Fiorello!

Fiorello! (1959), a musical by Jerome Weidman, George Abbott (book), Jerry Bock (music), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics). [Broadhurst Theatre, 795 perf.; Pulitzer Prize, Tony, NYDCC Awards.] When Fiorello La Guardia ( Tom Bosley) is told by his loyal secretary, Marie ( Patricia Wilson), and her friend Dora ( Pat Stanley) that a labor organizer, Thea ( Ellen Hanley), has been arrested on trumped‐up charges, he rushes to Thea's defense and berates the corrupt policeman, Floyd ( Mark Dawson), who arrested her. Later, he runs for mayor with the grudging approval of the Republican ward leader, Ben Marino ( Howard da Silva). Meanwhile, Floyd rises in Tammany ranks and befriends Dora, who drifts away from her old crowd. La Guardia marries Thea, who dies during his second campaign and then fires Marie so he can propose to her. But his romances never stop his battles against injustice. Notable songs: Little Tin Box; Politics and Poker; Till Tomorrow; When Did I Fall in Love? Characterized by Walter Kerr of the Herald Tribune as “a song‐and‐dance jamboree with a curious streak of honest journalism and a strong strain of rugged sobriety about it,” the Robert Griffith–Hal Prince production was made especially memorable by Bosley's affectionate portrayal of the mayor. Always a New York kind of show, the musical was quickly forgotten and is revived less than perhaps any other triple award winner.