Bajour (musical)

Bajour is a musical with a book by Ernest Kinoy and music and lyrics by Walter Marks. The musical is based on the Joseph Mitchell short stories The Gypsy Women and The King of the Gypsies published in The New Yorker.[1][2] The title is allegedly a Romani word for a con game in which lonely and unhappy women are swindled out of their life savings.[3]

Bajour
Original Cast Album
MusicWalter Marks
LyricsWalter Marks
BookErnest Kinoy
BasisJoseph Mitchell short stories The Gypsy Women and The King of the Gypsies
Productions1964 Broadway

Synopsis

New York University anthropology student Emily Kirsten studies the customs of the Dembeschti tribe of nomadic gypsies for her Ph.D. thesis. This brings her in contact with tribal leader Cockeye Johnny Dembo. He works out of a dilapidated storefront in a Manhattan slum and needs to raise $9,000 to purchase Anyanka from the Moyva King of Newark as a bride for his handsome son Steve. Anyanka is so anxious to seal the deal she offers to stage a bajour to help finance it, and complications ensue when she targets Emily's widowed mother as her victim.

Productions

After tryouts at the Shubert Theatre in Boston,[4] and Philadelphia[5] the Broadway production opened on November 23, 1964 at the Shubert Theatre, and then transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne to complete its 232 performance run. Directed by Lawrence Kasha and choreographed by Peter Gennaro.[1][2][6] $480,000 was invested in the musical and losses were in excess of that.[7]

Tony Award nominations went to Dussault for Best Actress in a Musical and Gennaro for Best Choreography. An original cast recording was released by Columbia Masterworks in 1964, conducted by Lehman Engel.[1][8]

The "Musicals in Mufti" series in New York presented the musical in July 2007.[3]

Original cast and characters
Character Broadway (1964)[9]
Emily Kirsten Nancy Dussault
Anyanka Chita Rivera
Johnny Dembo Herschel Bernardi
Lou MacNiall Robert Burr
Helene Kirsten Mae Questel
Steve Gus Trikonis
The King of Newark Herbert Edelman
Loopa Antonia Rey
The Chairlady Lucie Lancaster
Olga Carmen Morales
Marfa Jeanne Tanzy

Song list

Critical response

The Billboard reviewer, in writing about the Boston tryout, noted: "Bajour at the moment is overlong and lacks real distinction in its treatment of an unusual theme."[4] The New York Times was more positive after it opened on Broadway, stating: "In spirit and manner, it often reminds one of this musical and that. But even if the gypsies spit on their hands like the stagy creatures they are, they provide moments of good cheer and animation. It's a "Bajour" that isn't all swindle."[10]

Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
Year Award Category Nominee Result
1965 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Nancy Dussault Nominated
Best Choreography Peter Gennaro Nominated

References
  1. "'Bajour' cast, production, and plot listing" masterworksbroadway.com, retrieved December 26, 2010
  2. Gross, Mike."'Bajour' Misses, But Marks Makes Mark"Billboard (books.google.com), December 5, 1964, p. 20
  3. Gans, Andrew."Ralston, Desai, Rodriguez and More Set for Mufti Bajour" playbill.com, July 6, 2007
  4. Dewar, Cameron."'Bajour' in Boston"Billboard, October 24, 1964, pp. 10, 12
  5. Suskin, Steven.The Sound of Broadway Music: a Book of Orchestrators and OrchestrationsThe Sound of Broadway Music: a Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations (books.google.com), Oxford University Press US, 2009, ISBN 0-19-530947-2, p. 331
  6. "'Bajour' production, plot and cast listing" chitarivera.com, retrieved December 26, 2010
  7. "'Ball,' 'Sammy,' 'Bajour' Drop Nearly $1,000,000". Variety. June 16, 1965. p. 1.
  8. Osborne, Jerry.Movie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference GuideMovie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference Guide (books.google.com), Jerry Osborne Enterprises, 2002, ISBN 0-932117-37-6, p. 94
  9. Playbill 1964 Bio Cast Listaccessed 07/10/2023
  10. "The Theater: A Tale of Gypsy Love; ' Bajour,' a Musical, in Premiere at Shubert". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
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