Tomfoolery (or Tom Foolery) is a musical revue based on the songs of American satirist Tom Lehrer.
Devised and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, it premiered in London at the Criterion Theatre, directed by Gillian Lynne, on 5 June 1980, where it had a successful run. It subsequently opened on December 14, 1981 Off-Broadway at the Top of the Gate in Greenwich Village, New York, where it ran for 120 performances.Tomfoolery production and plot information www.nodanw.com, accessed December 7, 2008Tomfoolery production and show information mtishows.com, accessed December 7, 2008 The cast included Jonathan Hadary.Rich, Frank. "Tomfoolery, A Revue of Lehrer Lyrics", The New York Times, December 15, 1981 Lehrer himself was brought in as a consultant.
The revue features 28 of Lehrer's satirical songs that were written in the 1950s and 1960s, known for their "witty naughtiness". Stage directions suggest each actor use their own name and wait onstage in a bar area while the others perform.
Two cast recordings have been released, one by the original London cast (Robin Ray, Jonathan Adams, Martin Connor and Tricia George),Tomfoolery 1980 Original cast recording listing on amazon.com www.amazon.com, accessed December 7, 2008 the other much rarer one by the Canadian cast.
Song list
Act 1 Be Prepared Poisoning Pigeons In The Park I Wanna Go Back To Dixie My Home Town Pollution Bright College Days Fight Fiercely, Harvard The Elements The Folk Song Army In Old Mexico She's My Girl When You Are Old And Gray Wernher Von Braun Who's Next? I Got It From Agnes National Brotherhood Week
Act 2 So Long, Mom (A Song For World War III) The Hunting Song The Irish Ballad Smut New Math Silent E George Murphy Oedipus Rex I Hold Your Hand In Mine The Masochism Tango The Old Dope Peddler The Vatican Rag We Will All Go Together When We Go
The following two songs are optional: Send The Marines The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz Piano Conductor Score, Act 1 and Act 2, Tomfoolery (as published by Music Theatre International
References
External links
"TOMFOOLERY" recording