Golden Boy

Golden Boy (1937), a drama by Clifford Odets. [Belasco Theatre, 250 perf.] Although Joe Bonaparte ( Luther Adler) knows his father ( Morris Carnovsky) wants him to become a violinist, Joe feels the best way out of the slums is with his fists, as a professional fighter. He enjoys some early victories, but when he breaks his hand, doubts about his choice seem resolved. “Hallelujah!! It's the beginning of the world!” he exclaims. But that world quickly turns sour when his girl, Laura ( Frances Farmer), seems to desert him and when he kills a man in the ring. Laura returns to console Joe, and the two drive off, only to be killed in a car crash. One of Odets's least political early plays, “its pungent, flashy story” was marred, according to Brooks Atkinson of the Times, by “an unwillingness to be simple in style.” For all its faults the Group Theatre's production proved popular, and it has been revived frequently, most notably in 1952 with John Garfield. The drama was given a racial retelling in the 1964 musical version of the same title in which Italian Joe Bonaparte became African‐American Joe Wellington ( Sammy Davis Jr.) who strives to get out of the black ghetto and make good through his boxing talents. Odets worked on the libretto, but when he died William Gibson completed it. Charles Strouse (music) and Lee Adams (lyrics) wrote the commendable score, which was atypical of the team with its moody ballads and sly take on racial stereotypes. Hillard Elkins produced Golden Boy at the Majestic Theatre, and Davis's popularity helped it run 569 performances. Notable songs: I Want to Be with You; Night Song; Golden Boy; While the City Sleeps.