Mame | |
---|---|
Music | Jerry Herman |
Lyrics | Jerry Herman |
Book | Jerome Lawrence Robert Edwin Lee |
Basis | Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis |
Productions | 1966 Broadway 1967 Tour 1968 Los Angeles 1968 Australia 1968 Las Vegas 1969 Tour 1969 West End 1983 Broadway revival |
Mame is a musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and the 1956 Broadway play of the same name by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death."[1] Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.
The musical opened on Broadway in 1966, starring Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur. The production became a hit and spawned a 1974 film version with Lucille Ball in the title role, and Arthur reprising her supporting role; as well as a London production, a Broadway revival, and a 40th anniversary revival at the Kennedy Center in 2006.