Search - :: Oh What a Lovely War (Original 1963 London Cast)

War from the soldier's point of view

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 12/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"


No matter how convinced a combatant is that his "cause is just" and that he is fighting for "a better world," a time comes when he just cries out "Oh my, I don't want to die." That line is taken from a song sung by the Tommies in the trenches of The Great War, and you can hear many more like it in the cult cabaret "Oh, What a Lovely War" that was created by Joan Littlewood back in 1963. There was once a British LP of all the songs and some of the dialogue, but it has long been out of print.





It begins with "Row Row Row Your Boat" to show the innocence of the British population before it entered The War to End All Wars and continues with the World Leaders condemning the very thought of a war that they know will be ruinous to them all and then jumping gleefully into "a lovely war" when two people are shot in a far off place called Sarajevo. Then some chorus girls tell the males in the audience "We don't want to lose you, but we think you ought to go." By the end, the men are singing to a Jerome Kern tune the altered lyrics "And when they ask us how dangerous it was, we'll never tell them." In some dialogue we hear





The booklet is loaded with contemporary quotes such as Henry Ford's "Tell me who profits by war, and I will tell you how to stop it." Social Studies teachers MUST get a copy. And you should all send a copy to those who are always willing to send other parents' children into wars-if you can make them willing to hear the disc.





When I played samples of this show to my adult groups, they were all asking how they could get a copy. And for years I have been waiting for a CD transfer of the stage version LP. So the Great News is that it is now available on a label called Must Close Saturday Records (MCSR 3008."

A true masterpiece

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 07/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR was created by Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop, which pioneered what became known as the 'kitchen-sink' theatre and drama. The group premiered the original productions of FINGS AIN'T WOT THEY USED T'BE and A TASTE OF HONEY. OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR actually began life as a radio play before Littlewood saw the potential for a full evening of theatre.



It met with resounding critical and financial success and later transferred to Broadway with the full English cast (netting Victor Spinetti a Tony Award amongst other laurels for the musical). The show is presented as a vaudeville-music hall-minstrel show, alternately mocking and revering The Great War, the senseless loss of life, the glories and the shattering aftermath. It opened at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1963, transferring to the Wyndhams Theatre in the West End where it ran for 501 performances, opening on Broadway the following year. OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR is political, engaging and one of the benchmarks of British musical theatre."

Paramount Please Release This DVD

Gary R. Munn | Richmond, British Columbia Canada | 01/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1969 Movie version of the play, "O What a Lovely War" is a classic, and should be released so that younger generations can see just how ridiculous wars past and present are. The muical score and the acting were outstanding! I believe it was released on Video, why not on DVD as well? Paramount might be surprised at the audience this wonderful movie would draw!! PLEASE RELEASE IT!!!!!"