The musical version of MY SISTER EILEEN, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Comden and Green, hit Broadway in 1953. Rosalind Russell played Ruth Sherwood -- as she had in the 1942 film version -- Sydney Chaplin was editor Robert Baker, and Jacquelyn McKeever was Eileen Sherwood.
The original production ran 559 performances, which was a smash hit in those days. The songs were not among the most distinguished the writers ever composed, with "Ohio" the only one that had some popularity. For a book musical in the 1950s, the songs seem to have been forced into place. Miss Russell is excellent, of course, Miss McKeever seems so perky as to be unaware of what is going on, and Chaplin turns out to have a pleasant singing voice; as he left show business after the 1960s, I never had a chance to see him on stage.
The show was broadcast on CBS in 1958, with a Kinescope recording the only known survivor. Set decoration and camerawork proclaim this as a "quality special" of the era. While I was glad to see it, it did not strike me as more than a substitute for seeing the show on stage. It has been revived half a dozen times. Despite the luster of the song writers, this does not impel me to seek out its next revival.
