Fiorello! is a musical based on the life of
Fiorello H. LaGuardia who was the
mayor of
New York City from
1934-
1945.
It opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on November 23, 1959 and ran for 795 performances.
Fiorello! was one of many musicals written by the composer-lyricist team of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, who were responsible for other hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof, Tenderloin, She Loves Me and The Rothschilds.
The cast (in order of appearance)
Bob Holiday as Neil
Nathaniel Frey as Morris
Patricia Wilson as Marie
Pat Stanley as Dora
Tom Bosley as Fiorello
Howard Da Silva as Ben Marino
Mark Dawson as Floyd
Ellen Hanley as Thea
Eileen Rodgers as Miss Mitzi Travers
Song List
On The Side of the Angels
Politics and Poker
Unfair
Marie's Law
The Name's LaGuardia
The Bum Won
I Love a Cop
'Til Tomorrow
Home Again
When Did I Fall in Love
Gentleman Jimmy
Little Tin Box
The Very Next Man
Finale
The score is lovely, but dated, and nowhere does that become more clear than in the song "The Very Next Man" where the lyric is:
"And if he likes me
Who cares how frequently he strikes me
I'll fetch his slippers with my arm in a sling
Just for the privilege of wearing his ring"