Timbuktu!

Timbuktu!
Music George Forrest
Robert Wright
Lyrics George Forrest
Robert Wright
Book Luther Davis
Basis The musical Kismet
Productions 1978 Broadway

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 Ancient Empire of Mali, West Africa.

Production

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.

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.[1] It was directed, choreographed and costume designed by Geoffrey Holder, with sets designed by Tony Straiges. Alan Eichler was associate producer.[2] 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."[3]

Songs

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
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

Awards and nominations

1978 Tony Award nominations
1978 Drama Desk Award nominations

References

  1. ↑ https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/timbuktu-4043
  2. ↑ https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/timbuktu-4043
  3. ↑ Bordman, Gerald Martin. 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
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