Fiorello (1960)
by Claire J Rottenberg
"Fiorello" has the distinct honor of
being only one of seven Broadway musicals to win the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Yet, it has never been made
into a movie and its only revival in New York was a
limited run, concert format production for Encores at
City Center in 1994.
"Fiorello" opened on Broadway in
November, 1959 and it ran for 795 performances,
closing in October, 1961. Tom Bosley, probably best
known to most people as Richie Cunningham's
father on "Happy Days," played the lead
role of the New York City mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia.
"Fiorello" is a loose interpretation of
LaGuardia's political life in the 1920s.
The book for "Fiorello" was written by
Jerome Weidman and George Abbott. Abbott also
directed the Broadway production. The score was by
the team of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, best
known for their music for "Fiddler on the
Roof." Probably the only song people might know
from the play is "Politics and
Poker."
In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize,
"Fiorello" won three Tony awards for Best
Musical, Best Direction and Best Featured Actor in a
Musical (Tom Bosley). The play was nominated for four
other Tony awards, including a nomination for Peter
Gennaro for his choreography of the production.
"Fiorello" is one of the only hit
Broadway plays from the late 1950s/early 1960s that
has not been made into a movie musical.