Mame
Original Broadway Poster
Music	Jerry Herman
Lyrics	Jerry Herman
Book	Jerome Lawrence Robert Edwin Lee
Basis	Auntie Mame byPatrick Dennis
Productions	1966Broadway 1967 Tour 1968Los Angeles 1968Australia 1968Las Vegas 1969 Tour 1969West End 1983 Broadwayrevival

Mame is amusical with a book byJerome Lawrence andRobert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics byJerry Herman. Originally titledMy Best Girl, it is based on the 1955novelAuntie Mame byPatrick Dennis and the1956 Broadway play of the same name by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set inNew York City and spanning theGreat Depression andWorld War II, it focuses on eccentricbohemian 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 onBroadway in 1966, starringAngela Lansbury andBea Arthur. The production became a hit and spawned a1974 film version withLucille 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 theKennedy Center in 2006.

The musical was inspired by the success of the 1956 Broadway comedy and subsequent 1958 film version starringRosalind Russell, as well as the 1955 novel byPatrick Dennis. According to Stephen Citron, inJerry Herman: Poet of the Showtune, the "kudos [forAuntie Mame] made all involved immediately think of musicalizing the play."^[2] Dennis wrote several more comic novels, including a sequel,Around the World with Auntie Mame, andLittle Me, which was made into a Broadway musical starringSid Caesar. The success of that musical may have prompted Lawrence and Lee to turnMame into a musical.

Rosalind Russell didn’t want the role,Mary Martin backed out after her initial acceptance, andEthel Merman declined. The producers “heard from—or considered…Eve Arden,Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball,Kaye Ballard,Constance Bennett,Georgia Brown,Kitty Carlisle,Barbara Cook,Bette Davis,Doris Day,Olivia de Havilland,Phyllis Diller,Irene Dunne,Nanette Fabray,Arlene Francis,Judy Garland,Greer Garson,Mitzi Gaynor,Dolores Gray,Tammy Grimes,Julie Harris,Susan Hayward,Katharine Hepburn,Lena Horne,Lisa Kirk,Margaret Leighton,Beatrice Lillie,Gisele MacKenzie,Jane Morgan,Patrice Munsel,Geraldine Page,Ginger Rogers,Dinah Shore,Simone Signoret,Maggie Smith,Elaine Stritch—and…Angela Lansbury," who was eventually cast.”^[3]

For its second run,Jerry Herman wanted to castJudy Garland, but that request was denied by the producers of the show, who deemed her a liability.^[4][5][6][7]

According to Herman it took six months to write the score.^[8]

The musical opened onBroadway at theWinter Garden Theatre on May 24, 1966. Three years later, it transferred toThe Broadway Theatre, where it remained until closing on January 3, 1970. Between the two venues, it ran a total of 1,508 performances and five previews. The musical was directed byGene Saks,choreographed byOnna White with scenic design byWilliam and Jean Eckart, costume design by Robert Mackintosh, lighting design byTharon Musser and orchestrations byPhilip J. Lang. Besides Lansbury as Mame, the cast included Bea Arthur as Vera Charles,Frankie Michaels as Patrick,Jane Connell as Agnes Gooch, Charles Braswell as Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside,^[9] andWillard Waterman (who had played Claude Upson in the 1958 film) as Dwight Babcock. The original cast also included futureTony Award nominated choreographerScott Salmon in his Broadway debut in the small part of Mame's friend.

Lansbury, Arthur and Michaels all wonTony Awards, while Saks, White, the writers, Herman, and set designers William and Jean Eckart all received nominations.

When Lansbury took a two-week vacation in August 1967,Celeste Holm played the title role, prior to heading the National Tour, and "garnered ecstatic reviews" including fromThe New York Times.^[10]When Lansbury left the Broadway production on March 30, 1968, to take the show on a limited US tour,Janis Paige was the star chosen to be the new Broadway Mame, starting in April 1968.^[6] Paige's run and the show itself continued to be so successful that she was followed byJane Morgan (December 1968), who was followed byAnn Miller (May 1969).^[11][12]

Celeste Holm, who played the role on Broadway for two weeks when Lansbury took a vacation, continued in the role in the first national tour. The cast also includedLoretta Swit andWesley Addy. This production toured from August 29, 1967 to June 15, 1968.^[13]

When Lansbury left the Broadway production, she led a brief two-stopCalifornia tour that played theCurran Theatre inSan Francisco from April 30 to June 23, 1968 and theDorothy Chandler Pavilion inLos Angeles from June 25 to August 31. This production starredAnne Francine, who had replaced Arthur on Broadway, and Connell.^[14]

A third tour opened inNew Haven, Connecticut in January, 1969. It starredJanet Blair as Mame andElaine Stritch as Vera. This tour closed the following May inLouisville, Kentucky.^[15]

A fourth tour opened the following September inHartford, Connecticut starring Sheila Smith.Patrice Munsel and Anne Russell later led this tour. It closed in June, 1970.^[16]

Juliet Prowse led a fifth tour in 1990, produced byTheatre Under The Stars.Delphi Lawrence reprised her role of Vera from the 1968 Las Vegas production.^[17]

The Australian production presented byJ. C. Williamson's opened atHer Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne on May 25, 1968, and subsequently played seasons in Adelaide, Perth and Sydney. Gaylea Byrne starred as Mame Dennis, alongsideMary Hardy as Agnes Gooch, Sheila Bradley as Vera Charles and Geoff Hiscock as Beauregard.^[18]

The 1969West End production starredGinger Rogers in the title role andMargaret Courtenay as Vera. It ran for a fourteen-month engagement at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane with a special performance forQueen Elizabeth II.Victor Woolf was the stage manager for this production.^[19][20][21]

Susan Hayward appeared in the Las Vegas production, while such stars asAnn Sothern,Janet Blair,Jane Russell,Elaine Stritch,Edie Adams,Patrice Munsel,Kitty Carlisle,Carol Lawrence,Shani Wallis,Jo Anne Worley, and Sheila Smith appeared in stock, regional or touring productions.

In 1976, a Mexican production was performed in Mexico City withSilvia Pinal in the title role andEvangelina Elizondo as Vera. In 1985, Pinal reprised the production with the Spanish actressMaría Rivas as Vera. In 2014/2015, a Mexican new production was performed in Mexico withItati Cantoral andAlicia Machado in the title role and Dalilah Polanco as Vera.

Despite the presence of Lansbury, a much-heralded Broadway revival was ultimately unsuccessful. After seven previews, it opened on July 24, 1983, at theGeorge Gershwin Theatre,^[22] where it ran for only 41 performances.^[23]

Juliet Prowse, who in August 1969 subbed for Ginger Rogers in the original West End production ofMame, would subsequently reprise the title role in a number of US productions, led off by a 1970Dallas Summer Musicals production whose cast included Jane Connell as Gooch,Ruth Gillette as Mrs. Burnside/Mrs. Upson, andWilliam LeMassena as Babcock. In the autumn of 1970 Prowse headlinedMame at theWestgate Las Vegas (then known as the International Hotel) in a production featuring reprises by Jane Connell and Ruth Gillette, with Upson being played by Connell's husbandGordon Connell and Vera played byAnne Francine who had replaced Beatrice Arthur in the original Broadway production: by 1983, which year Francine reprised (briefly) the role on Broadway, Francine had played Vera some 800 times. The Westgate production ofMame also featuredJohn McCook as adult Patrick. Prowse resumed headliningMame in a 1989–1990 North American tour whose cast includedMeghan Duffy as Gooch,Thomas Hill as Upson, andDelphi Lawrence as Vera. Subsequent to headliningMame atHarrah's Lake Tahoe in the summer of 1992, Prowse headlined a production ofMame which played theAlex Theatre (Glendale) and alsoSpreckels Theater (San Diego) in respectively April and May 1994 with a cast which includedFranklin Cover as Babcock andMarsha Kramer as Gooch.^[24]

In July–August 1991Mariette Hartley headlined theSt. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre production ofMame whose cast also includedGeorgia Engel as Gooch,Alan Muraoka as Ito, andGretchen Wyler as Vera.^[25]

In the mid-90s, a concert staging was done forBBC Radio 4. The cast includedJulia McKenzie as Mame,Libby Morris as Vera,Claire Moore as Agnes, Bob Sessions as Mr. Babcock,Jon Lee as Young Patrick,David Kernan as Beauregard, andRobert Meadmore as Older Patrick.

In 1999,The Production Company inMelbourne, Australia stagedMame for their very first season, starringRhonda Burchmore andPamela Rabe.^[26] In 2008,The Production Company stagedMame once more, in celebration for their tenth anniversary, with Rhonda Burchmore reprising her role.^[27]

ThePaper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) production ofMame in September and October 1999 was headlined by Christine Ebersole and featuredKelly Bishop as Vera andPaul Iacono as Young Patrick.^[28]

TheKennedy Center production ran from June 1, 2006 to July 2, and starredChristine Baranski as Mame,Harriet Sansom Harris as Vera, andEmily Skinner as Gooch.^[29]

Michele Lee headlined a single performance production ofMame at theHollywood Bowl on 1 August 2004 whose cast also includedAllyce Beasley as Gooch,Ben Platt as Young Patrick, Christine Ebersole as Vera,Jennifer Hall as Gloria,Lauri Johnson doubling as Madame Branislowski and Mrs. Burnside,Edie McClurg as Mrs. Upson,Robert Picardo as Babcock,Alan Thicke as Mr. Upson,John Schneider as Beauregard, andFred Willard as Woolsey. Lee would subsequently headline thePittsburgh Civic Light Opera production ofMame in July 2008, which featuredDonna Lynne Champlin as Gooch.^[30]

The first UK production ofMame in 50 years opened at theHope Mill Theatre (Manchester) in September 2019, directed byNick Winston withTracie Bennett headlining a cast which includedTim Flavin as Beauregard,Harriet Thorpe as Vera, andPippa Winslow doubling as Sally Cato and Mrs. Upson.^[31][32] WithDarren Day replacing Flavin, the production encored at theRoyal & Derngate Theatre (Northampton) andSalisbury Playhouse in respectively January and May 2020.^[33][34] The show received sevenWhatsOnStage Award nominations.

A 1974film version of the musical starredLucille Ball as Mame,Bea Arthur reprising her role as Vera Charles,Jane Connell reprising her role as Agnes Gooch andRobert Preston as Beauregard. It was both a US box office failure and a critical disappointment with Ball being considered not up to the musical demands of the title role.

The recently orphaned Patrick Dennis and his nanny, Agnes Gooch, arrive in Manhattan. Patrick has been placed under the care of his aunt, the eccentric Mame Dennis, with Dwight Babcock as his trustee. The two head to Mame’s residence (“St. Bridget”), where a party is in full swing (“It’s Today”). Mame introduces Patrick to her collection of kooky friends, such as Vera Charles; a baritone actress and the First Lady of the American Theatre, Ralph Divine; the runner of a progressive school called “The Laboratory of Life”, and M. Lindsay Woolsey; a book publisher.

Two weeks pass, and Babcock arrives to discuss Patrick’s schooling. Mame wishes for Patrick to go to a co-educational liberal arts school, while Babcock demands that he go to a conservative school. However, Mame decides to instead enroll Patrick into The Laboratory of Life and take him on adventures without Babcock’s knowledge (“Open a New Window”).

Mame and Patrick’s escapades are cut short by Babcock, who has discovered Mame’s deceit and angrily takes Patrick off to boarding school, devastating Mame. To make matters worse, Mame loses her fortune in theWall Street Crash of 1929. Vera proposes Mame join her in a new operetta. However, the operetta goes disastrously, with Mame showing up on stage late and falling during her moment (“The Moon Song” (The Man in the Moon)). Mame is fired from the theatre, but Patrick arrives and comforts her (“My Best Girl”).

Mame gets a new job at a hairdressers and there she meets Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside. While giving him a manicure, she gets flustered and causes him to bleed. She’s fired once more, despite Beau’s protests, and returns to her residence, where Patrick is staying for three days. To lighten the mood, Mame reveals presents she bought for Patrick, Ito, and Agnes, declaring “We Need a Little Christmas”. The four celebrate as Beau enters and offers to take Mame, and the other three, to dinner. Mame accepts and the five of them exit merrily.

Beau takes Mame and Patrick to his family home in Georgia, to the ire of Beau’s family, especially Sally Cato. Sally calls for a hunt and makes an attempt on Mame’s life by giving her a mad horse. To everyone’s shock, Mame returns with the fox alive (“The Fox Hunt”). Beau proposes to Mame, she accepts, and everyone sings Mame’s praises (“Mame”). Patrick, Beau, and Mame embrace (“Finale Act 1”).

Patrick, as he grows up, writes several letters to the now married Mame, and she writes back (“Opening Act Two” (The Letter)). When Mame discovers that Patrick’s roommate is Babcock’s son, she insists to Beau that she must return to Patrick. Mame and Beau’s honeymoon is cut short with Beau’s sudden death. Once again, Patrick comforts Mame (“My Best Girl” (Reprise)).

Vera, Patrick, and Lindsay decide that Mame should write a book on her life, with Agnes as her secretary, which Mame agrees to. Vera and Mame catch up, declaring each other “Bosom Buddies”. Mame and Vera learn that Agnes is so repressed that she has never dated before and can’t say the word “sex”. Mame declares to Agnes “Life’s a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death.” Vera and Mame glam the now excited Agnes up and send her out into the world.

Six months pass, and Patrick reveals that he has a fiancée, Gloria Upson. Agnes returns pregnant and recounts her adventures (“Gooch’s Song”). Mame allows Agnes to stay with her as Patrick invites Mame to go see the Upsons inConnecticut.

Mame arrives at the Upsons estate, or as they call it “Upsons Down”, where Babcock is also visiting. Mame is introduced to the boorish and bigoted Upsons, as well as Junior Babcock. The Upsons and the older Babcock leave momentarily and Mame dances with the party guests (“That’s How Young I Feel”). The Upsons reveal to Mame their plans for a wedding gift to Patrick and Gloria: an empty plot of land next to the Upson’s estate, hoping that “the wrong people” don’t move in. Mame conceals her disapproval and speaks to Patrick in private and begs him to reconsider. Patrick leaves in a huff and Mame questions where she went wrong in raising him (“If He Walked Into My Life”).

Mame convinces Patrick to invite the Upsons to her newly renovated apartment. Patrick meets the designer, Pegeen Ryan, another student of The Laboratory of Life. The Upsons arrive and Mame introduces them to her cooky friends and lifestyle (“It’s Today” (Reprise)). Mame reveals that she bought the plot of land to make a home for single mothers. The Upsons storm out and Gloria dumps Patrick. Mame declares that all this was for Patrick, who thanks her (“My Best Girl” (Reprise)).

Years pass, Pegeen and Patrick are now married and have a son, Peter. Mame plans to take Peter toIndia, to the disapproval of his parents. Peter recites Mame’s mantra, which convinces Pegeen and Patrick to allow Peter to go with Mame. She leaves with Peter as she promises to take him on a myriad of adventures (“Finale Act II”).

Mame:Celeste Holm,Ann Miller,Jane Morgan,Janis Paige

Vera:Anne Francine,Audrey Christie

Agnes:Helen Gallagher

Acast recording of the Broadway production was released on theColumbia Masterworks label in 1966.^[35] A CD version, with fivebonus tracks, was released byLegacy Recordings in 1999. The bonus tracks include demo versions of "St. Bridget", "It's Today", "Open a New Window", and "Mame", as well as the song "Camouflage" (intended to be sung between Mame Dennis and Vera Charles prior to the discussion of whether Patrick could stay with Mame), all performed by Jerry Herman and Alice Borden. (Another cut song, "Love is only Love", was to be sung by Mame to Patrick before "The Fox Hunt"; it was later used in the movie version ofHello, Dolly!.)

In 1966,Bobby Darin,Louis Armstrong, andHerb Alpert all charted in theUnited States andCanada with theircover records of the musical's title song.Eydie Gormé had a huge success with her recording of "If He Walked into My Life",^[35] for which she received a 1967Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance. "We Need a Little Christmas" is a well known holiday tune and can be heard in several Disney Christmas parades.

• Auntie Mame, thefictional novel byPatrick Dennis.

• ​Mame​ at theInternet Broadway Database
• Variety's review of the 2006 production

• 1966 musicals
• Broadway musicals
• Mame
• Musicals based on novels
• Musicals based on plays
• Musicals by Jerry Herman
• Musicals set in New York City
• Musicals set in the 1920s
• Musicals set in the 1930s
• Musicals set in the 1940s
• Tony Award–winning musicals
• West End musicals

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