Fiorello! is an American musical comedy that won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The prize was awarded to all four of the show’s creators, Jerry Bock (music), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics), and Jerome Weidman and George Abbott (book). Abbot also directed the show. Peter Gennaro was the choreographer (creator of dances). Fiorello! opened on Nov. 23, 1959, and ran for 795 performances.
Fiorello! is the biography of Fiorello La Guardia, the popular mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. However, the story covers only La Guardia’s early life from 1914 to 1933, when he was elected mayor. The musical opens with La Guardia as a young New York lawyer and follows him through his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1916. The story continues with his service as a member of the United States Army Air Corps in 1917 during World War I, his unsuccessful first run for mayor in 1921, and his successful second run in 1933. The story also explores La Guardia’s personal life, especially his two marriages.
The American actor Tom Bosley made his Broadway debut as the fiery, chubby La Guardia. Patricia Wilson and Ellen Hanley played his two wives. The score featured a pair of songs that satirized corrupt politics in New York City, “The Little Tin Box” and “Politics and Poker.” The score also included two love songs, “’Til Tomorrow” and “When Did I Fall in Love?”
See also Abbott, George; La Guardia, Fiorello Henry.
