He won several Tony awards for writing the same show over and over.
HELLO DOLLY? Extravagant, obnoxious old bag is the center of attention. The irritating title song actually knocked The Beatles off #1 via the obnoxious cover version by Louis Armstrong. The movie was lame thanks to the miscasting of Baba Streisand who wasn't nearly as old or campy as "Dolly" should've been.
MAME? Same thing: extravagant, obnoxious old bag is the center of attention. Same title song -- everyone saluting the old bag. The Lsnsbury stage production was a hit. The movie turned out to be a disaster thanks to the casting of Lucille Testicle.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES? HIV positive since 1985, and now uninhibited thanks to gay lib, Herman focused on an extravagant, obnoxious old DRAG QUEEN (played by Georg Hearn) being the center of attention. Once again, the highlight were production numbers showing off costumes. Wisely, he didn't have a title tune referencing the femme's name. The show minced along through various modestly successful revivals, and a well-received film version and yes, an adaptation called "The Birdcage."
When he DIDN'T offer cheesy, costume-heavy musicals about a single flamboyant old bag, Jerry Herman flopped. Or did you catch "Mack and Mabel?" Shows that hinted there MIGHT be a campy old bag on stage didn't do well: "Dear World," "The Grand Tour."
Herman's first success was "Milk and Honey" in 1961 starring Yiddish-vaudeville star Molly Picon along with Mimi Benzell. It was about aging widows looking for hubbies while on a tour of Israel. It received five Tony Award nominations and lost them all. Broadway was morphing away from Jewish stars (such as Zero Mostel in "Fiddler on the Roof") and stories that might attract the Wednesday matinee crowd from Long Island. Gay audiences were beginning to become a force, both in supporting gay authors, gay themes, and campy items like "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing, which was Jerry's next show, and the hit of the 1964 season.
A total of three hit musicals and a few well-regarded but shorter-lived items isn't too shabby. No, it's chic. Also, Herman was that rarity, often writing both music AND lyrics. Usually Broadway musicals are done by a "team." Jerry didn't offer a new show in the past 30 years, but instead enjoyed his hobby of decorating houses.
These days, fortunately, you rarely hear "Hello Dolly" or "Mame" on the radio. "I am What I am" is a gay anthem standard, and a favorite of drag queens all over the world. No doubt "La Cage" will be revived again and again on Broadway, where "Kinky Boots" and "Tootsie" and other drag shows run almost forever. Perhaps "Hello Dolly" and "Mame" will be revived too -- of course, with the lead played by a guy in drag.
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