Jamaica is a musical with a book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Harold Arlen. Harburg was blacklisted in Hollywood at the time of the writing of the musical. Set on a small island off the coast of Jamaica, the musical tells about a simple island community fighting to avoid being over-run by American commercialism.
Arlen's music parodies the popular form of Calypso, which was in vogue in the 1950s, largely as a resu...
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Jamaica is a musical with a book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Harold Arlen. Harburg was blacklisted in Hollywood at the time of the writing of the musical. Set on a small island off the coast of Jamaica, the musical tells about a simple island community fighting to avoid being over-run by American commercialism.
Arlen's music parodies the popular form of Calypso, which was in vogue in the 1950s, largely as a result of the popularity of Harry Belafonte, for whom the musical was originally written. Belafonte withdrew from the production due to illness, and the musical was then tailored around the talents of Lena Horne. With Calypso so out of fashion the musical now is dated, but many of the issues raised in its songs, including evolution, nuclear energy, and consumerism, remain topical today.
The Broadway production, directed by Robert Lewis and choreographed by Jack Cole, opened on October 31, 1957 at the Imperial Theatre, produced by David Merrick,...
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