Lyrics Sammy Cahn Productions 1970 Broadway Lyricist Sammy Cahn Basis The Lilies of the Field | Book Leonard Spigelgass Playwright Leonard Spigelgass Composer Jule Styne | |
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Similar Jule Styne plays, Musicals | ||
Look to the Lilies was a short-lived Broadway musical with a book by Leonard Spigelgass, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jule Styne.
Contents
Based on both the novel and film versions of Lilies of the Field, it tells the story of a group of German nuns, headed by a determined, dauntless Mother Superior, who manage to get an African American itinerant handyman/jack-of-all-trades named Homer Smith to build a chapel for the New Mexico community in which they live, despite not having money to pay him.
Background
Styne composed his score with Ethel Merman in mind, but director Joshua Logan cast Shirley Booth instead. Sammy Davis, Jr.'s salary demands put him out of the running, and the role of Homer went to Al Freeman, Jr., whom Logan later described as "difficult" and "antagonistic."
Production
The musical premiered on Broadway on March 29, 1970 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where it ran for 25 performances and 31 previews. The musical was the past 70 years old Booth's last, but she garnered unanimous critical raves from the critics. Raymond Bordner wrote: "Miss Booth is simply marvelous all the way, and it is a real treat to see her again on Broadway". Richard Watts, in the New York Post, mentioned "Miss Booth's warm and gracious appeal." They also praised designer Jo Mielziner's use of desert tones, projections, scrims, and lighting to create the atmosphere and mood of the desert Southwest, but found little else of merit in the show.