Lost Musicals revives Flahooley and Cole Porter’s Aladdin

Ian Marshall Fisher‘s 2012 Lost Musicals season will feature concert productions of Flahooley, a forgotten 1951 satire on McCarthyism, and Cole Porter‘s final work – Aladdin at the the Lillian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells in May and August 2012 respectively.

Flahooley boasts lyrics and book co-written by EY Harburg (Finian’s Rainbow, Brother Can You Spare A Dime and the film of The Wizard Of Oz) and Fred Saidy. The music is by Oscar-winner Sammy Fain (Calamity Jane).

The 1951 show, described by Fisher as a “funny, satirical and allegorical fairy tale, with genies, magic lamps and a doll maker,” lampoons McCarthyism and big business. Broadway star Barbara Cook and Preuvian singing legend Yma Sumac both made their Broadway debuts in the original show which ran for just 51 performances.

Flahooley will be performed on Sundays from 13 to 27 May at 4.00pm and Sunday 3 June at 1.45 and 5.30pm.

Magic lamps presumably also feature in Aladdin, written in 1958 for a live US television broadcast. Written by Cole Porter and SJ Perelman, the show starred the unlikely-sounding combination of Basil Rathbone and Sal Mineo and features the song “Come To The Supermarket In Old Peking”.

Aladdin will play Sundays 19 and 26 August at 4.00pm, Saturday 1 September at 2.30 and 5.30pm and Sunday 2 September at 4.00pm.

Fisher’s Lost Musicals series has been presenting neglected works for 17 years. The season strives to rediscover Americas finest theatre writers and composers of Broadway in an authentic way, with no changes to the original material.

Casting for the Lost Musicals season has not yet been announced. The concert-style performances will both have musical direction by Mark Warman.