Kismet

Book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davies: based on a play by Edward Knoblock: Music and Lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest from the themes of Alexander Borodin

Ziegfeld Theatre, Broadway - 3 December, 1953 (583 perfs)
Stoll Theatre, London, 20 April, 1955 (648 perfs)

Synopsis:

A day in the life of a glib-tongued street poet in old Baghdad. He accidentally inherits the city's most lucrative begging site, is captured by brigands from whom he tricks a small fortune in gold, hands most of it to his beloved daughter to spend on baubles, bangles and beads, purchases slave-girls and bids for a palace, gets arrested for theft and condemned to have his right hand lopped off, briefly reconciles an erring father and a hard-hearted son, thus winning a reprieve-and the lustful affection of the shapely wife of the Wazir of Police-undertakes to prevent the marriage of a love-sick Caliph, no less, and finally murders the aforementioned Wazir. Since he finds himself about to become the Caliph's father-in-law, he pronounces the only fitting sentence for such a crime, and is banished to a lonely oasis with Lalume, the Wazir's recent, willing widow, to spend the rest of his days compensating for her deprivation. For a street poet in old Baghdad, some days were like that.

For the Chorus

An exciting and dynamic score includes a fair amount of chorus work demanding careful rehearsal. There is enough work to keep dancers happily busy, and there is colourful crowd work throughout. The chorus appear as muezzins, beggars, worshippers at a mosque, citizens of Baghdad, brigands, tribesmen and shoppers, street-market hawkers, policemen, slaves and slave-masters, Asiatic maidens, merchants, members of the Wazir's household, officials, guards, prosecutors and prosecuted, and women of the harem.

Singing Principals

Marsinah, the poet's daughter
Lalume.
An Ayah to Princess Zubbediya.
The Poet.
The Caliph.
The Wazir.
The Bangle Man.

Straight Roles

Omar, another poet.
Jawan, a bandit.

Smaller Roles

Three Princesses of Ababu,
Princess Zubbediya of Damascus,
Princess Samaris of Bangalore,
auditionees for the hand of the Caliph.
Widow Yussef.
Several 2/3 line roles, some including short singing solos.

The Edwin Lester production of KISMET was first presented by Charles Lederer at the Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City, on December 3, 1953, the first London performance was at the Stoll Theatre on April 2o, 1955.

Cast:

MUEZZINS … LEE KENTON, LOUIS HENRY, EMLYN LEWIS, TOM SWIFT
DOORMAN … COLIN THOMAS
FIRST BEGGAR … COLIN CUNNINGHAM
SECOND BEGGAR … HUMPHREY HEATHCOTE
THIRD BEGGAR … DAVID DULAK
DERVISHES … RAYMOND RAY, JOHN BLYSDAEL
OMAR … DONALD ECCLES
A PUBLIC POET, later called HADJ … ALFRED DRAKE
MARSINAH, his daughter … DORETTA MORROW
TAMAN J … OSEPH SEALEY
HASSAN-BEN … ALISTER WILLIAMSON
JAWAN … STANLEY VAN BEERS
STREET DANCER … JOSEPHINE BLAKE
AKBAR … MALCOLM GODDARD
ASSIZ … NIGEL BURKE
THE BANGLEMAN … COLIN THOMAS
CHIEF POLICEMAN … HUMPHREY HEATHCOTE
SECOND POLICEMAN … ALISTER WILLIAMSON
THIRD POLICEMAN … JOSEPH SEALEY
THE WAZIR OF POLICE … PAUL WHITSUN-JONES
WAZIR'S GUARDS … KEN RICHMOND, GEORGE SWALES
LALUME … JOAN DIENER
ATTENDANTS … GORDON PETRIE, HARRY BAIRD
SERVANT … COLIN CUNNINGHAM
THE PRINCESSES OF ABABU … SHEILA O'NEILL, MURIEL ALI, DOREEN RIDER
THE CALIPH … PETER GRANT
SLAVE GIRLS … JUDITH SHERGOLD, PAMELA BUTLER, SHEILA BRADLEY, OLGA ROMAN
A PEDDLER … COLIN CUNNINGHAM
PRINCESS ZUBBEDIYA OF DAMASCUS … CLAIRE WARNER
AVAH TO ZUBBEDIYA … JUNE GRANT
PRINCESS SAMARIS OF BANGALORE
AYAH TO SAMARIS … BARBARA ALLARD
STREET WOMEN … ANNE MARTIN, JANE WALKER
THE WIDOW YUSSEF … BARBARA ULRIC
EXECUTIONER … ROBERT GARCIA

SINGERS: Janet Yorke, Jane Walker, Gloria Wenlock, Mary Burgess, Barbara Allard, Barbara Ulric, Anne Martin, Ruth Silvester, Frank Olegario, Alister William-son, Joseph Sealey, George Slack, Emlyn Lewis, Louis Henry, Robert Garcia, James Phillips, George Kazanzi, Lee Kenton, Tom Swift.

DANCERS : Josephine Blake, Juliet Prowse, Norma Dunbar, Ann Tyrell, Sally Webb, Maureen Sims, Elizabeth Wright, Margaret Kovac, Ann Thomas, Malcolm Goddard, Nigel Burke, John Blysdael, Raymond Ray

Scenes and Settings

Act I

The steps of the Mosque.
Desert Encampment.
The Bazaar of Caravans.
A side street (front drop).
Widow Yussef's garden.
A street (front gauze).
The Wazir's throne room

Act II

Along the route of the Caliph's procession.
The garden.
Ante-room of the Wazir's harem.
A terrace, atop the harem.
Anteroom to the harem.
Hall of the Caliph's palace

Orchestration

Piano, Violin A-C, Violin B-D, Viola, Cello, Bass, Flute, Oboe, lst and 2nd Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, 2 Horns. 3 Trumpets, 1st and 2nd Trombones, Tuba, 2 Percussion, Harp

Musical Numbers:

ACT ONE

OVERTURE and SANDS OF TIME - Imam and Muezzins
RHYMES HAVE I - Hadj with Marsinah
FATE - Hadj
THE HAND OF FATE
FATE—REPRISE
BAZAAR OF THE CARAVANS - Bangleman, Townswomen and Townsmen
ENTRANCE OF LALUME
ABABU DANCE I
NOT SINCE NINEVEH - Lalume
NOT SINCE NINEVEH—DANCE - with Townspeople
EXIT AFTER NINEVEH and STOLEN ORANGES
BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BEADS - Marsinah, Bangle Man, Merchants, Silk Merchants, Caliph, Townspeople
THE POET AND THE SLAVE GIRLS
SLAVE GIRL - Lute Solo
THE POETS ARREST—PARADISE GARDEN
STRANGER IN PARADISE - Marsinah, Caliph
THE ABABUS GO SHOPPING
HE'S IN LOVE - Policemen
THE WAZIR'S PALACE
THE WAZIR'S COUNCIL
GESTICULATE - Wazir, Lalume, Hadj, Council
THE CALIPHS NEWS - 3 Fanfares
FATE—FINALE ACT I - Company

ACT TWO

ENTR'ACTE
NIGHT OF MY NIGHTS - Caliph, Chorus
STRANGER IN PARADISE—REPRISE - Marsinah
BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BEADS—REPRISE - Caliph
HE'S IN LOVE—REPRISE -Entourage and Omar
THE EMPTY LITTER and THE WAZIR'S SPIES - Entourage and Caliph
WAS I WAZIR? - Wazir
RAHADLAKUM - Lalumewith Hadj
AND THIS IS MY BELOVED - Hadj, Marsinah, Wazir, Caliph
THE POETS MEET
THE OLIVE TREE - Hadj
THE WAZIR'S WEDDING
THE CALIPHS DIWAN
ZUBBEDIYA - Ayah, Male Guests
SAMARIS' DANCE
ABABU DANCE II
FROM THE RUBAIYAT
THE WAZIR IS DEAD
FINALE ACT II - Company