Student Blog: Lolita, My Love: How a Script Killed a Score

Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" is one of the best selling novels of all time. Released in 1955, the novel centers on Humbert Humbert, a distraught writer moving to the United States in search of employment. His original tenement in the United States burns down and he quickly scrambles to find new residency. Persuaded by Charlotte Haze, a voluptuous southern widow, he agrees to room in her home for the remainder of his stay. It is there he discovers Dolores Haze, the 12 year old daughter of Charlotte Haze, who becomes his newfound infatuation. Humbert then goes to extraordinary lengths to make Dolores his lover.

As one could imagine the novel has courted extraordinary amounts of controversy for it's subject matter. The book was banned in France from 1956-59, Argentina in 1959, and New Zealand in 1960. There have been several attempts to get the book banned in the United States, all of which have failed. Still, the book remains one of the most read of all time. The book is also used in academia around the world as a perfect culmination of the "Unreliable Narrator". In which a narrator's account of events may not be accurate or truthful. Given Humbert Humbert's terrible judgment, he is a perfect example.

In 1962 Stanley Kubrick released a film version of Lolita with the tagline "How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?". The film was well received, and cemented newcomer Kubrick as a serious director. It was within a movie theatre watching this feature that renown composer Alan Jay Lerner was inspired to create a musical about the novel. He received expressed permission from Nabokov himself who is quoted saying "Mr. Lerner is a most talented and excellent classicist. If you have to make a musical version of Lolita, he is the one to do it". Lerner then produced a series of demos for producers, which were quickly picked up.

Lerner was swift off of a series of successes including My Fair Lady, Camelot, Coco, and Brigadoon. Having his name attached to the project was enough for producers. Lerner was not to compose for this project, that duty was assigned to John Barry. Barry had become a household name for his work composing the score for the James Bond series. He also composed the hit songs from the score"Diamonds are Forever" and "Goldfinger" which were recorded by pop singer Shirley Bassey. The pair were a star studded team, and the news that a musical of Lolita was in production quickly became the talk of Broadway.

With Lerner handling lyrics and script and Barry handling score, the pair quickly entered pre- production. There were several versions of the script produced, including some with the title "Light of my life: A Musical Play". Soon several theatrical stars became attached to the project. Dorothy Loudon was Charlotte Haze, Anette Fara as Lolita, and John Neville as Humbert Humbert. All of these performers were established in their own right, and with a star studded creative team, the show was destined for success. Presale for the show was going relatively fast, and critics were eager to take a bite out of the most controversial musical of the year.

The show premiered in Philadelphia on February 16, 1971. The audience at the show was apparently so appalled at its material that some walked out. Some even gasped and booed at the show's "provocative" material. The critics were equally as appalled, and slammed the show for its poor use of its source material. Some even questioned whether Lolita should be on the stage at all, even further, whether it should be a musical. Perhaps what cemented this show's horrible opening run was the fact that Anette Fara, the actress who was playing Lolita, was told she was "not needed" as the show would move on to further theatres. Lolita herself was fired after opening night.

The show then closed a month after it's opening. Ticket sales were extremely low, critics were horrified, and actors were being fired. Lerner took this as a grim reminder of the power of critics, and began immediate edits. Lerner completely rewrote the show, reconfiguring the narrative and deleting/creating numbers. Most notably Lerner hired Denise Nickerson and Leonard Frey, as the new Lolita and Claire Quilty. Both of these names were bigger than their original counterparts. Nickerson was just off of her role as Violet Beauregarde in "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory". Leonard Frey had just portrayed Motel in the 1971 film version of "Fiddler On The Roof".

This new version of the show premiered in March of 1971 in Boston. This version of the show was more comedic, relying on Lerner's dark comedy book. This version of the show was actually making audiences laugh. Critics became indifferent to the show, confused by a horrible subject matter, an odd score, and an even weirder script. Critics praised the work of the show's lead actress Dorothy Loudon, who was charming the pants off audiences. So much so, that audiences actually lamented that her character died in the finale of Act 1. The work of Leonard Frey was also celebrated, as he portrayed the perfect cynical bachelor. The reviews were more negative than positive, and producers began realizing the subject matter was not "sitting well" with audiences.

The show then promptly closed with no plans for a Broadway transfer. Lerner was extremely distraught and reportedly kept the show's sets in a private storage room in hopes of a revival. A double sided record was released of a soundboard recording of the show's Boston run, which has become a theatrical collectors item. If this timeline seems rushed and almost manic, that's because it was. The show was literally running on empty for quite some time. With lackluster ticket sales and terrible critical reception the "edit and restage" method was the only option to stay afloat. Unfortunately, there was no saving this show. The show was doomed from the start.

In my opinion, the show was in a constant state of confusion. John Barry's score was extremely 70's jazz-funk inspired. The songs were all akin to pop songs, except for a small few. Lerner's lyrics were quite good, but with a lackluster score they became bland. The script was the biggest problem. The central narrative was framed around Humbert Humbert and his desires. The show in no way demonizes him, when it absolutely should. The narrative paints Humbert as a lovable romantic academic. When Humbert is in the mist of sexual assault against a minor, a hearty slow string ballad titled "Tell Me, Tell Me" is sung. The tonal indifference of the show between funk and pedophilia was perhaps too much.

Perhaps most disturbing and odd is the decision to cast an actual pre-pubescent girl as Lolita. Denise Nickerson was around the age of 12-15 when she was portraying Lolita. John Neville who was playing Humbert was 46. They had multiple intimate moments between them on stage. Not only was the show asking you to root for a pedophile, it was asking you to clap afterwards. Audiences were far so confused and horrified, they literally could not say they enjoyed the show. If they did they were celebrating a horrible subject matter. If they said they didn't enjoy the show they were agreed with. Audiences were biased from the start, aiding on the side of morality.

"Lolita, My Love" received a re-worked and revised version at the "Musicals in Mufti series" in 2019. As for the critical reaction it was relatively well received. The audience was also charmed by its revised score and book. Perhaps Lolita, My Love will be given a second life. But in my opinion, Lolita should be a survivor story. Humbert does not deserve the spotlight, even in fictional circumstances.