THE WOMAN WHO WROTE ABOUT WOMEN WRITING MUSICALS By Peter Filichia
Maybe you don’t know who Mae Anwerda Sloane or Annelu Burns were, but Jennifer Ashley Tepper sure does.
They’re just two of the dozens upon dozens of subjects that Tepper recounts in her astonishing new book Women Writing Musicals.
Oh, Tepper admits in her compelling introduction that she doesn’t get around to every woman who ever wrote a part or all of a musical. But it certainly seems that way when you see her deal with Ann Julia Hatton in 1793 – that’s 73 years before THE BLACK CROOK, folks – all the way up to Diablo Cody of JAGGED LITTLE PILL fame.
Whatever Tepper has omitted, her 388-page tome seems mighty extensive. When I reached her write-up of early 20th century star and writer Nora Bayes, I thought, “Let’s see if she knew that Bayes was the subject of Garson Kanin’s novel Smash.”
In fact, do you know that? Kanin took his excruciating experiences when he directed FUNNY GIRL and applied them not to Fanny Brice, but fictitiously to a story about musicalizing Bayes’ life.
Well, if you’re not aware of it, Tepper sure is. You can’t get much if anything past her.
Tepper makes sure that women who may have been overlooked get their due. Nice to see her celebrating Eve Merriam and Helen Miller, whose INNER CITY was my favorite musical from the 1971-72 season.
Those who think of Savion Glover first and foremost in conjunction with BRING IN ‘DA NOISE, BRING IN ‘DA FUNK may think twice when they read what Tepper divulges: Ann Duquesnay, who contributed music and lyrics to some of its songs, did enough work to see her name appear three times on the Playbill’s title page – more than anyone else’s.
Yes, Tepper has unearthed the tiniest details. Although the Gershwin Brothers and DuBose Heyward wrote PORGY AND BESS, Heyward’s wife Dorothy was the one who said that Porgy should follow Bess to New York.
Kay Swift wrote for Broadway, but one of her many legacies is that frequent beau George Gershwin made sure the title character of OH, KAY! was named for her. Talk about having “Someone to Watch over Me” …
See what song by Maude Nugent wound up in HELLO, DOLLY! You need Tepper for this information; you won’t be able to tell from listening to the Carol Channing, Mary Martin or Pearl Bailey recordings (although those offer splendid ways to spend your time).
If you believe that “Youth is wasted on the young,” Tepper gives a nice rebuttal by telling us that Markéta Irglová, who co-wrote the score to ONCE, was 19 when the film was released and 24 when the full musical version opened on Broadway and won the Best Musical Tony.
On the other end of the age spectrum, Tepper quotes composer Lucy Simon, who made her Broadway debut at 51. She gives an unapologetic reason for why women were the right ones to musicalize THE SECRET GARDEN. And a similarly aged Tina Landau gets credit for inspiring six women to write for SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS.
Tepper’s information often surprises. It wasn’t a man but Dorothy Donnelly who wrote the book and lyrics for the longest-running musical of the 1920s: THE STUDENT PRINCE.
Listen to KINKY BOOTS, and see if you think that Cyndi Lauper would be a big Rodgers and Hammerstein fan?
(Tepper quotes her statement that she is.)
There are nuggets of information that you don’t need to know but are fun to read: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s parents followed up their wedding reception with a trip to Elizabeth Swados’ RUNAWAYS.
Of course, Tepper makes time for legends, such as Dorothy Fields. Our author inspires us to give thanks to her daddy Lew Fields, an esteemed Broadway director-performer-producer during the first 30 years of the 20th century. He forbade her from having a life upon the wicked stage, so the lass obeyed and simply started writing books and lyrics. Today, we wouldn’t have many opportunities to see her performances, but we can still savor her work on ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, SWEET CHARITY, REDHEAD, and A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN.
For that last-named score, Tepper mentions what she considers its best songs: “Make the Man Love Me” and “I’ll Buy You a Star” are both magnificent, to be sure, but give Tepper extra credit for adding the far less known “He Had Refinement,” the funniest comedy song ever.
And, yes, I’ve heard “Adelaide’s Lament.”
Disagree? Fine, and you’ll find yourself at odds with some of Tepper’s choices, too. How could you not? One man’s MAME is another man’s PURLIE. Don’t be surprised, though, if, as you read, you’re far more often nodding your head than shaking it from side to side.
Tepper’s stories might bring back your own memories of seeing these shows. As I read about “Nobody Tells Me How,” which Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead wrote for WORKING, I recalled being at the first preview where the audience soberly listened in sympathy with the schoolteacher’s problems. Twelve days later when I returned, that audience just wouldn’t stop laughing at them.
(Listen and see with which audience you agree.)
Speaking of Mary Rodgers, the New York Times didn’t feel the need to let her stand on her own when publishing her obituary in 2014. It ran a picture of her at the piano with her daddy Richard Rodgers standing (symbolically?) over her.
You think that’s bad? Tepper occasionally horrifies us when she recounts how some journalists cavalierly dealt with women writers way-back-when. During the tryout of (the much underrated) GOLDILOCKS, a Boston Globe reporter felt the need to mention that Jean Kerr, who co-wrote the book and lyrics, was “a nice, husky size 18.”
Worse, a writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal, asked Carolyn Leigh, the brilliant lyricist of PETER PAN, LITTLE ME and HOW NOW, DOW JONES, “Are you sexy?”
Leigh, never at a loss for words, gave him a sharp answer well worth reading.
Tepper reminds us that Leigh didn’t write all the lyrics to PETER PAN, and that brings us to Betty Comden, who, with her all-time partner Adolph Green, came in during the show’s try-out. This contribution and others get Comden mentioned on 17 pages. Here’s your chance to bone up on the creation of BELLS ARE RINGING, ON THE TOWN (not to be confused with ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY), WONDERFUL TOWN, THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES and HALLELUJAH, BABY!
Tepper also includes many details on these women’s personal lives. Fran Landesman, who wrote the pungent lyrics for THE NERVOUS SET – which includes the racy song “How Do You Like Your Love?” – believed in open marriage. Mary Cohan, daughter to GEORGE M! (as the musical celebrating him was named), was twice disowned by her father because of the men she wanted to marry.
They were musicians.
(Horrors!)
Bet by that time, George wished he’d never written that “Mary Is a Grand Old Name.”
And let’s all kiss KISS ME, KATE’s co-bookwriter Bella Spewack for coming up with idea for Girl Scout Cookies.
However, if you think that the Scouts’ Thin Mints are delicious, wait until you get a taste of Women Writing Musicals. It’s a must for any theatergoer’s library, and a book that’s going to be the recipient of much adoration and many awards. Although quoting Jerry Herman and Horace Vandergelder may seem an odd way to end an essay on Tepper, I found myself singing, “It takes a woman to bring you the sweet things in life.”
Peter Filichia can be heard most weeks of the year on www.broadwayradio.com. His new day-by-day wall calendar – A SHOW TUNE FOR TODAY – 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year – is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
