Editing Knickerbocker Holiday

{{Short description|1938 musical}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox musical
|name= Knickerbocker Holiday
|subtitle=
|image= Knickerbocker poster.jpg
|caption= Poster for original Broadway production
|music= [[Kurt Weill]]
|lyrics= [[Maxwell Anderson]]
|book= Maxwell Anderson
|basis= [[Washington Irving]]'s<br />''Father Knickerbocker's Stories''
|productions= 1938 – 1939 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]<br />[[Knickerbocker Holiday (film)|1944 Film]]
<!-- Please do not include production-specific (acting, directing, etc.) awards -->
|awards= 
}}

'''''Knickerbocker Holiday''''' is a 1938 [[musical theatre|musical]] written by [[Kurt Weill]] (music) and [[Maxwell Anderson]] (book and lyrics); based loosely on  [[Washington Irving]]'s  ''[[A History of New York|Knickerbocker's History of New York]]'' about life in 17th-century New Netherland (old New York). The musical numbers include "[[September Song]]", now considered a [[Traditional pop|pop standard]].

[[File:Walter Huston – Knickerbocker Holiday.png|thumb|Walter Huston as Peter Stuyvesant in ''Knickerbocker Holiday'']]

== History ==
''Knickerbocker Holiday'' is both a romantic comedy and a thinly veiled [[allegory]] equating the [[New Deal]] of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] with [[fascism]]. (A Roosevelt ancestor is one of the characters on the corrupt [[New Amsterdam]] council in the play.) Playwright Anderson believed that government was necessary in society, but that it must always be watched because it is swayed by the self-interests of those in power. He saw FDR's New Deal as an American version of the corporatism and concentration of political power which had given rise to [[Nazism]] and [[Stalinism]].

== Plot summary ==
The action is narrated by 19th-century author Washington Irving, who announces his intent to write a history of the original Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. The story opens in Manhattan in 1647, where the colony awaits the arrival of its new Governor from Holland, Peter Stuyvesant. Irving selects the young Brom Broeck as his hero. Broeck is a brave but impulsive fellow who becomes enraged if anyone tries to give him orders. The narrator and his character reflect that this independent streak is characteristic of American citizens.

Brom is in love with Tina Tienhoven, whose father heads the corrupt town council. Brom knows that Tienhoven is selling brandy and firearms to the Indians—a criminal offense. Tienhoven, with the support of his cronies, arranges to have Brom convicted and hanged. Brom survives by putting the noose around his waist instead of his neck just as Stuyvesant arrives on the scene. Impressed by the young man's ingenuity, the Governor pardons him.

Stuyvesant plans to marry Tina and to declare war as his first official act of governance. After many mishaps and recriminations, all ends happily when the narrator reminds Stuyvesant that history will not remember him kindly if he persists in his dictatorial actions. Brom and Tina are free to marry, and the musical ends as Stuyvesant reflects that perhaps he will make a good American, given his own independence and resistance to authority.

==Productions==
The musical premiered on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]] on October 19, 1938 and closed on March 11, 1939 after 168 performances. It was produced by the [[Playwrights' Company]] and directed by [[Joshua Logan]]. The original production starred [[Walter Huston]] (as Peter Stuyvesant), [[Richard Kollmar]] (as Brom Broeck), [[Jeanne Madden]] (as Tina), [[Ray Middleton (actor)|Ray Middleton]] (as Washington Irving), and [[Mark Smith (actor, born 1887)|Mark Smith]] (as Tienhoven).<ref>[http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=11587 "Internet Broadway Database" ibdb.com, accessed March 9, 2013]</ref> [[Burgess Meredith]], a friend of Weill's, was originally set to play the romantic young lead Brom Broek, but he left when he saw the villainous [[Peter Stuyvesant]] character growing into a more and more lovable and important role, upstaging his. {{citation needed|date=January 2014}}

Burt Lancaster starred in a revival production of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center, L.A in June, 1971. The cast also included Anita Gillette, David Holliday and Jack Collins.

The musical premiered in Germany on September 25, 1976, at the [[Thalia Theater (Hamburg)|Thalia Theater]] in Hamburg.

Light Opera Works of Evanston, IL mounted a major revival of the work in December 1992 with artistic direction by Philip Kraus, stage direction by Seth Reines and conducted by Peter Lipari.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.light-opera-works.org/repertoire.php |publisher=Light Opera Works |title=Repertoire 1981–2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422141359/http://www.light-opera-works.org/repertoire.php |archive-date=April 22, 2012 }}</ref>

''Knickerbocker Holiday'' made its Canadian premiere on February 20, 2009 at the Jane Mallet Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto, Ontario. It was produced by the Toronto Operetta Theatre, under the direction of Guillermo Silva-Marin. This production featured Curtis Sullivan as Washington Irving, Dale Miller as Brom Broeck, Amy Wallis as Tina Tienhoven, David Ludwig as Governor Peter Stuyvesant and Rejean Cournoyer as Roosevelt. It also featured Jeffery Sanders as Schermerhorn, Greg Finney as Vanderbilt and Ford Roberts as Mr. Tienhoven. It was directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin, musically directed and conducted by David Speers, and featured the TOT Orchestra and vocal ensemble.

In June 2009, ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' was presented by the [[York Theatre]]'s "Musicals in Mufti" in a staged concert. Directed by Michael Unger, the cast featured [[Josh Grisetti]] as Washington Irving, Nick Gaswirth as Brom, [[Kelli Barrett]] as Tina, [[Martin Vidnovic]] as Stuyvesant, William Parry as Roosevelt, and Walter Charles as Tienhoven.<ref>Feingold, Michael. [http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-07-08/theater/kurt-weill-and-maxwell-anderson-cooked-some-great-burghers-for-knickerbocker-holiday/#  "Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson Cooked Some Great Burghers For 'Knickerbocker Holiday'"] ''The Village Voice'', July 8, 2009</ref><ref>Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/130563-Mufti-Knickerbocker-Holiday-Begins-Weekend-Run-June-26  Mufti Knickerbocker Holiday Begins Weekend Run June 26"] playbill.com, June 26, 2009</ref>

The Collegiate Chorale at [[Alice Tully Hall]], New York City, presented a concert version on January 25–26, 2011, with [[Kelli O'Hara]], [[Victor Garber]], [[Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)|Christopher Fitzgerald]], Ben Davis, [[Bryce Pinkham]] and David Garrison, and the [[American Symphony Orchestra]] and a chorus of 65.<ref>Asch, Amy.  [http://www.playbill.com/features/article/146928-A-Long-Long-Weill-Knickerbocker-Holiday-Gets-a-Starry-NYC-Revival "A Long, Long "Weill": 'Knickerbocker Holiday' Gets a Starry NYC Revival"]  playbill.com, January 24, 2011</ref>  A recording of this performance was released on CD in June 2011 by Sh-k-boom Records.<ref>[http://www.kwf.org/component/content/article/13-lead-story/16-special-announcement.html "First Full Recording of ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' Now Available"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809072851/http://www.kwf.org/component/content/article/13-lead-story/16-special-announcement.html |date=2011-08-09 }}. The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, June 28, 2011</ref>

==Film version==
{{Main|Knickerbocker Holiday (film)}}
The 1944 film version, written by [[Thomas L. Lennon]], starring [[Nelson Eddy]] as Broeck, [[Constance Dowling]] as Tina, and [[Charles Coburn]] as Stuyvesant, not only removed most of the songs and added new ones not by Weill and Anderson, but watered down the political allegory considerably, having been released during [[World War II]].

==Trivia==
In "Previews", the Season 1/Episode 14 of the TV series ''[[Smash (TV series)|Smash]]'', the character of producer Eileen Rand sings a version of "September Song". [[Anjelica Huston]], who played Eileen Rand, is the granddaughter of Walter Huston, who introduced  the song in the original production of ''Knickerbocker Holiday''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/anjelica-huston-on-her-smash-singing-debut-and-an-audition-debacle/?_r=0|title=Anjelica Huston Performs 'September Song' in Her 'Smash' Singing Debut|first=Dave|last=Itzkoff|date=3 May 2012 }}</ref>

==Songs== 
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Act I
* "Clackety-Clack" – Washington Irving and Girls
* "It's a Law" – Tienhoven and Council
* "There's Nowhere to Go But Up" – Brom Broeck, Tenpin and Ensemble
* "It Never Was You" – Brom Broeck and Tina Tienhoven
* "How Can You Tell an American?" – Brom Broeck and Washington Irving
* "Will You Remember Me?" – Brom Broeck, Tina Tienhoven and Ensemble
* "One Touch of Alchemy" – Pieter Stuyvesant and Ensemble
* "The One Indispensable Man" – Pieter Stuyvesant and Tienhoven
* "Young People Think About Love" – Tienhoven, Brom Broeck and Ensemble
* "[[September Song]]" – Pieter Stuyvesant
{{Col-break}}
;Act II
* "Ballad of the Robbers" – Washington Irving
* "We Are Cut in Twain" – Brom Broeck and Tina Tienhoven
* "There's Nowhere to Go But Up (Reprise)" – Washington Irving
* "To War!" – Pieter Stuyvesant, Council and Male Ensemble
* "Our Ancient Liberties" – Tienhoven, Anthony Corlear and Council
* "Romance and Musketeer" – Ensemble
* "The Scars" – Pieter Stuyvesant and Ensemble
* "Dirge for a Soldier" – Ensemble
* "Ve Vouldn't Gonto Do It" – Ensemble
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Knickerbocker_Holiday.ogg|date=2019-8-19}}
* {{ibdb title|11587}}
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q21527791|title=Knickerbocker Holiday}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101227075921/http://rnh.com/show_detail.asp?id=KH Knickerbocker Holiday production, songs, and writer's note at rnh.com]
*[https://archive.org/download/TheaterGuildontheAir/Tgoa_45-12-30_ep017-Knickerbocker_Holiday.mp3 1945 ''Theatre Guild on the Air'' radio adaptation] at [[Internet Archive]]

{{Kurt Weill}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1938 musicals]]
[[Category:Adaptations of works by Washington Irving]]
[[Category:Broadway musicals]]
[[Category:Musicals based on short fiction]]
[[Category:Musicals by Kurt Weill]]
[[Category:Musicals set in New York City]]