Article: Sweet Smell of Success (disambiguation)
Sweet Smell of Success by Alexander Mackendrick Clifford Odets Ernest Lehman Sweet Smell of Success by Ernest Lehman
2002 Broadway
Sweet Smell of Success is a musical created by Marvin Hamlisch (music), Craig Carnelia (lyrics), and John Guare (book). The show is based on the 1957 movie of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1955 novelette of the same name by Ernest Lehman. The show tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist named J. J. Hunsecker (based on famed New York columnist Walter Winchell) who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate.
It was a critical and commercial failure.
Production history
A workshop was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in August 1998. According to a Livent spokesman "the show had a cast of 18, made up mainly of Canadians. The performers' names were not revealed." The workshop was directed by Nicholas Hytner. The workshop was followed by a reading in November 1998 in New York City, with Jonathan Pryce as J.J. Hunsecker, Brian d'Arcy James as Sidney, Anastasia Barzee, Patrick Wilson, Stacey Logan and an ensemble of 12.
It had a pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago, Illinois, in January 2002. Critics' reactions were not favorable. Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones found that it had an "identity crisis" and warned that "...[b]etween now and the Broadway opening, director Nicholas Hytner and the other multitalented parties involved had better all get on the same conceptual page, or what’s left of the gossip column fraternity will have a lot to chew on."
Subsequently changes were made to the show, including a new ending.
Modifications to the plot and differences from the film reportedly reflect author Ernest Lehman's original intent. Lehman, the author of the original novelette, was a producer on the musical adaptation.
The musical opened on March 14, 2002 at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway. Again directed by Hytner, it closed on June 15, 2002, after 109 performances and 18 previews. The show starred John Lithgow as J.J. Hunsecker, and Brian d'Arcy James as Sidney Falcone.
The creative team included choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, sets and costumes by Bob Crowley, and lighting by Natasha Katz. Sweet Smell garnered 7 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. John Lithgow received the show's only Tony Award, winning Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.
Cast and characters
Character Broadway (2002) J.J. Hunsecker John Lithgow Sidney Brian d'Arcy James Susan Kelli O'Hara Dallas Jack Noseworthy Rita Stacey Logan Club Zanzibar Singer Bernard Dotson
Notable Replacements
Susan: Elena Shaddow (u/s)
Sidney: Frank Vlastnik (u/s)
Musical numbers Source: Playbill Act I
"The Column" - J.J., Sidney, and Ensemble
"I Could Get You in J.J." - Sidney
"I Cannot Hear the City" - Dallas
"Welcome to the Night" - J.J., Sidney, and Ensemble
"Laughin' All the Way to the Bank" - Club Zanzibar Singer
"At the Fountain" - Sidney
"Psalm 151" † - J.J. and Sidney
"Don't Know Where You Leave Off" - Dallas and Susan
"What If" - Susan and Ensemble
"For Susan" - J.J.
"One Track Mind" - Dallas
"Act I Finale" † - Ensemble
Act II
"Break It Up" - J.J., Sidney, and Ensemble
"Rita's Tune" - Rita
"Dirt" - Ensemble
"I Could Get You in J.J." (Reprise) - Sidney
"I Cannot Hear the City" (Reprise) - Susan and Dallas
"Don't Look Now" - J.J. and Ensemble
"At the Fountain" (Reprise) - Sidney and Ensemble
"Act II Finale" - J.J., Susan, Sidney, and Ensemble
† Not included on the Original Broadway Cast Recording (2002)
Awards and nominations Original Broadway production
Year Award Category Nominee Result 2002 Tony Award Best MusicalBest Book of a MusicalJohn GuareBest Original ScoreMarvin Hamlisch and Craig CarneliaBest Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalJohn LithgowBest Performance by a Featured Actor in a MusicalBrian d'Arcy JamesBest OrchestrationsWilliam David BrohnBest Lighting DesignNatasha KatzDrama Desk AwardsOutstanding MusicalOutstanding Book of a MusicalJohn GuareOutstanding LyricsCraig CarneliaOutstanding MusicMarvin HamlischOutstanding Actor in a MusicalJohn LithgowBrian d'Arcy JamesOutstanding Director of a MusicalNicholas HytnerOutstanding ChoreographyChristopher WheeldonOutstanding Costume DesignBob CrowleyOutstanding Set DesignOutstanding Lighting DesignNatasha Katz
Reception
Despite eager anticipation, the musical version received largely negative reviews and it was a commercial flop. Reportedly, it lost its entire $10 million investment. One critic lamented that it was "a real heartbreaker; one of those fabulous sounding new musicals with an impeccable pedigree which never quite comes together and ultimately only disappoints."
A 2012 London production of the musical met with mixed reviews. Theatre critic Lyn Gardner of The Guardian praised the score and choreography but found that it: "sugars the pill and never locates the savage, cynical heart... It wants to be a straightforward song-and-dance show – the problem is, this piece is anything but."
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SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Music by Marvin Hamlisch: Lyrics by Craig Carnelia: Book by John Guare.
Based on the novel by Ernest Lehman and the MGM/United Artists motion
picture.
Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway - 14 March, 2002
Story Act 1
Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America.
It's New York, 1952. Welcome to Broadway, the glamour and power capital
of the universe. JJ Hunsecker rules it all with his daily gossip column
in the New York Globe, syndicated to sixty million readers across America.
JJ has the goods on everyone, from the President to the latest starlet.
And everyone feeds JJ scandal, from J. Edgar Hoover and Senator Joe McCarthy
down to a battalion of hungry press agents who attach their news to a
client that JJ might plug. You can become no one if JJ turns on you.
Meet Sidney Falcone, a struggling press agent whose sole client is a
nowhere jazz dive, the Club Voodoo. Tony, the owner, gives Sidney an
ultimatum. No item in JJ, no job. Tonight, the only customer at the Voodoo
is Susan, a classy beauty, who's there to see Dallas, the hot young piano
player. It's his last night before going off to play a gig in Chicago.
He wants Susan to go with him. She can't. There's someone who wouldn't
like it.
Looking for a client - any client - Sidney offers his services to Dallas.
Dallas laughs off Sidney's pitch. He will make it on his own. Sidney
then turns to Susan and promises that, if she hires him, he'll make her
a star with one mention in JJ. She doesn't bite. Sidney's taken with
her but when he sees Dallas sing to Susan, he realises he hasn't a chance.
Suddenly JJ shows up at the Voodoo, knowing nothing of Dallas. He has
followed Susan, furious that she walked out on him earlier at dinner
at the Stork Club. Why is she in a dive like this? As Dallas moves to
JJ to tell him why, Susan distracts JJ by introducing Sidney as the reason.
She claims Sidney is her partner in acting class. Sidney is stunned.
(He'd assumed Susan was JJ's girlfriend but finds out she's JJ's sister).
Sidney goes along with the ruse. As JJ questions Sidney about his motives,
Dallas slips out for Chicago. Susan's secret is safe. JJ is curious about
Susan's new "friend," and invites Sidney on his nightly crawl
of every hotspot in Manhattan.
JJ buys Sidney a new suit, and gets Sidney's waitress girlfriend, Rita,
a job at a fancy nightspot called the Café Elysian. JJ introduces
Sidney to the powerful and sinister Police Detective Kello. JJ gets Sidney
clients, and urges his new friend to "keep the "O"' and
change his name to Falco. Life is great! Sidney can't believe his new
friendship. The life he's dreamed of is here.
Weeks later, before dawn, at St. Patrick's Cathedral, in the presence
of the Almighty, it's payback time. JJ makes Sidney (the former altar-boy)
swear he will follow Susan and report on all that he sees.
Susan and Dallas are in bed. Susan is in a quandary. She can't tell
JJ about their romance. JJ would never accept her loving a nobody like
Dallas. Dallas gives her an ultimatum. He's back from his latest gig
in Philadelphia in three weeks. Tell JJ by then. Dallas says good-bye
to Susan at Penn Station with an epic kiss, seen by Sidney. When Susan
sees him, Sidney admits he's following her on JJ's behalf. He advises
her to drop this nobody Dallas. Susan reminds Sidney how much she's helped
a nobody like him. In return, she asks Sidney to take on Dallas as a
secret client and make him a somebody
Susan takes Sidney home to JJ's penthouse. JJ regales Sidney with stories
about Susie's childhood, their life together and how much everyone loves
his little sister. Sidney, seeing how oppressive JJ's love is to Susan,
feeds JJ an item about a great young piano player named Dallas Cochran
who needs a break. JJ will print it. Susan is silently grateful. When
Sidney leaves, JJ asks Susan to dance like they used to when she was
a little girl. When she rejects him, JJ suspects Susan of seeing someone
and counts on Sidney to tell him who that someone is.
Thanks to JJ's rave review, Dallas is in New York headlining at the
hip Café Elysian. JJ proudly introduces Susan to his discovery,
Dallas. Then he sees Susan's loving reaction. Sidney tries to hustle
JJ out of the club. Tony from the Voodoo has stopped by to see Dallas's
success. Tony unwittingly drops the bombshell that Susan and Dallas have
been an item for a while. JJ is incensed at having been duped by Sidney.
Nobody lies to JJ. Sidney is trapped.
Act 2
As Act Two opens, Sidney vows to JJ he'll clear up this Susan/Dallas
thing. Clear it up? JJ insists that he break it up, or else! And Susan
must never know JJ's behind it.
Sidney tries every ploy he can think of to end the romance. Nothing
works. Sidney's downfall is swift. He's blackballed from the column and
loses all his clients. JJ, while pretending to be happy for Susan and
Dallas, gives Sidney a deadline to demolish their relationship - by morning.
In desperation to get back in JJ's favour, Sidney tries to plant a vicious
smear about Dallas in the column of a rival gossip monger, Otis Elwell.
However, the repulsive Otis will only print the item for a price. Sidney
realises he has "the price" at home, where Sidney's girlfriend
Rita is eagerly waiting for him. Sidney shows up with Elwell. His purpose
is clear. Rita is revolted that Sidney would use her like this. Sidney
needs Otis's column. He's desperate. He bullies and manipulates Rita
into going along with his scheme. After Otis phones in Sidney's smear,
Sidney leaves them together.
The public descends on the morning edition. They revel in how the item
will ruin Dallas.
JJ is hosting a charity telethon. Susan comes backstage to show JJ this
lie of a smear in a rival paper, and begs JJ for help. Sidney assures
Susan that JJ will. JJ is enraged. Sidney advises JJ to do what Susan
wants, get Dallas his job back, then leave Dallas alone with him for
five minutes. He will wind Dallas so tight that Dallas will snap and
the relationship with Susan will be over. JJ admires his protégé.
JJ calls the Elysian and gets Dallas reinstated, then goes on with his
telethon. Sidney then reveals to Dallas how he got his career-making
gig.
JJ returns in time to hear Dallas's angry disbelief at her deception.
Dallas insults JJ and his column. Susan tells Dallas to leave. Sidney
is triumphant. JJ tells Susan he's taking her to England for the Coronation
immediately after the telethon. She agrees to go then runs after Dallas.
She tries to explain that he'll never escape JJ's power. He won't be
safe.
JJ can't forget Dallas's insults. Not satisfied that Susan and Dallas
have parted, JJ wants Sidney to "take Dallas apart." Sidney
doesn't do stuff like that. Then JJ suggests Sidney call Lt. Kello to
do it. Never. What if JJ gave Sidney his own column, what then? JJ gives
him Kello's number. While JJ performs his old vaudeville routine on the
telethon, Sidney calls Kello and sets Dallas up to be brutally and lethally
beaten.
Sidney informs JJ the deed is done. JJ announces to America that, while
he's away in England, Sidney will write the column. Sidney is at the
top.
Susan interrupts his victory. She tells him Dallas has been found. Sidney
won't let her miss that boat. JJ waits impatiently at the dock. Susan
refuses to get on board. She produces Rita as a witness who saw Sidney
plant drugs on Dallas and signal Kello for the attack. JJ feigns shock
that Sidney would do such a thing. Otis Elwell appears. Susan has called
him with a story. JJ and Sidney are terrified. The story is that she
and Dallas are going to marry and leave New York. Yes, Dallas is alive.
Otis goes, grateful for the scoop. Susan tells JJ that he'll never see
her again. If he ever comes after her, she'll tell every columnist in
town what JJ and Sidney did to Dallas. "I always wondered which
of your enemies would bring you down. I never dreamed it could be me." She
leaves.
Sidney urges JJ to get on the boat. JJ wants Sidney to get rid of Rita.
Rita knows too much. "Do it and the column is yours." Sidney
rebels. Sidney will take Rita to a place where nobody ever heard of JJ.
JJ smiles. No such place exists. Sidney runs. He sees the hungry press
agents, desperate to get in the column, the hysterical crowds in the
nightclubs, hoping for a mention from JJ. Sidney is finally free of it
all when Kello and his goons appear. They surround Sidney.
JJ goes back to work, preparing his next column. The lead item announces
the death of Sidney Falco in a vicious robbery. But then, Sidney would
be happy, he just made today's column.
CAST (in order of appearance)
J.J. Hunsecker Sidney Susan Dallas Rita Madge
Press Agent for the Blue Angel
Press Agent for the Empire Room
Congressman Abigail Barclay Tony Billy Van Cleve Pregnant Woman Pepper White's Escort Charlotte von Hapsburg Otis Elwell Lester Kello Club Zanzibar Singer Cathedral Soloist Senator Senator's Girlfriend
Bartender at Tony's Caprice
Telethon Announcer Bobo JJ's Vaudeville Partner Press Agent
Press Agent for the Plaza
Press Agent for El Morocco
Musical Numbers The Column
JJ Hunsecker, Madge, Sidney & Ensemble
I Could Get You in JJ
Sidney with Dallas & Susan
I Cannot Hear the City
Dallas
Welcome to the Night
JJ Hunsecker, Sidney & Ensemble
Laughin' All the Way to the Bank
Club Zanzibar Singer & Ensemble
At the Fountain Sidney
Don't Know Where You Leave Off
Dallas & Susan What If
Susan & Ensemble with Sidney
For Susan
JJ Hunsecker with Sidney & Susan
One Track Mind Dallas & Ensemble Break It Up
JJ Hunsecker, Sidney, Dallas, Susan & Ensemble
with Madge Rita's Tune Rita Dirt Ensemble
I Could Get You in JJ (Reprise)
Sidney with Susan, Dallas &
JJ Hunsecker
I Cannot Hear the City (Reprise)
Susan & Dallas Don't Look Now
JJ Hunsecker & Ensemble
At the Fountain (Reprise)
Sidney & Ensemble Finale
Sidney & Ensemble with JJ Hunsecker
Discography
Original Broadway Cast Album - Sony SK89922
To order - click here
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