Oh, Captain!

There was talk of adapting the movie into a musical as early as 1955.{{cite news |title=GUINNESS' SKIPPER MAY WOO TO MUSIC: Danny Kaye Sought to Star in Theatre Guild Production of 'Captain's Paradise' |first=Sam |last=Zolotow |date=February 11, 1955 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/02/11/archives/guinness-skipper-may-woo-to-music-danny-kaye-sought-to-star-in.html?searchResultPosition=1 |page=20 |url-access=subscription}} Danny Kaye was mentioned as a possible star and Lindsay and Crouse as possible adaptors.{{cite news |title=Broadway Debut For 'Samarkand': Symbolic Melodrama Bows at Morosco Tonight After a Series of Setbacks |first=Sam |last=Zolotow |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/02/16/archives/broadway-debut-for-samarkand-symbolic-melodrama-bows-at-morosco.html?searchResultPosition=1 |date=February 16, 1955 |page=25 |url-access=subscription}} Later Bob Merrill was offered the job as composer and David Wayne was mooted as a possible star.{{cite news |title=Comedy Booked At Helen Hayes: 'Goodbye Again' to Open at Theatre April 24--Donald Cook Starred in Revival Bob Merrill Has 4 Bids Fashion Note |first=Sam |last=Zolotow |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/03/16/archives/comedy-booked-at-helen-hayes-goodbye-again-to-open-at-theatre-april.html?searchResultPosition=2 |date=March 16, 1956 |page=20 |url-access=subscription}}

Oh, Captain! opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) on February 4, 1958, and closed on July 19, 1958, after 192 performances. The musical was directed by José Ferrer, with set and lighting design by Jo Mielziner, costumes by Miles White, hair design by Ernest Adler, dances and musical numbers created by James Starbuck, and musical director Jay Blackton. The original cast included Tony Randall as Captain Henry St. James, Abbe Lane, Susan Johnson, Jackie McKeever, Edward Platt, Paul Valentine, and Stanley Carlson.

Abbe Lane was under contract to a rival studio, which refused to allow her to record the original cast album. Her songs were recorded by Eileen Rodgers. Lane did record two of her numbers on one of her subsequent solo albums. Hollywood musical star Dorothy Lamour made her Broadway debut when she replaced Lane for the last week of the Broadway run in July 1958.

Ram's Head, the Stanford theatrical society, produced the show in 1962, starring Laurence Guittard.[http://www.stanford.edu/group/rams-head/cgi-bin/new.php?page=archives&show=sprshow "Ram's Head Stanford"]www.stanford.edu/group/rams-head. Retrieved July 17, 2013. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625121123/http://www.stanford.edu/group/rams-head/cgi-bin/new.php?page=archives&show=sprshow |date=June 25, 2013 }}[http://www.42ndstmoon.org/oh-captain "'Oh, Captain!', 2003"]. 42ndstmoon.org. Retrieved July 17, 2013.

42nd Street Moon (San Francisco) presented it in a staged concert in 2003.

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; Act I

• "A Very Proper Town" – Captain Henry St. James and the Company
• "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Gives Him Simple Joys)" – Mrs. Maud St. James and Captain Henry St. James
• "A Very Proper Week" – The English Townspeople
• "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Leads Him Down to the Sea)" – Captain Henry St. James, Enrico Manzoni and the Crew
• "Captain Henry St. James" – The Crew of the S.S. Paradise
• "The Dock Dance" – The Dockworkers
• "Three Paradises" – Captain Henry St. James
• "Surprise" – Mrs. Maud St. James and the Neighbors
• "Life Does a Man a Favor (When it Puts Him in Paree)" – Captain Henry St. James
• "Hey Madame" – Captain Henry St. James and Lisa
• "Femininity" – Bobo
• "It's Never Quite the Same" – Enrico Manzoni and the Crew
• "It's Never Quite the Same" (Reprise) – Mrs. Maud St. James, Enrico Manzoni and the Crew
• "We're Not Children" – Mrs. Maud St. James and the Spaniard
• "Give it All You Got" – Mae and the Tourists
• "Love is Hell" – Mae and the Ladies of the Ensemble
• "Keep It Simple" – Bobo and Her Dancing Companions

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; Act II

• "The Morning Music of Montmartre" – Mae and the People of Montmartre
• "You Don't Know Him" – Bobo and Mrs. Maud St. James
• "I've Been There and I'm Back" – Enrico Manzoni and Captain Henry St. James
• "Double Standard" – Bobo and Mrs. Maud St. James
• "All the Time" – Captain Henry St. James
• "You're So Right for Me" – Enrico Manzoni and Bobo
• "All the Time" (Reprise) – Mrs. Maud St. James
• "Finale" – The Entire Company

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"All the Time" was recorded by Johnny Mathis and appeared on the 1958 album Johnny's Greatest Hits.

Frank Aston of the World Telegram and Sun said of the show, "splendiferous, gaudy. songful, comical, dancing joy that happens none too often!, José Ferrer's production of Oh, Captain! had smooth sailing all the way. It was the outstanding musical success of the Philadelphia season, and found New Yorkers equally eager to absorb its high spirits and salty humours. With no aim other than entertainment, it instantly became one of Broadway's biggest hits and seems securely berthed at the Alvin Theatre for many months to come."[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_o/oh_captain.htm "'Oh, Captain' Plot, Songs"], GuideToMusicalTheatre.com. Retrieved December 30, 2011

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• {{ibdb show|id=6673}}

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Category:Broadway musicals

Category:1958 musicals

Category:Musicals based on films

Category:Musicals set in London

Category:Musicals set in Paris