All-American

Dear sybil7,

It was the Lee Adams and Charles Strousse's sophmore show, after the smash hit that was "Bye, Bye Birdie".

It was one of those cases where they started work on adapting one book, ended up not being able to get the rights to it and(having done all of this work on a show about a foreign professor's adventures coming to America and not wanting to scrap all of the work that they had done) got the rights to another book that had the same "set up".

(It still happens. Kander and Ebb's "Steel Pier" started out as a musical version of the book/film "They Shoot Horses Don't They." They did all of the research on the period, couoldn't get the rights to the source material and, so enthusiastic on the period, wrote their own story about a 1930's dance marathon.)

You can answer most of your flop musical questions yourself and go out and get a copy of Ken Mandelbaum's "Not Since Carrie" which will tell you all you need to know about it.

For more opinionated reporting, get a copy of Ethan Mordden's volume about the musicals of the '60's "Open A New Window".

Joshua Logan does talk about it in his second autobiography "Real People, Movie Stars, and Me". But doesn't go into his flop musical all that much.

The script is available from, I believe it's Broadway Publishing Company.

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Thanks Sondheimboy2 and Broadwaybelter. Thats interesting history - I had no idea - no wonder I couldn't find out much about it. Truth is - that song popped into my head the other day and I had to research on-line to find out where it came from. Thanks for giving me more info on it.

In this song, two teachers, one of them the main leading man, Professor Fodorski, facing their students and their follies recall their youth and their love affairs. It's not much of a story in this song, but though the original book by the show (written by the young Mel Brooks) was not treated well by director Josh Logan, the score (by Strouse and Adams) is fabulous and very worthwile listening to.

"Physical Fitness" was a big dance number for the football team set in the locker room. I read years ago that Josh Logan wanted the number performed in jockstraps but the show previewed in then ultra-conservative Boston and by the time it hit the stage, the boys were all wearing either football pants or gym shorts. I can't remember where I heard or read about it and a Google search turned up nothing. Perhaps Mandlebaum or Mordden mention it? I haven't read those books since they were first published.

All American was similar to another musical that year, Mr. President, in that because of the talent involved, everyone was expecting a smash hit but neither ran very long. They weren't trainwrecks but they just didn't live up to expectations. Mr. President was also directed by Logan with a book by Lindsay & Crouse and Irving Berlin's first new score in over a decade. It starred Robert Ryan as an Ike-like President and Nanette Fabray as a very Jackie-ish First Lady. It was Berlin's last Broadway show and he was bitter about its relative lack of success. It ran as long as it did mainly because of enormous publicity - it previewed in DC and the First Couple attended - and it had the largest advance sale in Broadway history up to that time. The OBCR was a deluxe affair, a double fold album printed on a metallic silver finish with lots of color photos.

Updated On: 10/11/14 at 03:43 PM