Johnny Johnson

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Johnny Johnson (1936), a play with music by Paul Green (book, lyrics), Kurt Weill (music). [44th Street Theatre, 68 perf.] While Johnny Johnson ( Russell Collins) is a quiet, dedicated pacifist, he eventually finds himself fighting in World War I, where he is wounded. As an act of protest, he sprays the Allied High Command with laughing gas. The act lands him in a mental institution, where he and his fellow inmates pretend they are great statesmen and establish a League of World Republics. When he is released, Johnny returns home to peddle nonmartial toys in his war‐happy village. Notable songs: Johnny's Song; Song of the Guns; Democracy March. Called by Stanley Green a “daring fusion of music and satiric fantasy,” the Group Theatre production mirrored the widespread pacifist feelings of the 1930s. Weill's first American musical, it was a failure but enjoyed frequent revivals away from Broadway and remained a regular attraction in Iron Curtain countries.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Johnny Johnson." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Johnny Johnson." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-JohnnyJohnson.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Johnny Johnson." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-JohnnyJohnson.html

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