The Lieutenant is a rock opera with book, music and lyrics by Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman and Chuck Strand. The musical concerns the court martial of Lieutenant William Calley during the Vietnam War and ran on Broadway in 1975.
Production The Lieutenant was originally produced by Queens Playhouse, (Flushing Meadows, New York) in 1974 by Joseph S. Kutrzeba, who started the Playhouse."Tony‐Award Nominee From Queens" The New York Times, April 6, 1975"Obituary Joseph S. Kutrzeba" legacy.com (from New York Times, February 3, 2013), accessed September 30, 2016 Alan Eichler was the press representative.The Lieutenant ibdb.com
The original Broadway production of The Lieutenant, directed by William Martin and choreographed by Dennis Dennehy opened at the Lyceum Theatre on March 9, 1975, and closed on March 16, 1975, after nine performances and seven previews.The Lieutenant Broadway Playbill (vault), accessed September 29, 2016 The cast featured Eddie Mekka and was produced by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle.
The Lieutenant was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Actor in a Musical.
Producer and Holocaust survivor Joseph Kutrzeba said of the reason he decided to produce The Lieutenant was "The show meant a lot to me on human values. I think the theme is one of cardinal importance to our times: The concept of obedience versus exercising one's own conscience." The Philadelphia Inquirer September 3, 1974
In 1994 an adaptation of The Lieutenant was performed under the title "...One of the Good Guys" by Israeli actor Meir Vardi and David Bolander at the Sanford Meisner Theatre in New York City."Off Off Broadway Listing", New York Magazine, January 3, 1994, p. 80
The Lieutenant was performed in September 2023 as part of the Off-Broadway York Theatre's Musicals in Mufti series.
Overview
The show poses the question: Where does the guilt lie for the My Lai massacre of civilians in 1968 Vietnam? Does it reside solely in the person of The Lieutenant, who gave the order to "waste them"? Or perhaps in the larger military itself, where wars are planned, body counts are calculated, and inconvenient casualties are sometimes scrubbed from the record? Or just maybe the seeds for deeds like My Lai are latent in the very fabric of the human race, and once in a while the perfect storm of events allows for something terrible like this to happen?
The use of music follows the approach of Brecht, whereby the songs comment on themes and issues of the play.
In August 2016, Miles Kreuger, president of The Institute for the American Musical in Los Angeles, California, accepted the script, score, libretto, reviews and playbill of The Lieutenant into their archives.
Original Broadway cast Eddie Mekka starred as The Lieutenant. Steven Boockvor – Soldier in "C" Company Gene Curty – Judge, OCS Sergeant Chet D'Elia – First General Gordon Grody – Defense Attorney Walt Hunter – Captain Clark James – Soldier in "C" Company Dan Kruger – Soldier in "C" Company James "Jim" Litten – Sergeant, Soldier "C" Company, Clergyman and First Reporter Donald Rayson McGrath – Chaplain and First Congressman Jim-Patrick McMahon – Soldier in "C" Company Eugene Moose – Second General Joel Powers – Recruiting Sergeant, Senator Joseph Pugliese – Soldier in "C" Company Burt Rodriguez – Soldier in "C" Company, Second Congressman, Prosecutor Alan K. Siegel – New Recruit Jo Speros – Sole female, Third Reporter Danny Taylor – Third General Tom Tofel – G.I., Second Reporter, Soldier in "C" Company
Musicians Mark Cianfrani on Lead Guitar John Angelori on Rhythm Guitar Alan Bowin on Organ Joe DiCarlo on Drums James Marino on Bass Guitar Chuck Strand on Piano.
Recording The cast album was recorded in 1975 but never officially released.Cast Recording castalbums.org
Songs The Indictment – Lieutenant and Judge Join the Army – Lieutenant, Recruiting Sergeant and Recruits Look for the Men With Potential – Generals Kill – OCS Sergeant I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam – Lieutenant and "C" Company Eulogy – Chaplain At 0700 Tomorrow – Captain and "C" Company Massacre – Captain, Lieutenant, "C" Company and Vietnamese Something's Gone Wrong – Captain and Lieutenant Twenty-Eight – Generals, Captain and Lieutenant Let's Believe in the Captain – Generals Final Report – First General I Will Make Things Happen – G.I. He Wants to Put the Army in Jail – Senator, 1st & 2nd Congressmen and Clergyman There's No Other Solution – Generals I'm Going Home – Lieutenant and "C" Company We've Chosen You, Lieutenant – Generals The Star of This War – Reporters and Lieutenant On Trial for My Life – Lieutenant The Conscience of a Nation – Prosecutor Damned No Matter How He Turned – Defense Attorney On Trial for My Life (Reprise) – Lieutenant The Verdict – Judge and Jurors Finale – New Recruit, Recruiting Sergeant and Company
Critical response The musical was described by Clive Barnes in his New York Times review as "extremely well staged" a "rock opera", and "it works very well indeed".Barnes, Clive. "‘Lieutenant’, Musical With Something Worth Singing" The New York Times, March 10, 1975
He also mentioned in The Morning News that the Lieutenant is "attractive and supportive" and there is "never a dull moment" The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) Tuesday, March 11, 1975 Page 2
Ernest Leogrande of the New York News Service felt that "they have two of the essentials for any musical show: telling lyrics and strong melodies".Philadelphia Inquirer, September 3, 1974 page 22
The Long Island Press said "If you never see another show, you must see this one" Barnard Bulletin, March 3, 1975
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production Year Award Category Nominee Result 1975 Tony Award Best Musical Best Book of a Musical Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman and Chuck Strand Best Original Score Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Eddie Mekka Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical Outstanding Music and Lyrics Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman and Chuck Strand Outstanding Actor in a Musical Eddie Mekka Outstanding Director of a Musical William Martin Outstanding Choreography Dennis Dennehy
References
External links Internet Broadway Database Mental Floss Musicals Featuring US Military Musicals 101.com New York Magazine - March 10, 1975 Listing Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004, John Stewart, McFarland, 2006, The Lieutenant Show Music on Record, Jack Raymond Digital ID loc.natlib.smor.19750309 Central Opera Service Bulletin, Volume 22, Number 2, page 69 [Hischack, Thomas S. The Lieutenant Broadway Plays and Musicals Descriptions and Essential Facts of more than 14,000 Shows Through 2007, Thomas S. McFarland, 2009, , p. 256] https://www.newspapers.com/image/38333151/ 29th Annual Tony Awards, 1975 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkrcCpJZxng Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/item/smor.19750309 "Shirley I Jest" by Cindy Williams page 98