Sweet Smell of Success is a musical created by Marvin Hamlisch (music), Craig Carnelia (lyrics), and John Guare (book). The show is based on the 1957 movie of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1955 novelette of the same name by Ernest Lehman. The show tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist named J. J. Hunsecker (based on famed New York columnist Walter Winchell) who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate.
It was a critical and commercial failure.
Production history
A workshop was held in Toronto in August 1998. According to a Livent spokesman "...the show had a cast of 18, made up mainly of Canadians. The performers' names were not revealed." The workshop was directed by Nicholas Hytner. The workshop was followed by a reading in November 1998 in New York City, with Jonathan Pryce as J.J. Hunsecker, Brian d'Arcy James as Sidney, Anastasia Barzee, Patrick Wilson, Stacey Logan and an ensemble of 12.
The work had a pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago in January 2002. Critics' reactions were not favorable. Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones found that it had an "identity crisis" and warned that "...[b]etween now and the Broadway opening, director Nicholas Hytner and the other multitalented parties involved had better all get on the same conceptual page, or what’s left of the gossip column fraternity will have a lot to chew on."
Subsequently changes were made to the show, including a new ending. Sweet Smell garnered seven Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. John Lithgow received the show's only Tony Award, winning Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.
Cast and characters
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Character
! Broadway (2002)
!Master Voices (2025)
|-
! J.J. Hunsecker
| John Lithgow
| Raúl Esparza
|-
! Sidney
| Brian d'Arcy James
| Ali Louis Bourzgui
|-
! Susan
| Kelli O'Hara
| Lizzy McAlpine
|-
! Dallas
| Jack Noseworthy
| Noah J. Ricketts
|-
! Rita
| Stacey Logan
| Aline Mayagoitia
|-
! Club Zanzibar Singer
| Bernard Dotson
|
|}
Notable Replacements
- Susan: Elena Shaddow (u/s)
- Sidney: Frank Vlastnik (u/s)
Musical numbers
Source: Playbill
;Act I
- "The Column" - J.J., Sidney, and Ensemble
- "I Could Get You in J.J." - Sidney
- "I Cannot Hear the City" - Dallas
- "Welcome to the Night" - J.J., Sidney, and Ensemble
- "Laughin' All the Way to the Bank" - Club Zanzibar Singer
- "At the Fountain" - Sidney
- "Psalm 151" † - J.J. and Sidney
- "Don't Know Where You Leave Off" - Dallas and Susan
- "What If" - Susan and Ensemble
- "For Susan" - J.J.
- "One Track Mind" - Dallas
- "Act I Finale" † - Ensemble
;Act II
- "Break It Up" - J.J., Sidney, and Ensemble
- "Rita's Tune" - Rita
- "Dirt" - Ensemble
- "I Could Get You in J.J." (Reprise) - Sidney
- "I Cannot Hear the City" (Reprise) - Susan and Dallas
- "Don't Look Now" - J.J. and Ensemble
- "At the Fountain" (Reprise) - Sidney and Ensemble
- "Act II Finale" - J.J., Susan, Sidney, and Ensemble
† Not included on the Original Broadway Cast Recording (2002)
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
{| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;"
|- valign="bottom"
! style="width:5%;"| Year
! style="width:20%;"| Award
! style="width:35%;"| Category
! style="width:25%;"| Nominee
! style="width:10%;"| Result
|-
| rowspan="23" style="text-align:center;"| 2002
| rowspan="7"| Tony Award
| colspan="2"| Best Musical
|
|-
|Best Book of a Musical
|John Guare
|
|-
|Best Original Score
|Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia
|
|-
|Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
|John Lithgow
|
|-
|Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
|Brian d'Arcy James
|
|-
|Best Orchestrations
|William David Brohn
|
|-
|Best Lighting Design
|Natasha Katz
|
|-
|rowspan="11"|Drama Desk Awards
|colspan="2"|Outstanding Musical
|
|-
|Outstanding Book of a Musical
|John Guare
|
|-
|Outstanding Lyrics
|Craig Carnelia
|
|-
|Outstanding Music
|Marvin Hamlisch
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Outstanding Actor in a Musical
|John Lithgow
|
|-
|Brian d'Arcy James
|
|-
|Outstanding Director of a Musical
|Nicholas Hytner
|
|-
|Outstanding Choreography
|Christopher Wheeldon
|
|-
|Outstanding Costume Design
|rowspan=2|Bob Crowley
|
|-
|Outstanding Set Design
|
|-
|Outstanding Lighting Design
|Natasha Katz
|
|}
Reception
Despite eager anticipation, the musical version received largely negative reviews and it was a commercial flop. Reportedly, it lost its entire $10 million investment.
A 2012 London production of the musical met with mixed reviews. Theatre critic Lyn Gardner of The Guardian praised the score and choreography but found that it: "sugars the pill and never locates the savage, cynical heart... It wants to be a straightforward song-and-dance show – the problem is, this piece is anything but."