Based on the novel by B. J. Chute, the musical is a fantasy, set in the magical town of Greenwillow. In Greenwillow, the eldest in each generation of Briggs men must obey the "call to wander", while the women they leave behind care for the home and rear their children in the hope that some day their husbands will return. Gideon loves his girlfriend, Dorrie, and would like nothing better than to settle down with her, and finds in the town's newest inhabitant, the Reverend Birdsong, an ally who will try to help him make his dream come true.
Production
The musical had a pre-Broadway try-out at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia. The musical opened on Broadway on March 8, 1960, at the Alvin Theatre, and closed on May 28, 1960, after 97 performances. The show was hampered by mixed reviews. According to Thomas Riis, The New York Times "was pleased" but it was the only paper to give a positive review. The director was George Roy Hill and choreographer was Joe Layton, scenery by Peter Larkin and costumes by Alvin Colt. The cast included Anthony Perkins as Gideon Briggs, Cecil Kellaway, Pert Kelton, Ellen McCown as Dorrie Whitbred, William Chapman, Marian Mercer and Tommy Norden. This musical was being rehearsed in New York while Anthony Perkins was simultaneously filming the Alfred Hitchcock classic shocker Psycho in Los Angeles. He had a stand-in for the shower scene in that film. Stephen Rebello noted that the shower scene did not "require the services of Anthony Perkins", so Hitchcock allowed him to attend reheasals in New York. The musical was presented by the York Theatre Company in its "Musicals-in-Mufti" series in 2004. Peter Filichia said that the score was "grand" and noted that, in reviewing the original production, Brooks Atkinson in The New York Times wrote that 'Loesser has provided a warm and varied score that captures the simple mood'".
Song list
Source: Internet Broadway database; ''AllMusic ;Act I
recorded "The Music of Home" on January 28, 1960 and it was issued on a 45rpm disc by RCA Victor. Barbra Streisand recorded "Never Will I Marry" for The Third Album in 1964, and sang it live in her early club act. Nancy Wilson recorded "Never Will I Marry" on Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley. Judy Garland performed "Never Will I Marry" frequently in the 1960s, including for her aborted 1962 album "Judy Takes Broadway" and on "The Judy Garland Show". Caterina Valente performed both "Summertime Love" and "Never Will I Marry" in 1963 for her album "Valente In Swingtime".
