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Jamaica

October 1957 - April 1959

Book & Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg & Fred Saidy

Music by Harold Arlen

Directed by Robert Lewis

Choreographed by Jack Cole

Stage Managed by Neil C. Hartley, Charles Blackwell, Alan Shayne, & James E. Wall

On the Page

Though its written word was not as political as its writer intended, it gave these artists a platform to perform in a time where “many creative people were forced to do their work underground during this period due to fear of persecution and repercussions from elected government officials'' (Staff writer, jamaicas.com). It's subtle political nature might also have to do with the fact that Harburg was blacklisted from doing work in LA. The story itself was not life changing. Savannah sees a big New York hustler as her chance to escape the island but we quickly see a love triangle evolve when Koi, a lowly fisherman, wins her heart. The structure of the musical itself follows all the “rules”, which is what, I think, gave it success in its time with many Tony nominations and a decent run. I also think having the well known Jamaican club singer, Lena Horne, definitely helped with ticket sales. Especially since the US had such great relationships with Jamaica at the time. In the 1950’s, Jamaica was the hip place for celebrities to vacation in making it the go-to tourist spot. For those New Yorkers that could not afford to fly to Jamaica, they could at least take the train to midtown and imagine themselves on this tropical island for two hours of their day. 

The World Outside the Rehearsal Room

Just a short month after West Side Story opened 5 blocks uptown, another story of dark skinned islanders opened its doors. But the two could not be more different. While West Side Story told a heartbreaking tale of starcrossed lovers torn by the political and racist society they lived in, Jamaica told the story of the beautiful Savannah who dreams of living in New York City to escape the struggles of living in Jamaica with the sound of the beloved Calypso music. This was not the initial vision that E.Y. Harburg had for his show, his initial “script contained sharp attacks against commercialization,  and the exploitation of the non-white islander” (Cohen, The Cultural Critic). But the production’s producer, David Merrick, “suggested” that the script should be revised to be more lighthearted and fun leaning more towards what we know as the golden age musical trope. This left “the revised script …basically [as] a showcase for Horne’s songs” (Cohen, The Cultural Critic). It went so far from Harburg’s original vision, that he refused to attend its opening night.  

In the Rehearsal Room

Thinking about what it might’ve been like to be in that rehearsal room is tricky. I imagine the process of going from a very political show to one that barely glosses over it was difficult for the cast as well as the creatives. I think as the stage manager, you’d have to find the balance between acknowledging the anger that could be in the room because of the ignorance of the struggles of that culture in the play and celebrating the joyous parts of the culture that were highlighted in the revised version. 

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