Overview
Synopsis
Orphaned at ten, Patrick Dennis’ life has undergone drastic change when he travels from Des Moines, Iowa, all the way to New York City to live with his Auntie Mame. His nanny, anxious Agnes Gooch, leads him to expect a dear grey-haired old aunt baking a cherry pie. But instead, Agnes and Patrick wander into a wild party, a raging prohibition-era shindig starring the fantastic, flamboyant, eccentric, charismatic, one-and-only Mame Dennis. Auntie Mame, shocked but delighted to find herself in the role of a guardian, buys Patrick every toy imaginable, shows him the town from high life to low back streets, teaches him how to mix a martini, and showers him with love. After Patrick’s trustees take him away to a conservative boarding school, and the stock market crash leaves her penniless, fearless Mame tries to keep caring for her nephew, even as she reinvents herself: from party girl to working girl, Southern belle, world traveler, wealthy widow, and literary autobiographer. When grown-up Patrick brings home his WASP-y debutante girlfriend, and introduces Mame to his world of preppy prejudice, Mame finds the one culture in which she cannot make herself at home, and fears that she has lost her nephew to the Knickerbocker Bank. But with a little help from a pretty interior decorator, a very pregnant Agnes, and the wildly diverse crowd of her dearest friends, Mame wins the battle for Patrick’s soul. Featuring one of the most dynamic and lovable heroines of the Broadway stage, Mame is a wildly optimistic --and just plain wild-- ode to a colorful, unconventional, well-lived life. Jerry Herman’s famous score includes the poignant pathos of “If He Walked Into My Life,” the catty duet “Bosom Buddies,” and the life-is-a-banquet vigor of “Open a New Window.”
Show Information
- Book
- Jerome Lawrence , Robert E. Lee
- Music
- Jerry Herman
- Lyrics
- Jerry Herman
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Auntie Mame, by Patrick Dennis
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1966
- Genres
- Comedy
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, new york city, georgia, connecticut
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Large
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Child, Late Teen, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly Characters
Context
Mame opened on Broadway on May 24, 1966, at the Winter Garden Theater. This premiere production was directed by Gene Saks and starred Angela Lansbury as Mame, Frankie Michaels as Patrick Dennis, Beatrice Arthur as Vera Charles, and Charles Braswell as Beauregard Burnside. It closed four years later at the Broadway Theatre, after earning Tony Awards for Lansbury, Arthur, and Michaels, as well as nominations for Best Musical, Composer, Direction, Choreography, and Scenic Design.
The role of
to read the context for Mame and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
Orphaned Patrick Dennis, aged 10, and his nanny, frumpy and anxious Agnes Gooch, are wandering the streets of New York City, slightly lost as they search for Patrick’s Aunt Mame, who lives at Three Beekman Place. Patrick reads the instructions from the will of his late father, which illustrate that he is to live with Mame Dennis, but the “trustee with sole authority” over his fate is the Knickerbocker Bank. Agnes prays for guidance and, even though his father was a Presbyterian,
to read the plot for Mame and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Treble/Boy Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass |
Songs
Act One
- Overture − Orchestra
- St. Bridget − Agnes, Young Patrick
- It's Today − Mame, Ensemble
- It's Today (Reprise) - Mame, Young Patrick
- Open a New Window − Mame, Ensemble
- The Moon Song (The Man in the Moon) − Vera, Mame, Girls
- My Best Girl − Young Patrick, Mame
- We Need a Little Christmas − Mame, Young Patrick, Agnes, Ito, Beauregard
- The Fox Hunt − Uncle Jeff, Young Patrick, Cousin Fan, Mother Burnside, Cousins
- Mame − Beauregard Jackson Picket Burnside, Ensemble
- Finale Act I ("My Best Girl" and "Mame") − Young Patrick and All
Act Two
- Opening Act Two (The Letter) − Young Patrick, Older Patrick
- My Best Girl (Reprise) − Older Patrick
- Bosom Buddies − Mame, Vera
- Gooch's Song − Agnes
- That's How Young I Feel − Mame, Ensemble
- If He Walked Into My Life − Mame
- It's Today (Reprise) − Mame, Ensemble
- My Best Girl (Reprise) − Older Patrick
- Finale Act II ("Open A New Window") − Company
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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