Shinbone Alley (sometimes performed as archy & mehitabel) is a musical with a book by Joe Darion and Mel Brooks, lyrics by Darion, and music by George Kleinsinger. Based on the album Archy and Mehitabel: A Back-Alley Opera, which in turn was based on archy and mehitabel, a series of New York Tribune columns by Don Marquis (illustrated by Krazy Kat author George Herriman), it focuses on poetic cockroach Archy (who wasn't strong enough to depress the typewriter's shift-key), alley cat Mehitabel, and her relationships with theatrical cat Tyrone T. Tattersall and tomcat Big Bill, under the watchful eye of the newspaperman, the voice-over narrator and only human being in the show.
Productions and background The project began in 1954 as a Columbia Records concept album with Marquis' original title, featuring Eddie Bracken, Carol Channing, and David Wayne. That same year a concert version was presented by the Little Orchestra Society at The Town Hall in New York City. With an expanded book, the addition of several lengthy ballet sequences, and a cast of animal characters, the rechristened Shinbone Alley preceded Cats by a couple of decades and was a precursor of the far more successful Andrew Lloyd Webber hit. It was one of the first Broadway shows to feature a fully integrated cast.
The original Shinbone Alley was in Manhattan.
With neither an out-of-town tryout nor a preview period, the Broadway production opened on April 13, 1957, at The Broadway Theatre, and closed on May 25, 1957, after 49 performances. Following "creative differences" with the writers and producers, original director Norman Lloyd requested that his name be removed from the credits. The production was supervised by Sawyer Falk and choreographed by Joe and Rod Alexander, with production design by Eldon Elder, costumes by Motley, and lighting by Tharon Musser. The cast featured Bracken, reprising his role as archy, Eartha Kitt as mehitabel, Erik Rhodes as tyrone, and George S. Irving as big bill. Supporting players included Cathryn Damon, Jacques d'Amboise, Ross Martin, Lillian Hayman, and Allegra Kent. Relative newcomer Chita Rivera was Kitt's standby. The show's sole Tony Award nomination was for Best Costume Design. In lieu of a cast album recorded in a studio, a tape of a live performance was transferred to acetate and released on the Legend label.
In 2005 the musical had its Australian premiere in Melbourne, under the name archy & mehitabel. Produced by Magnormos, it was directed by Aaron Joyner and starred Jane Badler in the role of mehitabel, and Michael Lindner as archy. The "Musicals Tonight!" series presented a staged concert version in November 2006 in New York City. The musical will be presented also under the archy & mehitabel title as part of the 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival on September 19, 2026, starring Jayson Borenstein as archy (who is also producing and directing) and Julia Germer as mehitabel.
Current licensing Licensing and performance rights are being held by Music Theatre International, under the archy & mehitabel title.
Film and TV adaptations On May 16, 1960, an abridged version of the musical was broadcast under the original title archy & mehitabel as part of the syndicated TV anthology series Play of the Week presented by David Susskind. The cast included Bracken, Tammy Grimes, and Jules Munshin."archy and mehitabel" donmarquis.com, retrieved March 18, 2010
Bracken and Channing reunited to provide the voices for the Allied Artists animated feature film in 1971, Shinbone Alley, directed by John David Wilson for Fine Arts Films.
Characters
archy: The cockroach with a soul. Often worrisome to the point of pessimism. Must follow his calling to write. Acts as a sort of protective, father-figure to Mehitabel out of his love for her. mehitabel: The Queen of Shinbone Alley. A free soul who loves life, she is tough and short tempered. Boy crazy but secretly longs to find that one special companion. Big Bill: Tough. Mean. Brave. The one-eyed terror of Shinbone Alley who falls in love with Mehitabel and then leaves her when she is pregnant. Tyrone T. Tattersall: The actor cat. A big ham and true artist who thinks the tradition of theatre and art is dying. Snobbish, pompous, and easily annoyed. The Newspaperman: The narrator of the story and Archy's boss at the newspaper. This unseen character both prompts and provokes Archy. An omniscient voiceover.
Casts +Concept Recording (1954)Concert Debut (1954)Broadway (1957)Television Special (1960)Concert Revival (1969)Australia (2005)Musicals Tonight! (2006)Philadelphia Fringe Festival (2026)archy Eddie Bracken Jonathan AndersonEddie Bracken William Diehl Michael Lindner Lee Zarrett Jayson Borensteinmehitabel Carol Channing Mignon Dunn Eartha Kitt Tammy Grimes Joanna Simon Jane Badler Allyson Tucker Julia GermerBig Bill Percival Dove Richard Sharretts George S. Irving Michael Kermoyan Matt Hetherington Trent Armand Kendall Jordan ChallTyrone T. Tattersall Erik Rhodes Jules Munshin David Gauci Justin Sayre Connor ShieldsThe Newspaperman David Wayne George Kleinsinger Julian Barry Quentin Reynolds Henry Morgan Robert Grubb Kevin NaddeoRusty Cathryn Damon Sondra LeeBroadway Ross Martin
Songs
Original Broadway
Act I Dance of the Cockroach - archy What Do We Care? - mehitabel and Ensemble Toujours Gai - mehitabel Queer Little Creature - mehitabel and archy Big Bill - Big Bill and Girls True Romance - mehitabel and Big Bill The Lightning Bug Song - archy I Gotta Be - Broadway and archy Dog And Cat Ballet - Ensemble Flotsam and Jetsam - archy and mehitabel Come to Mee-ow - Tyrone T. Tattersall Suicide Song - archy Shinbone Alley - Big Bill and Company Act II The Song of the Moth - archy Vacant Lot Ballet - Ensemble A Woman Wouldn't Be A Woman - mehitabel and Ensemble The Lullaby - mehitabel and Girls Mehitabel's A House Cat - archy, Big Bill, Tyrone T. Tattersall Pretty Kitty - mehitabel and Girls Be a Pussycat - mehitabel The Lady Bug Song - Lady Bugs Flotsam and Jetsam (Reprise) - archy and mehitabel Shinbone Alley Finale - Company
Licensed Version
Act I Dance of the Cockroach - archy What Do We Care? - mehitabel and Ensemble Toujours Gai - mehitabel Queer Little Creature - mehitabel and archy The Song of the Bragging Flea - archy True Romance - mehitabel and Big Bill The Lightning Bug Song - archy Flotsam and Jetsam - archy and mehitabel Come to Mee-ow - Tyrone T. Tattersall Suicide Song - archy The Actor Cat - Tyrone T. Tattersall Shakespeare to a Beat - mehitabel and Tyrone T. Tattersall Act II The Lullaby - mehitabel and Girls Pretty Kitty - mehitabel and Girls Quiet Street - archy The Lady Bug Song - Lady Bugs The Song of the Moth - archy Toujors Gai (Reprise) - archy and mehitabel Finale - mehitabel and Company
Awards
Original Broadway Production +YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult1958Tony AwardBest Costume DesignMotley Theatre Design Group
Notes
References Mandelbaum, Ken. Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops. St. Martin's Press (1991), , pp. 301–303
External links