Who coined the phrase "There's a sucker born every minute" and was the basis of an American musical?
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Barnum (musical) Barnum is an American musical with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman. It is based on the life of showman P. T. Barnum, covering the period from 1835 through 1880 in America and major cities of the world where Barnum took his performing companies. The production combines elements of traditional musical theater with the spectacle of the circus. The characters include jugglers, trapeze artists and clowns, as well as such real-life personalities as Jenny Lind and General Tom Thumb.
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P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American politician, showman, and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Although Barnum was also an author, publisher, philanthropist, and for some time a politician, he said of himself, "I am a showman by profession...and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me", and his personal aim was "to put money in his own coffers". Barnum is widely, but erroneously, credited with coining the phrase "There's a sucker born every minute".
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Chu Chin Chow Chu Chin Chow is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves". The piece premièred at His Majesty's Theatre in London on 3 August 1916 and ran for five years and a total of 2,238 performances (more than twice as many as any previous musical), an astonishing record that stood for nearly forty years until "Salad Days". The show's first American production in New York, with additional lyrics by Arthur Anderson, played for 208 performances in 1917–1918, starring Tyrone Power. It subsequently had successful seasons elsewhere in America and Australia, including in 1919, 1920, 1921 and 1922.
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Hair (musical) Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of "rock musical", using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-In" finale.
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Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, radio, television and film actor, and violinist. Recognized as a leading American entertainer of the 20th century, Benny portrayed his character as a miser, playing his violin badly. In character, he would claim to be 39 years of age, regardless of his actual age.
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Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964), born Edward Israel Itzkowitz, was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor, and songwriter. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, this "Apostle of Pep" was regarded almost as a family member by millions because his top-rated radio shows revealed intimate stories and amusing anecdotes about his wife Ida and five daughters. Some of his hits include "Makin' Whoopee", "Ida", "Yes! We Have No Bananas", "If You Knew Susie", "Ma! He's Makin' Eyes at Me", "Baby", "Margie", and "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?" He also wrote a few songs, including "Merrily We Roll Along", the "Merrie Melodies" Warner Bros. cartoon theme.
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American Idiot (musical) American Idiot is a sung-through stage adaptation of punk rock band Green Day's rock opera "American Idiot". After a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009, the show moved to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Previews began on March 24, 2010, and the play officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show closed on April 24, 2011, after 422 performances. While Green Day did not appear in the production, vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong performed the role of "St. Jimmy" occasionally throughout the run.
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Baghdaddy Baghdaddy is a satirical musical comedy stage play with music and book by Marshall Paillet, lyrics and book by A.D. Penedo, based on an unproduced screenplay by J.T. Allen, and produced by Charlie Fink. The musical is based on historical events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, and focuses on how the CIA and BND (German intelligence service) provided the Bush administration with a justification for invading Iraq.
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Dream Street (musical) Dream Street was a musical that ran in Las Vegas from 1983 through 1987. Produced by Nancy and Ronnie Horowitz, conceived and written by Mark Donnelly, and choreographed and directed by Steve Merritt, "Dream Street" was a "compilation" musical, made up of well-known songs strung together with a simple narrative. It dealt with the longings and dreams of a group of children whose neighborhood was being gentrified and who were forced to move out.
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South Pacific (musical) South Pacific is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The plot of the musical is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book "Tales of the South Pacific" and combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, would send a strong progressive message on racism.
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Sam Bernard Sam Bernard (born Samuel Barnett, 5 June 1863 – 16 May 1927) was an English-born American vaudeville comedian who also performed in musical theatre, comic opera and burlesque and appeared in a few silent films.
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Liliom Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel".
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Whenever (play) Whenever is a 2000 children's musical play with words Alan Ayckbourn and music by Denis King, that was shown as the Stephen Joseph Theatre's Christmas production. It is loosely derived from "The Wizard of Oz", and it is about a young Victorian girl named Emily to travels back and forth in time to avert a disaster.
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New Line Theatre New Line Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, is an alternative musical theatre company producing challenging, adult, politically and socially relevant works of musical theatre. The company was created in 1991 and produces world premieres such as "Love Kills, Johnny Appleweed, Woman with Pocketbook, She's Hideous, In the Blood, Attempting the Absurd", and "The AmberKlavier"; lesser known Broadway and off Broadway shows such as "High Fidelity, Passing Strange, , The Wild Party, Floyd Collins, A New Brain, March of the Falsettos, Passion, The Robber Bridegroom, The Nervous Set", and ""; abstract musicals such as "Hair, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris", and "Songs for a New World"; absurdist musicals such as "Reefer Madness, Attempting the Absurd, The Cradle Will Rock", and "Anyone Can Whistle"; concept musicals such as "Company", "Assassins", "Urinetown", "Chicago", "Sunday in the Park with George", and "Cabaret"; and reinterpretations of more mainstream works, such as "Evita", "Man of La Mancha", "Camelot", "Pippin", "Sweeney Todd", "Grease", and "Into the Woods".
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Pins and Needles Pins and Needles is an idiom revue with a book by Arthur Arent, Marc Blitzstein, Emmanuel Eisenberg, Charles Friedman, David Gregory, Joseph Schrank, Arnold B. Horwitt, John Latouche, and Harold Rome and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. The title "Pins and Needles" was created by Max Danish, long-time editor of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)'s newspaper "Justice". It ran on Broadway from 1937 to 1940, was revived in 1978, and produced again in London in 2010 to positive reviews. In 2016, the show ran at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York City, where it was produced by the Steinhardt School at New York University. The revue was also performed in 1938 in the White House for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.
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The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is a musical by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell. It is structured into five acts, each of which is a short musical parodying (and paying homage to) the style of an American or British musical theatre composer or composer/lyricist team, all dealing with roughly the same classic melodrama plot: "I can't pay the rent!"
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Walk Along John "Walk Along John", also known as "Oh, Come Along John", is an American song written for the blackface minstrel show stage in 1843. The lyrics of the song are typical of those of the early minstrel show. They are largely nonsense about a black man who boasts about his exploits.
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One and One (musical) One & One is an American 1970s award-winning original off-Broadway musical comedy by Dianne Adams (music and lyrics), Fred Bennett (book), and Richard O'Donnell (book, music and lyrics).
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Funny Girl (musical) Funny Girl is a 1963 musical (opened on Broadway in 1964) with a book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway star, film actress and comedian Fanny Brice featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein. Its original title was "My Man."
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Irene (musical) Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney. Based on Montgomery's play "Irene O'Dare", it is set in New York City's Upper West Side and focuses on immigrant shop assistant Irene O'Dare, who is introduced to Long Island's high society when she is hired by one of its leading "grande dames" to help redecorate her home.
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Silk Stockings Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story "Ninotchka" and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired. It ran on Broadway in 1955. This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.
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Zip Goes a Million Zip Goes a Million is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by George Posford, based on the 1902 novel "Brewster's Millions". It premiered in London in 1951, starring George Formby, and ran for 544 performances.