Fiorello! is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1959 Broadway musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book was by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, music by Jerry Bock. It opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 23 November 1959 and ran for 795 performances. Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-13, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theater combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (December 11, 1882–September 20, 1947) was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The Tammany Hall on 14th Street, New York City Tammany Hall was the name given to the Democratic Party political machine that dominated New York City politics from the mayoral victory of Fernando Wood in 1854 through the election of Fiorello LaGuardia in 1934. ... George Abbott (June 25, 1887 - January 31, 1995) was among the greatest of Broadway showmen. ... Sheldon Harnick (born 1924) is an American lyricist best known for his collaboration with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof. ... Jerry Bock (born 1928) is an American musical theatre composer best known for his collaboration with lyricist Sheldon Harnick on shows such as Fiddler on the Roof. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ...

The musical contains several songs built around a group of machine politicians: "Politics and Poker", in which Republican machine politicians try to pick a congressional candidate in a district they consider hopeless, while playing a game of poker; "The Bum Won", in which these same politicians commisserate with one another after LaGuardia has won the election without their support; and "Little Tin Box", in which a series of machine politicians attempt to explain to a judge that their wealth came from their scrupulous habits of saving ("I can see Your Honor doesn't pull his punches/ And it looks a trifle fishy, I'll admit,/ But for one whole week I went without my lunches/ And it mounted up, Your Honor, bit by bit./ Up Your Honor, bit by bit.") In "I Love a Cop", woman factory worker describes her hapless situation of having fallen in love with a policeman who was called out against a strike by her union; "The Name's La Guardia" has LaGuardia campaiging in English, Italian and Yiddish. There is also a ragtime number, "Gentleman Jimmy" about bon vivant mayor James J. "Jimmy" Walker, and "Marie's Law" in which Marie proposes a "law" about how husbands should treat their wives ("Every girl shall have a honeymoon, which will last at least a year,/ During which aforesaid honeymoon, every care shall disappear…"). This article is about the system of organization called a political machine. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... The poker room at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ. Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the remaining player or... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... Ragtime is an American musical genre, enjoying its peak popularity around the years 1900–1918. ... This article is about the 1926 Mayor of New York. ...

Other songs

• On the side of the Angels
• When Did I Fall in Love
• 'Til tomorrow
• The Very Next Man