• Source: The Lieutenant (musical)

      • The Lieutenant is a rock opera with book, music and lyrics by Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman and Chuck Strand. The musical concerns the court martial of Lieutenant William Calley during the Vietnam War and ran on Broadway in 1975.


      Production


      The Lieutenant was originally produced by Queens Playhouse, (Flushing Meadows, New York) in 1974 by Joseph S. Kutrzeba, who started the Playhouse. Alan Eichler was the press representative.
      The original Broadway production of The Lieutenant, directed by William Martin and choreographed by Dennis Dennehy opened at the Lyceum Theatre on March 9, 1975, and closed on March 16, 1975, after nine performances and seven previews. The cast featured Eddie Mekka and was produced by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle.
      The Lieutenant was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Actor in a Musical.
      Producer and Holocaust survivor Joseph Kutrzeba said of the reason he decided to produce The Lieutenant was "The show meant a lot to me on human values. I think the theme is one of cardinal importance to our times: The concept of obedience versus exercising one's own conscience." The Philadelphia Inquirer September 3, 1974
      In 1994 an adaptation of The Lieutenant was performed under the title "...One of the Good Guys" by Israeli actor Meir Vardi and David Bolander at the Sanford Meisner Theatre in New York City.
      The Lieutenant was performed in September 2023 as part of the Off-Broadway York Theatre's Musicals in Mufti series.


      Overview



      The show poses the question: Where does the guilt lie for the My Lai massacre of civilians in 1968 Vietnam? Does it reside solely in the person of The Lieutenant, who gave the order to "waste them"? Or perhaps in the larger military itself, where wars are planned, body counts are calculated, and inconvenient casualties are sometimes scrubbed from the record? Or just maybe the seeds for deeds like My Lai are latent in the very fabric of the human race, and once in a while the perfect storm of events allows for something terrible like this to happen?
      The use of music follows the approach of Brecht, whereby the songs comment on themes and issues of the play.
      In August 2016, Miles Kreuger, president of The Institute for the American Musical in Los Angeles, California, accepted the script, score, libretto, reviews and playbill of The Lieutenant into their archives.


      Original Broadway cast


      Eddie Mekka starred as The Lieutenant.
      Steven Boockvor – Soldier in "C" Company
      Gene Curty – Judge, OCS Sergeant
      Chet D'Elia – First General
      Gordon Grody – Defense Attorney
      Walt Hunter – Captain
      Clark James – Soldier in "C" Company
      Dan Kruger – Soldier in "C" Company
      James "Jim" Litten – Sergeant, Soldier "C" Company, Clergyman and First Reporter
      Donald Rayson McGrath – Chaplain and First Congressman
      Jim-Patrick McMahon – Soldier in "C" Company
      Eugene Moose – Second General
      Joel Powers – Recruiting Sergeant, Senator
      Joseph Pugliese – Soldier in "C" Company
      Burt Rodriguez – Soldier in "C" Company, Second Congressman, Prosecutor
      Alan K. Siegel – New Recruit
      Jo Speros – Sole female, Third Reporter
      Danny Taylor – Third General
      Tom Tofel – G.I., Second Reporter, Soldier in "C" Company


      Musicians


      Mark Cianfrani on Lead Guitar
      John Angelori on Rhythm Guitar
      Alan Bowin on Organ
      Joe DiCarlo on Drums
      James Marino on Bass Guitar
      Chuck Strand on Piano.


      Recording


      The cast album was recorded in 1975 but never officially released.


      Songs


      The Indictment – Lieutenant and Judge
      Join the Army – Lieutenant, Recruiting Sergeant and Recruits
      Look for the Men With Potential – Generals
      Kill – OCS Sergeant
      I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam – Lieutenant and "C" Company
      Eulogy – Chaplain
      At 0700 Tomorrow – Captain and "C" Company
      Massacre – Captain, Lieutenant, "C" Company and Vietnamese
      Something's Gone Wrong – Captain and Lieutenant
      Twenty-Eight – Generals, Captain and Lieutenant
      Let's Believe in the Captain – Generals
      Final Report – First General
      I Will Make Things Happen – G.I.
      He Wants to Put the Army in Jail – Senator, 1st & 2nd Congressmen and Clergyman
      There's No Other Solution – Generals
      I'm Going Home – Lieutenant and "C" Company
      We've Chosen You, Lieutenant – Generals
      The Star of This War – Reporters and Lieutenant
      On Trial for My Life – Lieutenant
      The Conscience of a Nation – Prosecutor
      Damned No Matter How He Turned – Defense Attorney
      On Trial for My Life (Reprise) – Lieutenant
      The Verdict – Judge and Jurors
      Finale – New Recruit, Recruiting Sergeant and Company


      Critical response


      The musical was described by Clive Barnes in his New York Times review as "extremely well staged" a "rock opera", and "it works very well indeed".
      He also mentioned in The Morning News that the Lieutenant is "attractive and supportive" and there is "never a dull moment"
      Ernest Leogrande of the New York News Service felt that "they have two of the essentials for any musical show: telling lyrics and strong melodies".
      The Long Island Press said "If you never see another show, you must see this one"


      Awards and nominations




      = Original Broadway production

      =


      References




      External links


      Internet Broadway Database
      Mental Floss Musicals Featuring US Military
      Musicals 101.com
      New York Magazine - March 10, 1975 Listing
      Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004, John Stewart, McFarland, 2006, ISBN 1476603294 The Lieutenant
      Show Music on Record, Jack Raymond Digital ID loc.natlib.smor.19750309
      Central Opera Service Bulletin, Volume 22, Number 2, page 69
      [Hischack, Thomas S. The Lieutenant Broadway Plays and Musicals Descriptions and Essential Facts of more than 14,000 Shows Through 2007, Thomas S. McFarland, 2009, ISBN 0786453095, p. 256]
      https://www.newspapers.com/image/38333151/
      29th Annual Tony Awards, 1975 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkrcCpJZxng
      Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/item/smor.19750309
      "Shirley I Jest" by Cindy Williams page 98

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