So Long, 174th Street

So Long, 174th Street is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and lyrics and music by Stan Daniels.

So Long, 174th Street
Original Cast Recording
MusicStan Daniels
LyricsStan Daniels
BookJoseph Stein
BasisEnter Laughing
by Joseph Stein
Enter Laughing
by Carl Reiner
Productions1976 Broadway

Based on Stein's play Enter Laughing, which had been adapted from the Carl Reiner book of the same name and served as the basis for a 1967 film, it focuses on the journey of David Kolowitz from factory helper to actor and from insecure adolescence to self-assured adulthood in three whirlwind days in New York City in the late 1930s.

After six previews, the Broadway production, directed by Burt Shevelove and choreographed by Alan Johnson, opened on April 27, 1976, at the Harkness Theatre, where it closed after only 16 performances. The cast included Robert Morse, George S. Irving, Loni Ackerman, and Rita Rudner.

Clive Barnes of the New York Times observed "The people involved are talented enough...So what went wrong? How did Enter Laughing end up leaving us yawning?" He noted composer/lyricist Stan Daniels was a producer of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and suggested "he should stay where he is well off...when the music and lyrics do not work for a musical, the musical does not work." [1]

A recording of the score, with Kaye Ballard added to the cast, was released in 1981.

Song list
  • "David Kolowitz, the Actor"
  • "It's Like"
  • "Undressing Girls with My Eyes"
  • "Bolero on Rye"
  • "Whoever You Are"
  • "Say the Words"
  • "You"
  • "My Son the Druggist"
  • "You Touched Her"
  • "Men"
  • "Boy Oh Boy"
  • "The Butler's Song"
  • "Being with You"
  • "If You Want to Break Your Father's Heart"
  • "So Long, 174th Street"

The musical was revised as "Enter Laughing" and played Off-Broadway at the York Theater Company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enter_Laughing

References
  1. New York Times review, April 28, 1976
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