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Johnny Johnson (musical)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Johnny Johnson | |
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| 1956 Studio Cast Recording | |
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| Music | Kurt Weill |
| Lyrics | Paul Green |
| Book | Paul Green |
| Based upon | Jaroslav Hasek's novel The Good Soldier Švejk |
| Productions | 1936 Broadway 1971 Broadway revival |
Johnny Johnson is a musical with a book and lyrics by Paul Green and music by Kurt Weill.
Based on Jaroslav Hasek's satiric novel The Good Soldier Švejk, it focuses on a naive and idealistic young man who, despite his pacifist views, leaves his sweetheart Minny Belle Tompkins to fight in Europe in World War I. He manages to bring the skirmish to a temporary halt by incapacitating a meeting of the generals with laughing gas, but once they recover he finds himself committed to an asylum for ten years. He returns home to discover Minny Belle has married a capitalist, and he settles down as a toymaker who will create anything except tin soldiers, his personal gesture of peace in an increasingly warlike society.
Its title was inspired by the fact the name appeared on United States casualty rolls more often than any other [1].
Weill was asked to develop the project by the socially-conscious Group Theatre, but much of his music was scrapped when original director Harold Clurman was replaced by Lee Strasberg, who opted to emphasize text over tunes.
The Broadway production opened on November 19, 1936 at the 44th Street Theatre, where it ran for 68 performances. The cast included Russell Collins as Johnny and Phoebe Brand as Minny Belle, with Luther Adler, Morris Carnovsky, Lee J. Cobb, Curt Conway, John Garfield, Elia Kazan, Robert Lewis, and Sanford Meisner in supporting roles.
After ten previews, a revival directed by José Quintero and choreographed by Bertram Ross opened on April 11, 1971 at the Edison Theatre, where it closed after one performance. The cast included Ralph Williams as Johnny and Alice Cannon as Minny Belle.
A 1956 studio cast recording featuring Lotte Lenya, Burgess Meredith, Jane Connell, Evelyn Lear, and Thomas Stewart was released on CD by Polydor Records.
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