ALL AMERICAN A Musical Comedy in 2 acts, 22 scenes. Book by Mel Brooks; (based on the novel Professor Fodorski by Robert Lewis Taylor. Music by Charles Strouse. Lyrics by Lee Adams. Winter Gardens, Broadway - 19 February , 1962 - (80 perfs) SYNOPSIS The composers of Bye, Bye, Birdie have written another musical: this one set at a small, football-oriented college. Professor Fodorski arrives with other immigrants singing a naturalisation rag with such lines as Make us Hungarians/Into Rotarians/Change us Romanians/To Pennsylvanians. Frantic to please, Professor Fodorski finally reaches his sports minded students by stating his engineering concepts in football terms and, in the course of demonstrating a principle, turns a mousy student drudge named Bricker into a phenomenal kicker. (Your hip is the fulcrum, multiply by the force of the lever, your knee.) The team becomes a sensation, as do Bricker and the astonished Professor. This show makes a comment on education today by putting it in terms of a bright and marvellous musical comedy. This musical has one of the most beautiful love songs ever written for a musical, the haunting Once Upon a Time. STORY Act 1 A group of immigrants arrives via plane in New York (“Melt Us”). Among them is Professor Stanislaus Fodorski, who has accepted a position as Professor of Engineering at a small college. Taking a bus to the campus, he marvels at the panorama passing by (“What a Country!”). He is greeted by the school’s dean, Elizabeth Hawkes-Bullock. Surprised that the dean is a woman, he is even more surprised to learn he will be boarding in a room in her house. An accomplished author, he confesses doubt about his teaching skills, and she admits the school may not be strong academically, but needs more teachers who think of their students as “Our Children”. Two of those students are confined to their respective dorm rooms after Doctor Snoops, Professor of Comparative Religion, catches Ed Bricker climbing the ivy to visit Susan Thompson’s room (“Animal Attraction”). Fodorski’s first engineering class does not go over well with any of the students except Ed, who has always been interested in bridges (“We Speak the Same Language”). The professor’s fears about his teaching skills vanish when he watches his first football game, which he sees as an example of applied engineering (“I Can Teach Them!”). He starts incorporating football strategy into his lessons, and soon all his students are engaged and learning (“It’s Fun to Think”). The admiration between the Dean and the Professor grows, and one evening they reminisce about past romances (“Once Upon a Time”). Less happy is Susan, still confined to her dorm room and unable to join in the “Nightlife” fun on campus, but her mood changes when Ed appears on her balcony trellis. After a short visit, he climbs down the ivy, ecstatic about their growing affection for each other (“I’ve Just Seen Her”), and is almost caught again by Dr. Snoops, but Dean Hawkes-Booth’s sudden arrival allows Ed to slip away unnoticed. Fodorski visits the gym to give a pep talk to Ed and the rest of the football team (“Physical Fitness”). The team’s spirits are high on the day of the game against the school’s rivals (“The Fight Song”), but their performance on the field is terrible. Coach “Hulk” Stockworth is knocked out by a charging player from the other side, and the only one who can take over is Fodorski. Following his advice to think of his legs as a giant lever, Ed kicks a 98-yard field goal, winning the game. Act 2 Professor Fodorski’s sudden rise to fame has been noticed by Henderson, the owner of an advertising company called Exploiters Unlimited. Henderson plots to exploit the professor, make lots of money, then get him deported. Back on campus, the big hero at the Homecoming Ball is Ed “Bricker-the-Kicker”, who
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