Timbuktu!
{{Short description|Musical}}
{{Infobox Musical
|name= Timbuktu!
|subtitle=
|image= Timbutku! musical playbill.png
|caption= Original Broadway Playbill
|music= George Forrest
Robert Wright
|lyrics= George Forrest
Robert Wright
|book= Luther Davis
|basis= The musical Kismet
|productions= 1978 Broadway
|awards=
}}
Timbuktu! is a musical, with lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, set to music by Borodin, Forrest and Wright. The book is by Luther Davis. It is a resetting of Forrest and Wright's musical Kismet. The musical is set in 1361 in Timbuktu, in the Empire of Mali, West Africa.
Production history
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on March 1, 1978, and closed on September 10, 1978, after 221 performances and 22 previews.{{Cite web |title=Timbuktu! Broadway @ Mark Hellinger Theatre |url=http://www.playbill.com/production/timbuktu-mark-hellinger-theatre-vault-0000005786 |access-date=December 14, 2021 |website=Playbill |language=en |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214195912/https://www.playbill.com/production/timbuktu-mark-hellinger-theatre-vault-0000005786 |url-status=live}}
The original production starred Eartha Kitt as Shaleem-La-Lume, William Marshall as Hadji, Gilbert Price as the Mansa of Mali, Melba Moore as Marsinah, and George Bell as the Wazir. Ira Hawkins replaced Marshall prior to the Broadway opening.{{cite web |date=February 1, 1978 |title=Timbuktu! – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/timbuktu-4043 |access-date=December 14, 2021 |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214212856/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/timbuktu-4043 |url-status=live }} It was directed, choreographed and costume designed by Geoffrey Holder, with sets designed by Tony Straiges. Alan Eichler was associate producer. Gerald Bordman noted that the sets and costumes had "a Ziegfeldian opulence." New songs based on African folk music were added to provide "some tonal verisimiltude."Bordman, Gerald Martin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YiBaRas9jTwC&dq=%22Eartha+Kitt%22+Timbuktu%21&pg=PA750 American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle, "Act Six:Full Circuit; or, Return of the Brits"] American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle (3rd ED.), Oxford University Press US, 2001, {{ISBN|0-19-513074-X}}, p. 750
Following its Broadway run, it toured for more than a year with Kitt continuing in her starring role as Shaleem-La-Lume, Gregg Baker as Hadji, Bruce Hubbard as the Mansa and Vanessa Shaw as Marsinah.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-geoffrey-holder-dead-20141006-story.html|title=Geoffrey Holder, actor and Tony-award winning director, dies at 84|date=October 6, 2014|website=Los Angeles Times}}
Original cast and characters
| class="wikitable" style="width:50%; text-align:center"
!scope="col"|Character !First National Tour (1978)[https://www.ebay.com/itm/324738001871Playbill 1978 Bio Cast List]accessed 07/22/2023 |
| Sahleem-La-Lume
| colspan="2" |Eartha Kitt |
|---|
| Marsinah
| colspan="1” |Melba Moore | colspan="1” |Vanessa Shaw |
| The Mansa of Mali
| colspan="1” |Gilbert Price | colspan="1" |Bruce Hubbard |
| Hadji
| colspan="1" |Ira Hawkins | colspan="1" |Gregg Baker |
| Munshi
| colspan="1" |Miguel Godreau | colspan="1" |Homer Bryant |
| The Wazir
| colspan="2" |George Bell |
| Chief Policeman
| colspan="1" |Bruce Hubbard | colspan="1" |Ronald A. Richardson |
| Najua
| colspan="1" |Eleanor McCoy | colspan="1" |Dyane Harvey |
| M'Ballah of the River
| colspan="2" |Daniel Barton |
| Zubbediya
| colspan="1" |Vanessa Shaw | colspan="1" |Priscilla Baskerville |
| The Orange Merchant
| colspan="1" |Obba Babatundé | colspan="1" |Luther Fontaine |
Songs
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Act I
- "Rhymes Have I" - Hadji, Marsinah and Beggars
- "Fate" - Hadji
- "In the Beginning, Woman" - Shaleem-La-Lume
- "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" - Marsinah and Merchants
- "Stranger in Paradise" - The Mansa of Mali and Marsinah
- "Gesticulate" - Hadji and Council
- "Night of My Nights" - The Mansa of Mali and Courtiers
{{col-break}}
;Act II
- "My Magic Lamp" - Marsinah
- "Stranger in Paradise (Reprise)" - Marsinah
- "Rahadlakum" - Shaleem-La-Lume and Ladies of the Harem
- "And This Is My Beloved" - Hadji, Marsinah, The Mansa of Mali and The Wazir
- "Golden Land, Golden Life" - Chief Policeman and Nobles of the Court
- "Zubbediya" - Zubbediya, Princess, Marriage Candidates and Acrobat
- "Night of My Nights (Reprise)" - The Mansa of Mali, Marsinah, Hadji and Nobles of the Court
- "Sands of Time" - Hadji and Shaleem-La-Lume
{{col-end}}
Awards and nominations
;1978 Tony Award nominations
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Gilbert Price
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical - Eartha Kitt
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design - Geoffrey Holder
- Tony Award for Most Innovative Production of a Revival - Luther Davis
;1978 Drama Desk Award nominations
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - Geoffrey Holder
- Drama Desk Award Outstanding Costume Design - Geoffrey Holder
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{ibdb show|id=8728}}
- [http://www.mtishows.com/show_home.asp?ID=000203 Production information and synopsis at MTI Shows]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsKJDm35CfQ "Eartha Kitt Entrance-Timbuktu 1978!"] YouTube clip.
{{Kismet}}
Category:African-American musicals
Category:All-Black cast Broadway shows
Category:Musicals set in the 14th century