 FIORELLO!
Music by Jerry Bock: Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick: Book by George Abbot and Jerome Weidman
Broadhurst Theatre 23 November, 1959 (796 perfs) Pulitzer prize winner
1959
Piccadilly Theatre, London - 8 October, 1962 Based on the true story of Fiorello LaGuardia, the aggressive, extrovert
US Congressman and Mayor of New York.
Story
Fiorello, (Little Flower) is the short, dumpy, gruff-voiced, dynamic,
colourful, provocative and yet thoroughly honest politician that was Fiorello
LaGuardia. Elected Mayor of New York, Fiorello was an unconventional politician
as shown by the opening of the show which has him reading the comics to
the children into a microphone of the city radio station. The newspapers
are on strike and the mayor doesn't want the children to be deprived of
their favourite comics.
LaGuardia practises law. His clients are, for the most part poor and
oppressed - in fact, anyone unable to pay their bills. Seeing wrongs
that needed righting LaGuardia announced that he intends to run for
Congress with the approval of Ben Marino, Republican leader of the
14th Congressional district. That no Republican has ever been voted
into office from this district daunts him not at all.
Ben Marino knows that LaGuardia stands no chance of being elected so
goes along with idea. His little nefarious activities will not be affected.
Fiorello joins the workers of Nifty Shirtwaists, who are on strike, and
convinces them to desert their picket lines and join him at his headquarters
to discuss election tactics. There he gives a rousing lecture on the deplorable
social conditions of the city among the working classes - sweat shop labour,
tyrannical bosses, long hours, low wages, etc. He promises them legal
backing should their protests result in arrest.
Running for office, LaGuardia pursues a vigorous campaign by going to
all the different ethnic groups that make up the city. He speaks to them
in their own language so they are left in no doubt of his resolve to better
their conditions. He succeeds in creating an electoral upset when he becomes
the first Republican the district has ever sent to Washington.
Whilst in Washington, he becomes an active supporter of the "draft act"
(this being the time of World War I). To him, the draft is the only
way to build an army in a democracy. The Draft Act is passed and
Fiorello promptly enlists..
In a series of montages, staged and on film, Fiorello's wartime career
is reviewed.
Ten years pass. Fiorello is married to Thea who is seriously ill. He
is still a political reformer and decides to run for mayor against the
current incumbent, James J. Walker. His mission is to clean up the city
of free-loaders and political opportunists. Walker attempts to have Fiorello
killed but somehow LaGuardia manages to survive. Tragedy strikes in that
his wife dies.
His efforts to loosen, once and for all, the stranglehold that corruption
has on the city finally wins him the mayoral ticket and he gets elected.
He is true to his ideals and destroys the political chicanery and corruption
wherever he finds it. One ambition realised he fulfils another - he marries
his long time secretary, Maria, who had been in love with him for many
years. |
