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{{short description|Broadway musical}}
{{about||the Oscar Peterson album, featuring compositions from the musical|Fiorello! (album)}}
{{Infobox musical
| name        = Fiorello!
| imagesize   = 180px
| image       = Fiorello.png
| caption     = Original Logo
| music       = [[Jerry Bock]]
| lyrics      = [[Sheldon Harnick]]
| book        = [[Jerome Weidman]] <br> [[George Abbott]]
| basis       = Life of [[New York City]] mayor [[Fiorello La Guardia]]
| productions = 1959 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]<br>1962 Broadway <br>1994 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] concert <br>2013 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] concert
<!-- Please do not include production-specific (acting, directing, etc.) awards -->
| awards      = [[Tony Award for Best Musical]] (1960) <br> [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] (1960) 
}}

'''''Fiorello!''''' is a [[musical theatre|musical]] about [[New York City]] mayor [[Fiorello La Guardia]], a reform [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], which debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the [[Tammany Hall]] political machine. The book is by [[Jerome Weidman]] and [[George Abbott]], drawn substantially from the 1955 volume ''Life with Fiorello'' by [[Ernest Cuneo]],<ref name=times-obit>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/05/obituaries/ernest-l-cuneo-82-owned-news-service.html?pagewanted=1 "Ernest L. Cuneo, 82; Owned Newspaper Service"], ''The New York Times'', March 5, 1988.  Accessed April 23, 2010.</ref> with lyrics by [[Sheldon Harnick]], and music by [[Jerry Bock]]. It won the three major theatre awards - [[Tony Awards|Tony Award]] (shared with ''[[The Sound of Music]]''), the [[New York Drama Critics Circle]] award, and the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 9, 1962|page=1|title=Pulitzered 'Succeed' Is 2d Musical In 3 Seasons To Clean-Sweep Awards}}</ref> It is one of only ten musicals to win the latter award.

==Productions==
''Fiorello!'' opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[Broadhurst Theatre]] on November 23, 1959, moved to [[The Broadway Theatre]] on May 9, 1961, and closed on October 28, 1961,<ref>Esterow, Milton. "Bosley Can Boast A Perfect Record", ''The New York Times'', October 28, 1961, p. 12</ref> after 795 performances. It was directed by George Abbott, with choreography by [[Peter Gennaro]]. [[Tom Bosley]] originated the title role opposite [[Howard Da Silva]] as the Republican machine boss Ben Marino. The cast featured [[Ellen Hanley]] as Thea, [[Pat Stanley]] as Dora, Patricia Wilson as Marie, [[Nathaniel Frey]] as Morris, and Broadway's future Superman, [[Bob Holiday]], as Neil.

The 1962 production opened at the [[New York City Center]] on June 13, and closed after 16 performances, on June 24, 1962. The show was directed by [[Jean Dalrymple]], staged by [[Dania Krupska]], choreography by [[Kevin Carlisle]], scenery and lighting design by [[William and Jean Eckart]], costume supervision by Joseph Codori, musically directed by Jay Blackton, and press by Lilliam Libman. The cast included [[Sorrell Booke]] (Fiorello La Guardia), [[Art Lund]] (Ben Marino), Lola Fisher (Thea), [[Dody Goodman]] (Dora), Barbara Williams (Marie), [[Paul Lipson]] (Morris), Richard France (Neil), Dort Clark (Floyd), and Helen Verbit (Mrs. Pomerantz). One of the singing ensemble included [[Rosalind Cash]].

A staged concert production of ''Fiorello!'' was performed at the first [[Encores!]] at the [[New York City Center]] concert series in February 1994. Directed by [[Walter Bobbie]], the cast featured [[Jerry Zaks]] as La Guardia, [[Philip Bosco]] as Ben Marino, [[Faith Prince]] as Marie, and [[Elizabeth Futral]] as Thea.<ref name=holden>Holden, Stephen.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E6D71238F932A25751C0A962958260&scp=1&sq=Fiorello%21&st=nyt "Review/Theater; La Guardia Administration In a Dramatic Comeback"], ''The New York Times'', February 11, 1994</ref>

To celebrate the 20th season of the Encores! series, ''Fiorello!'' was presented by the New York City Center Encores! as a staged concert in January 2013. With direction by Gary Griffin and choreography by Alex Sanchez, the cast starred [[Danny Rutigliano]] as La Guardia, [[Shuler Hensley]] as Marino, [[Erin Dilly]] as Marie and [[Kate Baldwin]] as Thea. The production included a new Bock/Harnick song during Act II, as part of "The Name's La Guardia" reprise.<ref>Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/pulitzer-prize-winning-fiorello-returns-to-city-center-jan-30-new-song-added-com-202007# "Pulitzer Prize-Winning 'Fiorello!' Returns to City Center Jan. 30; "New" Song Added"] ''Playbill'', January 30, 2013</ref>

The Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) production of ''Fiorello!'' opened [[Off-Broadway]] at the East 13th Street Theater on September 4, 2016. Directed by Bob Moss, it received mixed reviews and ran through October 7.<ref>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/acclaimed-fiorello-revival-to-arrive-off-broadway# "Acclaimed 'Fiorello! 'Revival to Arrive Off-Broadway"] ''Playbill'', August 2, 2016</ref><ref name="Clement - critics">{{cite web |last1=Clement |first1=Olivia |title=What Do Critics Think of the Fiorello! Revival? |website=Playbill |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/what-do-critics-think-of-the-fiorello-revival |access-date=3 November 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Canacci '16">{{cite web |last1=Canacci |first1=Bill |title=Off-Broadway: Dated 'Fiorello!' falls flat |url=https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/theater/2016/09/19/broadway-dated-fiorello-falls-flat/90722048/ |website=Asbury Park Press |access-date=3 November 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The BTG production first ran at The Unicorn Theatre in [[Stockbridge, Massachusetts]] in June and July 2016.<ref>Viagas, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/article/the-names-laguardia-fiorello-musical-headed-off-broadway-this-fall# "The Name's LaGuardia: 'Fiorello!' Musical Headed Off-Broadway This Fall"] ''Playbill'', July 6, 2016</ref><ref>Plemmons, Chesley. [http://www.curtainup.com/fiorelloberk16.html "A CurtainUp Berkshire Review. 'Fiorello!'"] ''CurtainUp'', retrieved August 3, 2016</ref>

==Synopsis==
[[File:LaGuardia (colorized) (cropped).png|thumb|Mayor LaGuardia (colorized)]]
The story follows the life of [[Fiorello H. La Guardia]] during [[World War I]] and ten years later. As [[Mayor of New York City]] La Guardia reforms city politics by helping end [[Tammany Hall]]'s vaunted political machine.

=== Act I ===

Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia is reading the comics over the radio because there is a newspaper strike. As he does so, the time changes to 1915 and the law office where clients are eagerly waiting to speak to La Guardia. His law clerks assure the crowd that he will help one and all, regardless of their ability to pay ("On the Side of the Angels"). Fiorello's secretary Marie and her friend Dora discuss a crisis. Thea Almerigatti, the leader of the women shirtwaist strikers, has been arrested.<ref>''Fiorello!'' c. 1960, Popular Library Edition, Random House, pp. 16, 42</ref> La Guardia promises to help the strikers. As the district leader Ben and his political buddies play poker ("Politics and Poker"), Marie introduces La Guardia as a potential Congressional candidate. They want to beat the corrupt machine of Tammany Hall.

While helping the women strikers ("Unfair"), Fiorello asks Marie to dinner, but Thea, newly released from prison,  arrives. She asks Fiorello to dinner to plan strategy, and he breaks his date with Marie. Marie feels foolish for caring while he cares so little ("Marie's Law").

Next year, Fiorello is campaigning for Congress, and Thea introduces him. Fiorello promises to break the stranglehold of Tammany Hall ("The Name's La Guardia!"). La Guardia wins the election ("The Bum Won"). In another year, La Guardia enlists in the Air Force and proposes to Thea. He and Marie say their farewells as he is about to leave for the war ("Till Tomorrow"). La Guardia's participation in the war is presented as a series of montages, staged and on film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_f/fiorello.htm |title=Fiorello! |work=The Guide to the Musical Theatre |access-date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> With the war over, Fiorello returns home ("Home Again"), with both Marie and Thea waiting for him. He goes to Thea, who has agreed to marriage. Morris, the office manager, comforts Marie.

=== Act II ===

In 1929, La Guardia runs for mayor of New York, after he and Thea are married. Thea, home from a visit to the doctor, exclaims her love ("When Did I Fall In Love"). At Dora and her husband Floyd's (who has retired from the police force) home, the corrupt backers of [[Jimmy Walker]], Fiorello's competitor for mayor, meet. As one of the gang wants to have Fiorello killed at his public speech, Dora rushes to secretly warn Marie. However, Fiorello's campaign is in turmoil, with Ben being fired and his worry over Thea's deteriorating health. At La Guardia's speech the gang's plan to kill him is foiled. But Thea dies, and Marie, Morris, and Neil have to tell Fiorello. The race for mayor is won by Jimmy Walker. Fiorello is inspired by tragedy to continue his campaign.

In 1933, Ben and his political friends are again playing poker ("Little Tin Box"). Marie arrives and announces that she is quitting her job and will marry "The Very Next Man" who asks her. She convinces Ben to return to Fiorello to help him win the upcoming mayoral election. She then helps Fiorello to overcome his fears of losing and run again. He runs with Ben's help, and also asks Marie to marry him. She accepts and Fiorello finally becomes the mayor.

==Background and analysis==
The musical contains several songs built around a group of machine politicians. In "Politics and Poker", Republican [[machine politics|machine politicians]] try to pick a [[United States Congress|congressional]] candidate in a district they consider hopeless, while playing a game of [[poker]], and compare politics to poker.<ref name=holden/> The lyric is set to waltz tempo "to underscore the frivolity of their cynicism."<ref>Ostrow, Stuart. "Present at the Creation" (2006). Hal Leonard Corporation. {{ISBN|1-55783-646-9}}, p. 31</ref> In "The Bum Won", these same politicians commiserate with one another after La Guardia has won the election without their support. In "Little Tin Box", they imagine a series of Tammany politicians attempting to explain to a judge that their wealth came from their scrupulous habits of saving ("I can see Your Honor doesn't pull his punches/ And it looks a trifle fishy, I'll admit,/ But for one whole week I went without my lunches/ And it mounted up, Your Honor, bit by bit./ Up Your Honor, bit by bit.")<ref name=holden/>

In "I Love a Cop", a woman factory worker describes her hapless situation of having fallen in love with a policeman who was called out against a [[strike action|strike]] by her [[labor union|union]];
"The Name's La Guardia" has La Guardia campaigning in [[English language|English]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]].<ref>Shea, Tom. "Broadway's Most Wanted" (2004). Brassey's. {{ISBN|1-57488-596-0}}, pp. 123–124</ref> There is also a [[ragtime]] number, "Gentleman Jimmy" about ''bon vivant'' mayor [[Jimmy Walker|James J. "Jimmy" Walker]], and the comic "Marie's Law", in which Marie proposes a "law" about how husbands should treat their wives.<ref name=holden/> ("Every girl shall have a honeymoon, which will last at least a year,/ During which aforesaid honeymoon, every care shall disappear…".)

Besides the invention of some peripheral characters, the musical changes some basic facts of La Guardia's life. La Guardia's first wife, Thea, died after only three years of marriage, but the fictional Thea lives another eight years, so that her death can be one more calamity during La Guardia's unsuccessful 1929 mayoral campaign; also, the script downplays La Guardia's generally successful congressional career to make him seem more of an outsider and increase the triumph of his eventual mayoral victory in 1933.

==Songs==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
; Act I
* "On the Side of the Angels" – Neil, Morris, and Dora
* "Politics and Poker" – Ben, Politicians
* "Unfair" – Fiorello, Dora, and Girls
* "Marie's Law" – Marie and Morris
* "The Name's La Guardia" – Fiorello and Company
* "The Bum Won" – Ben, Politicians
* "I Love a Cop" – Dora
* "I Love a Cop" (reprise) – Dora and Floyd
* "Till Tomorrow" – Thea and Company
* "Home Again" – Company
{{col-break}}
; Act II
* "When Did I Fall in Love" – Thea
* "Gentleman Jimmy" – Mitzi and Dancing Girls
* "Gentleman Jimmy" (reprise) – Company
* "Little Tin Box" – Ben, Politicians
* "The Very Next Man" – Marie
* "The Very Next Man" (reprise) – Marie
* "Finale" – Company
{{col-end}}

An additional song, "Where Do I Go from Here?" (originally written for Marie to sing in Act I) was cut out of town; a fully orchestrated recording, sung by Broadway actress [[Liz Callaway]], can be heard on the anthology album ''Lost in Boston I'' (Varèse Sarabande VSD-5475). "Till Tomorrow" and "Unfair" were written "on spec" before Bock and Harnick were hired for the show. "Little Tin Box" was added on the road in [[Philadelphia]].<ref name=Kelly>Frank Kelly, [https://web.archive.org/web/20030930212826/http://www.geocities.com/bockharn/Bock_and_Harnick.html ''Unofficial'' Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick Appreciation Page], retrieved January 1, 2010.</ref>

==Critical response==
In his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Brooks Atkinson]] wrote: "... It is exciting; it is enjoyable and it is decent ... Jerry Bock has set ... a bouncy score ... [A]s the writer of lyrics, Sheldon Harnick is in an unfailingly humorous frame of mind ... [U]nder Mr. Abbott's invincible stage direction, the whole show comes alive with gusto ... [T]he cast could not be more winning or in better voice."<ref>Atkinson, Brooks. ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Little Flower Blooms Again", November 24, 1959, p. 45</ref>

Louis Calta wrote: {{"'}}Fiorello!' is the town's latest stage hit ... the attraction earned flowery praise from all of the New York drama critics."<ref>Calta, Louis. ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Fiorello! Gets Landslide Vote", November 25, 1959, p. 19</ref>

==Original cast album==
The original cast recording of ''Fiorello!'' was made by [[Capitol Records]] on November 29, 1959, just six days after the show opened, and was released on December 14. The album debuted on [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard's'']] best-selling albums chart January 11, 1960, peaked at No. 7 and remained on the charts for 89 weeks. It has been reissued on CD twice, first by Capitol and then later in a much improved release on EMI's Broadway Angel label (CD #ZDM 7 65023-2).

==In popular culture==
On the television show ''[[Mad Men]]'', [[Don Draper]] and his wife [[Betty Draper|Betty]] attend a performance of ''Fiorello!'' in the [[List of Mad Men episodes#Season 1 (2007)|season one]] episode [[Shoot (Mad Men)|''Shoot'']].<ref>Dean, Will. [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/may/25/mad-men-season-one-episode-nine "Mad Men: season one, episode nine"] ''[[The Guardian]]'', 25 May 2010</ref>

==See also==
*[[Jimmy (musical)]], about New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker
*[[Mayor (musical)]], about New York City Mayor Ed Koch

==Awards and nominations==

===Original Broadway production===
{| class="wikitable" width="95%"
|-
! width="5%"| Year
! width="20%"| Award
! width="45%"| Category
! width="20%"| Nominee
! width="10%"| Result
|-
| rowspan="9" align="center"| 1960
| rowspan="7"| [[Tony Award]]
| colspan="2"| [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical|Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical]]
| [[Tom Bosley]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Howard Da Silva]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical|Best Direction of a Musical]]
| [[George Abbott]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Choreography|Best Choreography]]
| [[Peter Gennaro]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director|Best Conductor and Musical Director]]
| Hal Hastings
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Scenic Design|Best Scenic Design]]
| [[William and Jean Eckart]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="3"| [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards Past Winners|url=https://www.dramacritics.org/dc_pastawards.html |access-date=31 January 2025 |website=New York Drama Critics' Circle|language=en}}</ref>
| Best Musical
| Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, George Abbott and Jerome Weidman
| {{won}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{ibdb show|3539}}
* [http://www.mtishows.com/show_home.asp?ID=000216 Fiorello!] at the [[Music Theatre International]] website
* [http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search Tony Awards listing for 1960, Musical] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831204617/http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search |date=2016-08-31 }}
* [http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/218 Pulitzer Prize Winners by Category – Drama]

{{Bock and Harnick}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for ''Fiorello!''
| list = 
{{Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1951-1975}}
{{TonyAwardBestMusical 1947-1975}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1959 musicals]]
[[Category:Biographical musicals]]
[[Category:Biographical plays about politicians]]
[[Category:Broadway musicals]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of American people]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of politicians]]
[[Category:Musicals by George Abbott]]
[[Category:Musicals by Jerry Bock]]
[[Category:Musicals by Sheldon Harnick]]
[[Category:New York City in popular culture]]
[[Category:Musicals set in New York City]]
[[Category:Musicals set in the 1920s]]
[[Category:Musicals set in the 1930s]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama–winning musicals]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama–winning works]]
[[Category:Tony Award for Best Musical]]
[[Category:Tony Award–winning musicals]]
[[Category:Fiorello La Guardia]]