Lerner and Loewe facts for kids
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Lerner and Loewe was a famous team in musical theatre. It was made up of Alan Jay Lerner, who wrote the words (lyrics) and stories (librettos) for songs, and Frederick Loewe, who wrote the music. They worked together for over 30 years, from 1942 to 1972.
This duo created many successful musicals for the stage. Some of their most famous works include My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, and Camelot. They also made the popular musical film Gigi.
Contents
How They Started
Frederick Loewe, also known as "Fritz," grew up in Austria. He was a very talented child pianist. His father was a star in Viennese Operetta, a type of light opera. After moving to New York City, Loewe played piano in German clubs. He also played music for silent films. He had not worked with a partner before meeting Lerner.
Alan Lerner was born in New York City. He went to Harvard University. There, he started writing for college musicals. Early in his career, he worked with Leonard Bernstein. But like Loewe, he did not have a steady partner until they met.
Their First Meeting
In August 1942, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe met. It happened at the Lambs Club in New York City. Lerner was 24 years old, and Loewe was 41. Lerner said they met by chance. Loewe took a wrong turn on his way to the bathroom. He asked Lerner if he wrote lyrics. When Lerner said yes, Loewe asked if he wanted to write with him. They started working together right away.
Early Musicals
Lerner and Loewe quickly began creating musicals. However, their first two shows were not very successful. People today might call them "flops."
Their very first show was Life of the Party in 1942. It played for nine weeks in Detroit. It never made it to Broadway, which is the top level for musicals. Their first show to reach Broadway was What's Up?. It opened in November 1943 and ran for 63 performances. It received some good reviews but did not make a lot of money.
In 1945, they had a small success with The Day Before Spring. This show opened in November and closed in April 1946. Even though it had a short run, a critic from Billboard magazine liked it. The critic called Lerner and Loewe "potential supermen."
Brigadoon
Brigadoon was their first big hit. Loewe and Lerner reportedly tried to get people to invest in their show 50 times. Finally, they found people to help fund the production.
The story of Brigadoon is about two men from New York. They are visiting the highlands of Scotland. There, they find a village that appears only once every 100 years because of magic. The idea for the story came from the tales of James M. Barrie. It also came from Frederick Loewe's belief that "faith can move mountains."
The original Broadway show opened in 1947. It won the Drama Critics Award for Best Musical of the Year. In 1949, Brigadoon opened in London. It has been performed many times since then. A movie version was also made, starring Gene Kelly.
Paint Your Wagon
Lerner and Loewe called Paint Your Wagon a "success, but not a hit." It opened in 1951 and received mixed reviews. The story takes place in California during the Gold Rush. It focuses on a miner father and his daughter.
Two years later, in 1953, the musical opened in London. It ran for almost 500 performances.
Years later, in 1969, Lerner asked Loewe to write new songs for the movie version. Loewe had retired and said no. But he gave Lerner permission to work with Andre Previn on the new songs. Lerner and Loewe had a rule: if one wanted to work with someone else, they had to tell the other. Lerner followed this rule. However, the movie version of Paint Your Wagon was not well-received. The most popular songs from this musical were written by both Lerner and Loewe. These include "I Was Born Under a Wand'rin' Star" and "They Call the Wind Maria."
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady opened on Broadway in 1956. Both Lerner and Loewe wanted to turn George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion into a musical. But at first, they found it very hard. They struggled to make it fit the musical style of the time. This style included big chorus numbers and large ballet scenes.
After many difficult work sessions, they gave up on the project. Even Oscar Hammerstein II, who had also tried to adapt the play, had failed.
During their break from My Fair Lady, Lerner worked on another musical. One day, he remembered Pygmalion. This happened when he heard about the death of Gabriel Pascal. Pascal was the film producer who first brought the idea to them.
By 1954, the "rules" for musical theater had changed. It was no longer necessary to have a side story or a huge cast. So, Lerner and Loewe decided to work on Pygmalion again.
Their main goal was to honor the original play. They also wanted to create songs that showed what the characters were feeling inside. They tried many songs and threw out ones that did not work. They spent long hours at the piano. They talked a lot about what they wanted to achieve in each moment of the musical.
Lerner said that Loewe would often get into a dream-like state at the piano. He would play until they found a musical moment they both loved.
Just before the first performances, they finally chose a name for the musical. Loewe wanted to call it "Fanfaroon." But Lerner thought it sounded too much like Brigadoon. In the end, they picked My Fair Lady because they disliked it the least among their choices.
The year it opened, My Fair Lady won six Tony Awards. It also won the Theatre World Award. It set a record for being the longest-running Broadway musical at that time. It has been performed many times since then.
Gigi
Four years after My Fair Lady opened, Lerner wanted to work with Loewe on a film. Loewe first said no because it was not for the stage. But he changed his mind after reading the script.
While in Paris getting ready to film, Lerner bought a blue Rolls-Royce. He convinced Loewe to buy a grey one in less than five minutes. The first showing of Gigi to an audience did not go well. Because of the reactions and their own unhappiness, Lerner and Loewe rewrote and re-shot parts of the film. This cost them $300,000.
However, these changes were very well-received. Gigi won nine Academy Awards. At that time, it held the record for the most Oscars won by a single film.
Camelot
Like Pygmalion, the idea for Camelot came from a book. This time, it was T.H. White's The Once and Future King. Loewe was harder to convince that it would be popular. But he eventually agreed.
Camelot was a very difficult show for them to create. The first preview performance lasted four and a half hours. The director, Moss Hart, had a heart attack during previews. This forced Lerner to take over as director. It also caused some tension between Lerner and Loewe.
At first, it was hard for Camelot to become popular. But the cast appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. This brought the show great success. Camelot ended up making over seven figures in profit.
Loewe had told Lerner that Camelot would be his last show before retiring. He kept his word and stopped working with Lerner after this.
Their Working Style
Lerner said that Loewe's patience was very important to their partnership. Lerner's creative process could take a few hours or a few weeks. But he never felt rushed by Loewe. Loewe did not need as much time to write music. However, he was often unsure about his choices. Lerner was able to give him confidence.
They both liked to work early in the morning. Lerner especially believed his best writing happened right after he woke up.
Their personalities were very different. Lerner was younger and grew up in New York. He was eager, spoke quickly, and moved fast. Loewe was older and grew up in Austria. He was more experienced and sometimes cynical. But they understood each other well. They developed a very deep friendship.
Their Last Project
Their final project together was the 1974 musical film The Little Prince. A reviewer wrote that the music was enjoyable. However, it was not their best work. The reviewer also felt the music's style often did not fit the story.
Lerner said this about Loewe:
"There will never be another Fritz... Writing will never again be as much fun. A collaboration as intense as ours inescapably had to be complex. But I loved him more than I understood or misunderstood him and I know he loved me more than he understood or misunderstood me."
In The New York Times obituary for Loewe, it was written that Lerner described their working relationship as pleasant and respectful.
Musicals They Created
- Life of the Party (1942)
- What's Up? (1943)
- The Day Before Spring (1945)
- Brigadoon (1947)
- Paint Your Wagon (1951)
- My Fair Lady (1956)
- Camelot (1960)
- Gigi (1973) – a stage version made from the film
Films and Movie Versions
- Brigadoon (1954)
- Gigi (1958)
- My Fair Lady (1964)
- Camelot (1967)
- Paint Your Wagon (1969)
- The Little Prince (1974)
