Milk & Honey – BROADWAY CAST****

Overture/Shalom/Independence Day Hora/Milk & Honey/There’s No Reason In The World/Chin Up Ladies/That Was Yesterday/Let’s Not Waste A Moment/The Wedding/Like A Young Man/I Will Follow You/Hymn To Hymie/As Simple As That/Finale

The Broadway musical Milk & Honey starred Robert Weede, Mimi Benzell and Molly Picon. It opened at the Martin Beck Theatre in October 1961 and ran for 543 performances. Plot involves lonely American widows touring Israel in search of husbands at the time of independence. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. (US:10)

“Jerry Herman made an impressive Broadway debut with his score for this musical set in Israel. Nothing can dim the delightful score, and Robert Weede, displays his warm baritone in Shalom. Molly Picon is wonderful with her Hymn To Hymie. The title song becomes a brisk march. You also hear some of Jerry Herman's trademark love songs in Let's Not Waste A Moment and As Simple As That."

“Milk & Honey, Jerry Herman's first Broadway musical, shows the promise of the wealth of memorable scores he would compose in the future. Like all of his scores, the songs remain in your head long after you have put the LP away. This is a mature score, always deeply melodic, sometimes deeply emotional, at other times wonderfully funny, but always touching. I loved the score the first time I heard it, and still love it today.”

“A little rough, a little ethnic, but a good, solid score with good performances. Plus, the opportunity to hear the great Molly Picon. Hummable tunes and clever lyrics, always associated with Jerry Herman, are here in his first Broadway effort. Some of the selections are ponderous, but they can be forgiven - the others are wonderful.”

“This is a magnificent, if somewhat forgotten gem of a musical. Jerry Herman's first Broadway show has a score full of stunning ballads, marvellous comedy numbers and hummable ensemble pieces. The songs performed by Robert Weede and Mimi Benzell are fantastic, Molly Picon's numbers are witty and catchy and there is a ballad, I Will Follow You that is so beautiful.”

“This musical was written in 1961 and is instantly recognisable as a Jerry Herman. A mixture of his catchy plinky-plonks and his trademark waltzes.”