Alan Jay Lerner: A Lyricist's Letters (4 page)

    
Crawford’s name brought a strong budget of about $160,000 (though she later disclosed that this was difficult to raise),
⁷⁵
as well as a director (Robert Lewis),
⁷⁶
designer (Lemuel Ayers),
⁷⁷
and cast (including Marion Bell, whom Lerner went on to marry, David Brooks, and George Keane), all of whom were excellent.
⁷⁸
After many months of trying unsuccessfully to secure an appropriate theater, at the last minute, in January 1947, Crawford managed to book the Ziegfeld (which, ironically, was owned by Billy Rose).
⁷⁹
Rehearsals began in the second week of January, with previews at New Haven (February 6–8), Boston, and Philadelphia (two weeks each) followed by the Broadway opening on March 13. Finally, Lerner and Loewe had made it: the reviews not only praised their work lavishly but equally showed an appreciation for their artistry and imagination. Brooks Atkinson, for instance, observed that “For once the modest label ‘musical play’ has a precise meaning. For it is impossible to say where the music and dancing leave off and the story begins in this beautifully orchestrated Scotch idyll.…[A]‌ll the arts of the theatre have been woven into a singing pattern of enchantment.”
⁸⁰
Ward Morehouse of the
New York Sun
raved in a similar fashion about the “stunning show,” declaring it to be “by far the best musical play this season has produced, and it is certainly one of the best within my entire play-going experience.” Even better, Richard Watts Jr. in the
New York Post
commented that there were few musicals “for which I have a deeper admiration.…[T]here is no denying that the authors have matured as craftsmen.”
⁸¹

    
Brigadoon
became the signature work for the “Lerner and Loewe” brand, and the five years they had been working to make it on Broadway finally paid off. The production ran for 581 performances and went on an extensive American tour; the London production (1949) lasted 685 performances. The show also enjoyed a number of revivals, the 1954 MGM film adaptation with Gene Kelly,
⁸²
and a 1966 telecast with Sally Ann Howes
⁸³
and Robert Goulet
⁸⁴
that won five Emmy Awards.
But two things were to overshadow the immediate aftermath of
Brigadoon
’s opening for Lerner: the dissolution of his working relationship with Loewe, and the accusation that he had plagiarized the story of
Brigadoon
from a German source. The latter was flatly denied in a letter to the
New York Times
on March 30. Lerner wrote:

    
The existence of the German story
Germelshausen
comes as no surprise to me at this time. It was not long after I had completed the first draft of
Brigadoon
that a friend informed me of it. At that time I obtained a copy and read it; and I was, of course, amazed at the resemblance. Then, upon delving into the matter a little further, I discovered that there existed another German legend much older than
Germelshausen
upon which the latter was either based or to which it bore an equally striking resemblance. On doing still more research, I was again astounded to learn that legends of disappearing towns can be found in the folklore of many, many countries. For instance, there is the old Irish tale that was recorded by James Stephens which is very similar.

        
Literary history being filled with unconscious coincidence, I could do nothing more than deduce that this was another and let it go at that. I was, of course, aware that many theatregoers might notice similarities between
Brigadoon
and any one of the ancient legends and question me about it. So Miss Harber’s letter is not something I did not anticipate. However, I’m sure the thought has occurred to anyone who questioned the originality of
Brigadoon
that, after all, if the story were based on or suggested by another, why didn’t I mention it? Artistically it would certainly not have been personally detrimental, nor would it have prevented the play’s achieving success. Shakespeare borrowed plots indiscriminately and it didn’t seem to disturb his reputation. And financially, all the legends on this theme are in the public domain, so there was no royalty problem involved.
⁸⁵

In spite of defending himself so extensively, the accusation festered with Lerner all his life; he even raises the point in
The Street Where I Live
, even though
Brigadoon
is scarcely mentioned otherwise.
⁸⁶

    
On the same day he wrote this letter, Lerner flatly denied “reports he has split with Frederick Loewe, his tune writer. They simply haven’t yet thought of a new vehicle on which they could work together.”
⁸⁷
But there was no smoke without fire, and when Lerner’s name was mentioned in connection with a new show
for star actress Mary Martin
⁸⁸
in late July, it was clear that the composer would not be Loewe but rather Kurt Weill,
⁸⁹
who had written the music for Martin’s hit
One Touch of Venus
(1943). As with
Brigadoon
, the producer was to be Cheryl Crawford, but little other information was disclosed at that time.
⁹⁰
In itself, this seems significant: the announcement effectively divulges nothing but Lerner’s split from Loewe, bearing in mind that the new project with Weill was clearly in its very early stages. Of course, the new relationship made artistic sense: an article by Howard Taubman in the
New York Times
in October, headlined “Musicians Return to the Theatre,” discussed how Broadway in the mid-1940s had seen the rise of composers of art music, such as Leonard Bernstein (
On the Town
),
⁹¹
Morton Gould (
Billion Dollar
Baby
),
⁹²
Weill (
Lady in the Dark
), and Loewe, who was the main subject of the article.
⁹³
(Intriguingly, the article also mentions that Lerner and Loewe had tried to obtain the musical rights to J. M. Barrie’s
The Little Minister
(1891) before settling on
Brigadoon
. This refutes the idea that
My Fair Lady
was Lerner and Loewe’s first attempt at a musical adaptation.) Taubman wrote, “The success of Frederick Loewe with
Brigadoon
is another proof that a Broadway musical can be written by a musician who can compose a concerto for symphony orchestra and, if need be, appear as his own soloist.”
⁹⁴
Thus the combination of Lerner and Weill had as much potential as that of Lerner and Loewe, and for the next two years it seemed the new team was permanent.

    
In September 1947, Lerner started to pursue talent for the show. Gertrude Lawrence
⁹⁵
was now mentioned as the potential star,
⁹⁶
and the musical at this point was designed to tell “the history of a woman”; Robert Lewis was slated to direct, following his success with
Brigadoon
.
⁹⁷
By November, Lerner and Weill had already written several songs, and the provisional title was
A Dish for the Gods
, but they declared that “as for a star to play the lead, there’ll be no more dickering with anyone until the final script is delivered.”
⁹⁸
As time went on, it was clear that the musical would be deferred until the following season,
⁹⁹
though in early February Lerner and Weill revealed that their work would be completed “within two or three weeks” and screen star Ginger Rogers
¹⁰⁰
was now in the running for the lead.
¹⁰¹
Then on February 16 they announced that the piece was complete, but Crawford had decided to delay the production until the following year in order to have a few major actresses to choose from.
¹⁰²
Martin and Lawrence were apparently still in the running, but Lerner and Weill went to visit Rogers in Hollywood with the script and score, which she liked; her film schedule ultimately prevented her from taking part.
¹⁰³
In the interim, the new writing
team set to work on planning a musical for Lerner’s wife Marion Bell, who was still appearing in
Brigadoon
. Lerner described it to a reporter as “a musical play, halfway between
Street Scene
and
Brigadoon
,” and said “the locale is the eastern end of the Mediterranean.”
¹⁰⁴

    
Meanwhile, Lerner maintained contact with Loewe while discussions were under way for the screen version of
Brigadoon
. For many months, J. Arthur Rank pursued the rights to make the film in England, with Bing Crosby
¹⁰⁵
as the lead.
¹⁰⁶
The writers were seeking $500,000, though they later accepted less than half that sum from MGM, which eventually made the movie under the direction of Vincente Minnelli.
¹⁰⁷
Despite these negotiations, it was clear that Lerner was still fully committed to Weill, and work continued on their show, regardless of their claims to have finished in February. On May 2, further details were disclosed: the title was to be changed, and the script had been amended to increase the importance of the male lead character in the hopes of attracting Alfred Drake
¹⁰⁸
or Eddie Albert
¹⁰⁹
for the role.
¹¹⁰
Ultimately, Nanette Fabray
¹¹¹
was named as the female star, following rave reviews for her performance in Jule Styne’s
High Button Shoes
, with Ray Middleton (the original Broadway Frank Butler in
Annie Get Your Gun
)
¹¹²
as the male lead, and Robert Lewis was replaced by Elia Kazan
¹¹³
as director.

    
Renamed
Love Life
, the show started rehearsals on August 9 ahead of a New Haven tryout in September.
¹¹⁴
Lerner’s innovative libretto recounted “the story of 130 years of American home life involving a couple and their two children,” and even as
Brigadoon
closed on July 31, Lerner looked forward to his next musical on Broadway.
¹¹⁵
Four days before the October 7 opening, an imaginary
conversation between Weill, Lerner, and a man on the street was printed in the
New York Times
, in which they tried to explain the concept of their new show. As can be seen from the following excerpt, they were clearly aware that they were pushing the envelope in terms of what audiences might be expecting:

MAN
: Pardon me. Do either of you know anything about this show?

LERNER
: Yes, we saw it in New Haven.

MAN
: What is it? I am a little confused. It says here on the sign it’s a vaudeville.

WEILL
: That’s right, it is.

MAN
: You mean it has vaudeville acts?

WEILL
: Lots of them.

MAN
: That’s fine. Then I don’t have to worry about following a plot. That’s a relief.

LERNER
: No. There’s a plot.

MAN
: I thought you said it was a vaudeville.

LERNER
: It’s a vaudeville with a plot.

MAN
: How does that work?

WEILL
: Well, the sketches and the vaudeville acts have a continuity and supplement each other.

MAN
: (Scratching his head) Did you understand?

WEILL
: I did.

LERNER
: So did I.
¹¹⁶

Unfortunately, the tone of this conversation was an indication of things to come. Even on the day of the opening, Lerner was still desperately explaining that it was “an experiment with form,” and a “serious subject treated, most of the way, lightly.”
¹¹⁷
He elaborated that this “serious subject” was “the decline of American home life in the past century or so and the resultant unhappiness and confusion of the average family.” Hours later, it was branded by the critics as a “disappointment…cute, complex and joyless,”
¹¹⁸
and it only lasted one season (252 performances).
¹¹⁹
A musicians’ union strike resulted in no cast album being recorded, and in spite of its huge ambition it remains an obscure, rarely heard show that Lerner was always reluctant to allow to be revived (perhaps in part because he reused some of the material from one of the numbers, “I Remember It Well,” in the movie
Gigi
).

    
Lerner spent the early weeks of 1949 in Hollywood writing a film musical for Fred Astaire
¹²⁰
and Ginger Rogers, an intended follow-up to their reunion movie
The Barkleys of Broadway
, though in the end only Astaire appeared in the movie, which became
Royal Wedding
.
¹²¹
As it became clear that
Love Life
was faltering, the collaboration with Weill was severed and their second project abandoned. Looking around for a replacement writing partner, Lerner discussed a project with Leonard Bernstein, a fellow Harvard graduate whose work he admired. But within four weeks after the closure of
Love Life
, Lerner and Loewe buried the hatchet and decided to collaborate on another show.
¹²²
Indeed, they seem literally to have set to work immediately on the show that became
Paint Your Wagon
, because on July 20 it was revealed that Cheryl Crawford had agreed to oversee the production, which would be “set in the United States in the nineteenth century.”
¹²³
This ability to move on from a disappointing situation very quickly would set the model for Lerner’s entire career, motivated by his imagination and unflagging optimism.