The Boys from Syracuse | |
---|---|
Music | Richard Rodgers |
Lyrics | Lorenz Hart |
Book | George Abbott |
Basis | William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors |
Productions | 1938 Broadway 1940 Film 1963 Off-Broadway revival 1963 West End 1991 West End revival 2002 Broadway revival |
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical based on a Shakespeare play.[1] The Comedy of Errors was itself loosely based on a Roman play, The Menaechmi, or the Twin Brothers, by Plautus.
The show premiered on Broadway in 1938 and Off-Broadway in 1963, with later productions including a West End run in 1963 and in a Broadway revival in 2002. A film adaptation was released in 1940. Well-known songs from the score include "Falling in Love with Love", "This Can't Be Love" and "Sing for Your Supper".