955). John Murray Anderson's Almanac was the first Broadway show for each of them. The producers of the show were Michael Grace (who was also one of the lyricists as well), Stanley Gilky, and Harry Rigby.
The sketches were written by Jean Kerr, Sumner Lock-Elliot, Arthur Macrae, Herbert Farjeon, and Billy K. Wells. Lauri Wylie's "Dinner for One" was posthumously included; Wylie had died in 1951.
The show was a modernized version of Murray Anderson's Almanac (1929). The 1929 version was directed by Harry Ruskin, William Hollbrook, and John Murray Anderson of this 1953 version.
Henry Sullivan composed music for both shows. A few years before the 1953 show, John Murray Anderson and Henry Sullivan composed the music for the off-camera scenes in the film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
Songs
Act 1
Prologue: Harlequinade – Pierrette Ensemble, Jimmy Albright, Lee Becker, Hank Brunjes, Carleton Carpenter, Ronald Cecill, Dean Crane, Nanci Crompton, Imelda De Martin, Dorothy Dushock, James Jewell, Gerard Leavitt, Celia Lipton, Greb Lober, Ralph McWilliams, Harry Mimmo, Ilona Murai, Margot Myers, Gwen Neilson, Gloria Smith
Queen for a Day
My Cousin Who? – Billy DeWolfe, Jimmy Albright, Ronald Cecill, Dean Crane, Celia Lipton, Ralph McWilliams, Illona Murai, Gwen Neilson, Kenneth Urmston, Toni Wheelis
You're So Much a Part of Me – Carleton Carpenter, Elaine Dunn
I Dare to Dream – Polly Bergen
The Cello – Hermione Gingold
Mark Twain – Harry Belafonte, Millard Thomas (Guitarist)
The Nightingale and the Rose – Jimmy Albright, Hank Brunjes, Ronald Cecill, James Jewell, Gerard Leavitt, Celia Lipton, Greb Lober, Tina Louise, Ralph McWilliams, Margot Myers, Gwen Neilson, George Reeder, Siri, Gloria Smith, Monique Van Vooren
My Love is a Wanderer
The Pan Alley (Mammy Songs, Rhythm Songs, Torch Songs, Patriotic Songs)– Lee Becker, Carleton Carpenter, Ronald Cecill, Dean Crane, Imelda De Martin, Dorothy Dushock, Jay Harnick, Larry Kert, Bob Kole, Gerard Leavitt, Greb Lober, Ralph McWilliams, Illona Murai, Margot Myers, George Reeder, Gloria Smith, Kenneth Urmston
Hope you Come Back – Polly Bergen, Billy DeWolfe, Hermione Gingold, Nanci Crompton, Elaine Dunn, Kay Medford
Act 2
If Every Month Were June – Celia Lipton
Critical response
Brooks Atkinson reviewing for The New York Times called it a "bright and brilliant show", and had special praise for Hermione Gingold, who "gives herself artistic airs that are hilarious", and Harry Belafonte's "Mark Twain" performance, "expository style as a singer and actor makes it the 'Almanac's' high point in theatrical artistry." However, Atkinson wrote that the "Almanac is more distinguished for its humor. Jean Kerr...has written a gruesome jest about horror literature, 'My Cousin Who?'"
Awards
Note: Hermione Gingold would go on to make a cameo in the film Around the World in 80 Days (1956).