The Nervous Set

The Nervous Set is a 1959 Broadway musical written by Jay Landesman and Theodore J. Flicker which centers on the Beat Generation.[1] It tells the story of a wealthy publisher and his wife from a Connecticut suburb exploring the Greenwich Village of New York City as they navigate their dysfunctional marriage.[2][3]

History

The musical was based on Landesman's unpublished novel, inspired by Landesman's experiences as part of the Beat Generation or Cool Generation.[4][5] It premiered on March 10, 1959, in the Crystal Palace theatre, located in the Gaslight Square of St. Louis.[6] The cast of the original production included Don Heller, Arlene Corwin, Tom Aldredge, Del Close, Janice Meshkoff, and Barry Primus.[7] A Broadway producer Robert Lantz, after watching the St. Louis production, brought the musical to Broadway of New York City and cast Larry Hagman, Richard Hayes, Tani Seitz, Gerald Hiken, David Sallade, and the original St. Louis cast, including Heller, Corwin, and Primus as the background chorus and understudies. The New York City production debuted on May 12, 1959, at the Henry Miller Theater and lasted 23 performances.[8][9]

Songs

Songs include "Ballad of the Sad Young Men", "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most", "Man, We're Beat", and "Laugh, I Thought I'd Die". An unused song "Pitch for Pot" features the controversial line, "I've got the finest grade of pot you've ever seen / I guarantee it'll get you high".[9]

The lyrics were written by Fran Landesman, and the music was composed by Tommy Wolf.[10] Four instrumentalists provided the accompaniment, listed in the opening-week Playbill as " 'The Nervous Set' Jazz Quartet": Tommy Wolf, piano; Billy Schneider, drums; Chuck Wayne, guitar; Joe Benjamin, bass.[11]

The song "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" would be later recorded by many popular vocalists including Petula Clark, Roberta Flack,[12] Shirley Bassey,[13] and Rickie Lee Jones.[14] Jazz vocalist Mark Murphy also included the song on his album, "Bop for Kerouac." "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" would be popular among gay bars.[15]

Off-Broadway cast recording

Originally released by Sony Music on May 18, 1959, the Off-Broadway Cast Recording is 47 minutes and 15 seconds long, and contains the following 17 songs.

Act 1
  • Overture/Man, We're Beat
  • New York
  • What's To Lose/Stars Have Blown My Way
  • Fun Life
  • How Do You Like Your Love
  • Party Song
  • Night People

Act 2
  • Overture Act II
  • Party Song (Reprise)
  • I've Got a Lot to Learn About Life
  • The Ballad of Sad Young Men
  • A Country Gentleman
  • Max the MIllionaire
  • Travel the Road of Love
  • Laugh, I Thought I'd Die
  • Fun Life (Reprise)
  • Fun Life

Reception

The musical had mixed reception. The New York Daily News praised it as "most brilliant, sophisticated, witty, and completely novel", while the New York World-Telegram & Sun called it "weird".[9] Billboard music critic Bob Rolontz praised three songs out of eighteen — "Ballad of the Sad Young Men", "I've Got to Learn About Life", and "Rejection"—as highlights of the musical.[2] The New York Post found it to have "a certain juvenile brightness in its amiably frenetic activities."[16] The Brooklyn Daily thought it "perhaps the best play to hit Broadway this year."[17]

References
  1. Kim Howard Johnson (2008). The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close. Chicago Review Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-56976-436-7.
  2. Rolontz, Bob (May 18, 1959). "Nervous Set Just Ain't Got It". Billboard. p. 11. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  3. Gary Marmorstein (2007). The Label: The Story of Columbia Records. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-707-3. One of the label's more adventurous original cast recordings was of Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman's The Nervous Set, a gentle spoof of Greenwich
  4. Susan M. Trosky (1989). Contemporary Authors. Gale Research International, Limited. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-8103-1952-3. The Nervous Set" (two-act musical play; adapted from Landesman's ... Author of unpublished novels "The Nervous Set,"
  5. Porter G. Perrin (1966). The Perrin-Smith Handbook of Current English: Second Edition. p. 24. The new musical by Jay Landesman and Theodore J. Flicker takes a warm look at the cool generation.
  6. Daniel W. Pfaff (2005). No Ordinary Joe: A Life of Joseph Pulitzer III. University of Missouri Press. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-8262-1607-6. In 1959 The Nervous Set, a musical satire, opened at the Crystal Palace. Jay Landesman and Theodore J. Flicker wrote it, with lyrics by Jay's wife, Fran, and music by former St. Louisan Tommy Wolfe. The musical mocked both uptight "squares" and rebellious "beats.
  7. Corinne J. Naden (2011). The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre: 1943-1965. Scarecrow Press. pp. 110–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7734-4.
  8. "The Nervous Set – Original Broadway Cast 1959". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  9. Weidman, Rich (2015). The Beat Generation FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Angelheaded Hipsters. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1617136344.
  10. "The Nervous Set". Playbill. 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  11. "Inside Playbill Gallery".
  12. Dyer, Richard (2002). "The Sad Young Men". The Culture of Queers. Routledge. p. 117. ISBN 0-415-22375-X. LCCN 2001048303. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  13. "Billboard's Top Album Picks: Pop". Billboard. December 25, 1976. p. 66. Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via Google Books.
  14. Watney, Simon (2000). "Charles Barber: 1956–92". Imagine Hope: AIDS and Gay Identity. London: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 87. ISBN 9781135433666. Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via Google Books.
  15. Donaldson, Stephen (1990). "Music, Popular". The Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. Vol. 2. p. 859. ISBN 9781317368120. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  16. Watts Jr., Richard. "Two on the Aisle." New York Post, 24 May 1959.
  17. Kaliff, Joe. "Magic Carpet over Broadway." Brooklyn Daily, 18 May 1959.
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