Lyrics Peter Udell First performance 4 May 1978 Composer Gary Geld | Lyricist Peter Udell Orchestrator Don Walker | |
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Book Peter UdellKetti Frings Musicals Purlie, Shenandoah, Amen Corner, The Shrike, Here's Love | ||
Angel is a Broadway musical that opened at the Minskoff Theatre in New York on May 4, 1978.
Contents
It was based on Ketti Frings’ theatrical adaptation of the best-selling Thomas Wolfe novel Look Homeward, Angel. The play (with the same title as the novel) was a 1958 Pulitzer Prize winner.
The musical featured songs with lyrics by Peter Udell and music by Gary Geld - the same team who created the musicals Shenandoah and Purlie. Frings and Udell collaborated on the book. Angel was directed by Philip Rose and choreographed by Robert Tucker. The production featured costumes by Pearl Somner, lighting design by John Gleason and scenery by Ming Cho Lee.
For her performance, Frances Sternhagen received a 1978 Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Additionally, Joel Higgins was nominated for a 1978 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
The musical was savaged by the critics, and closed on May 13 after only five performances.
Songs
Angel is set in Altamount, North Carolina in the fall of 1916. In Act One, the scene is the Dixieland Boarding House. In Act Two, Scene One is set in Gant's marble yard and shop; and Scenes Two and Three are set again in the Dixieland Boarding House.
Original Broadway cast
Critical response
Reviewing for The New York Times, Richard Eder wrote: