The Pulitzer-winning musical Fiorello! opened Nov, 23, 1959, at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for 795 performances on Broadway. Based on Ernest Cuneo’s 1955 book Life with Fiorello, the show recounts the rise of New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on the Tammany Hall political machine. It won three of its seven Tony nominations — musical (shared with The Sound of Music), featured actor (Tom Bosley), and direction (George Abbott) — and became the third musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The creative team included Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince (producer), Jerome Weidman (book), George Abbott (book, direction), Jerry Bock (music), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics), Hal Hastings (music direction), Irwin Kostal (orchestrations), Jack Elliott (dance arrangements), Peter Gennaro (choreography), William and Jean Eckart (sets, costumes, lights), Ronald De Mann (hair), and Alfred Barris (wigs).
The cast included Tom Bosley (Fiorello LaGuardia), Howard Da Silva (Ben Marino), Mark Dawson (Floyd), Nathaniel Frey (Morris), Ellen Hanley (Thea), Pat Stanley (Dora), Patricia Wilson (Marie), Bob Holiday (Neil), and Eileen Rodgers (Mitzi Travers). Below is DaSilva recreating his performance of “Little Tin Box” for the HBO special Standing Room Only: Showstoppers on June 22, 1980.