Jerry Herman pulls the stops out in this in-depth and heartfelt conversation about his incredible career. You have seen the PBS documentary, ("Words and Music by Jerry Herman") now hear Jerry in his own words enlighten us on his remarkable life and music.
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One of the greatest composers and lyricists in theatre history, Jerry Herman made his Broadway debut with the score for Milk and Honey (1961), a musical romance set
in Israel. He then wrote Hello Dolly!
(1964) which was a musicalization of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker which was produced by
David Merrick. With a book by
Michael Stewart and stellar performance by
Carol Channing in the title role, Dolly won
Tonys for Best Score and Best Musical. With a succession of stars, including Mary Martin, Ethel Merman and Pearl Baily, it became
the longest running Broadway musical up to that time with 2844 performances.
Herman
scored a second mega-hit with his score for Mame (1966), which won a Tony for
actress Angela Lansbury and made her a top-rank musical
star. It also racked up 1508 performances on Broadway, and became a staple in the
world's musical stage repertory. Film versions of Dolly and Mame followed, with Barbra Streisand and Lucille Ball respectively in the title roles.
Herman's next three
shows had shorter runs, Dear World (1969) with Lansbury, Mack and Mabel
(1974) with Robert Preston and
Bernadette Peters, which Jerry considers his personal favorite and The Grand Tour
(1979) with Joel Grey. Herman also contributed songs to the popular Broadway revue
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine (1980).
The internationally
acclaimed hit La Cage Aux Folles (1983) starring
George Hearn brought Herman every major award, including a
second set of Tonys for Best Score and Best Musical -- and yet another
show that would be produced incessantly worldwide. Herman wrote the songs for
(and made a cameo appearance in) the
CBS television musical Mrs. Santa Claus (1996) starring Angela Lansbury.
Showtune, (also the title of his autobiography) a new revue of his life's work, is playing in regional theatres throughout the country.
