Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, I’m continuing our trilogy on fun but seldom performed shows from the mid-to-late 1960s with Henry, Sweet Henry (1967), Bob Merrill’s musical adaptation of the film The World Of Henry Orient (1964), based on the novel by Nora Johnson. Her father Nunnally Johnson co-wrote the screenplay (with Nora) and provided the book for this Broadway musical, which only managed 80 performances.

The common explanations for Henry, Sweet Henry’s failure are that its score wasn’t well-received — The New York Times’ Clive Barnes found the music old-fashioned and unimaginative — and that its setup allowed a secondary player to steal the show away from the leads, whose resulting diminishment threw the whole production off-balance. That secondary player, of course, was Alice Playten, taking on the role of Kafritz, a very small part in the 1964 film now expanded out as an antagonist to the two main teens — well, primarily to Val, portrayed by Robin Wilson, for whom this was intended to be a star-making showcase. Playten’s two songs — the character-revealing “Nobody Steps On Kafritz” and the rousing “Poor Little Person” — were such standouts that she was vaulted to stardom instead and remains the show’s only real legacy today.

Now, having read the libretto, I’m afraid I must agree that the outsized role for Kafritz takes emphasis away from the characters around whom the story revolves. However, I think there’s a broader shift happening from screen to stage here — while the film centers on Val and her friend Gil (played by Neva Small in the musical) but has an entire world of adults whose complicated, messy lives impact the girls, the musical is much more oriented around them and their teen world, with Kafritz a major part of it. (Others in the juvenile ensemble included Louise Lasser, Baayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez, and Pia Zidora.) Only Don Ameche as the eponymous Henry is a major presence musically. Heck, not even Carol Bruce, filling Angela Lansbury’s shoes from the film, gets very much to sing — and her character, Val’s detached mother, is supposed to be a huge dramatic force. (Gil’s mother is a mere walk-on!) So, in general, the musical shortchanges all the adults to focus more on the younger characters. It’s more like the novel. (Below is the girls’ “I’m Blue Too” — a fun character song for Val and Gil.)

To that point, I think, more than just Kafritz’s elevation, the real weakness of Henry, Sweet Henry is that it’s just not as compelling or well-written as The World Of Henry Orient film. Yes, even with Nunnally Johnson’s sustained influence, the 1964 movie is richer in its emotional ideas, largely because both the kids and the adults feel complex. Here, with most of those adults staying detached from the primary action — in the script and the score — the humanity is limited. For audiences who would have been aware of the film (and maybe even the novel), I think it’d be hard to see this show and not find it lacking in comparison. In that regard, giving more material to the parents — especially Mr. and Mrs. Boyd — might have helped this disparity, more so than simply cutting back on Kafritz, whose two numbers are truly exciting.

And Bob Merrill’s score, overall, is actually pretty good — Clive Barnes may have meant “[I]t could have been written any time within the last 20 or 30 years” as an insult, but I don’t see it as such. It’s Golden Age-adjacent: lively, character-filled, and at times, affecting — particularly in the songs for Val, whose numbers carry a lot of emotion and do their best to compensate for the reduced dimension of the adults. Above is Wilson’s entreating “Here I Am” from the cast recording, and below, taken from an audio of the 2004 production at Musicals in Mufti, is the heart-pulling “Do You Ever Go To Boston.” I’m offering the latter recording to subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest!

Now, not everything is great — some of the ensemble numbers are goofy, Henry’s songs range from good to subpar, and, again, there’s not enough of the Boyds in the score. But I think with the right performers cast as the three main teens — including Kafritz — Henry, Sweet Henry, though not The World Of Henry Orient, could be delightful, especially for high schoolers. And, on that note, here’s the title song — with different lyrics, as it comes from a demo recording (which I’ll also throw in for subscribers — it’s a definite curio). Enjoy!

Come back next month for another ’60s musical! And stay tuned for more sitcom fun!