Sherry! Totally Explained

Everything about Sherry totally explained

Sherry! is a musical with a book and lyrics by James Lipton and music by Laurence Rosenthal. The musical is based on the George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Production

George Sanders originally was signed to play Whiteside, but the Boston critics found his performance lacking, and when his wife, actress Benita Hume, became terminally ill with cancer, he withdrew from the project. Choreographer Ron Field was replaced by Joe Layton, who allegedly took over the directing chores as well, although Morton DaCosta retained credit in the program.
After fourteen previews, the Broadway production opened on March 28 1967 at the Alvin Theatre, where it ran for 72 performances. The cast included Clive Revill as Whiteside, Elizabeth Allen as Maggie, Jon Cypher as Bert, Dolores Gray as Lorraine, Eddie Lawrence as Banjo, Byron Webster as Beverly, and Cliff Hall as Dr. Bradley. Sherry! took a gambit quite typical for musicals based on straight plays by "opening up" the story: that is, by adding scenes in locations not featured onstage in the original play. In order to "open up" The Man Who Came to Dinner (which takes place entirely in the Stanleys' living room) it was necessary to maintain the premise that Sheridan Whiteside is confined to a wheelchair. Therefore the second-act climax of Sherry! moved the action to a nearby skating rink, with several characters on roller skates and Whiteside perambulating in his wheelchair.
The critics were unanimous in their disapproval, finding the taut Kaufman-Hart humor of the original play was diluted by the inclusion of mediocre musical numbers that were dropped into the action rather than allowed to evolve naturally from the plot.

Studio recording

Following the show's closing, the orchestrations were packed for transport to the writers' publisher, but inadvertently were put on the wrong truck and together with the sets were hauled to New Jersey and burned. More than three decades later, music producer Robert Sher discovered a copy of the complete score housed at the Library of Congress and contacted Lipton, who had achieved fame as the moderator of Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio, to propose an all-star studio recording. The result was a 2004 Angel Records 2-CD set that was recorded in separate sessions over a period of three years, with the orchestral portions recorded in Bratislava and Prague and the vocals recorded in New York City. The recording cast includes Nathan Lane as Whiteside, Bernadette Peters as Maggie, Carol Burnett as Lorraine, Tom Wopat as Bert, Tommy Tune as Beverly, and Mike Myers as Banjo, with Lillias White and Phyllis Newman in small supporting roles (External Link

Synopsis

Sheridan Whiteside, an egregiously pompous and self-centered radio personality terrorizes the family of Ernest W. Stanley of Mesalia, Ohio when a slip on their icy front steps forces him to recuperate in their home at Christmas time. The highly critical and extremely egotistical wheelchair-bound Whiteside commandeers the household and staff and disrupts the lives of everyone who comes within his orbit, including his private secretary Maggie Cutler, journalist-playwright Bert Jefferson, Broadway diva Lorraine Sheldon, antic Harpo Marx-like comedian Banjo, bon vivant Beverly Carlton, and absent-minded physician and aspiring memoirist Dr. Bradley.

Original Broadway song list

Act I

In the Very Next Moment
Why Does the Whole Damn World Adore Me?
Maggie's Date
Maybe It's Time for Me
How Can You Kiss Those Good Times Goodbye?
With This Ring
Sherry
Au Revoir
Proposal Duet
Listen Cosette
Christmas Eve Broadcast
Act II
Putty in Your Hands
Imagine That
Marry the Girl Myself
Putty in Your Hands (Reprise)
Harriet Sedley
Sherry (Reprise)

Studio recording song list

Act I

Why Does the Whole Damn World Adore Me?

Whiteside's Prayer

In the Very Next Moment

Crockfield

Maybe It's Time for Me

How Can You Kiss Those Good Times Goodbye?

With This Ring

Sherry!

Alas, Lorraine/Au Revoir

Proposal Duet

I Always Stay at the Ritz

Christmas Eve

Act II

Putty in Your Hands

Imagine That

Preen Beguine

Marry the Girl Myself

Putty in Your Hands (Reprise)

Harriet Sedley

Au Revoir (Reprise)

Whiteside's Prayer (Reprise)

Sherry (Reprise)

Further Information

Get more info on 'Sherry'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://sherry.totallyexplained.com">Sherry! Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.