Mame (musical)

This article is about the 1966 Broadway musical. For other uses, see Mame.
Mame
Original Broadway Poster
MusicJerry Herman
LyricsJerry Herman
BookJerome Lawrence
Robert Edwin Lee
BasisAuntie Mame
by Patrick Dennis
Productions1966 Broadway
1967 Tour
1968 Los Angeles
1968 Australia
1968 Las Vegas
1969 Tour
1969 West End
1983 Broadway revival
Angela Lansbury, 1966
Original Broadway cast members Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury at the 41st annual Emmy Awards (1989). The two remained close friends over the years.

Mame is a musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and the 1956 Broadway play of the same name by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death."[1] Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1966, starring Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur. The production became a hit and spawned a 1974 film version with Lucille Ball in the title role, and Arthur reprising her supporting role; as well as a London production, a Broadway revival, and a 40th anniversary revival at the Kennedy Center in 2006.

  1. ^ "Sons of bitches" was changed to "suckers" in the film version. Weaver, David E. "Mame’s Boys: Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee" Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, Ohioana Quarterly, Fall 2006, Ohioana Library Association, accessed September 5, 2012.