Ira Levin's versatility is on full display with his one musical, Broadway's Drat! The Cat! – an original, frolicsome tale of a debutante-turned-jewel thief, and the hapless "acting detective" assigned to track her down. Set in gilded age 1890's New York, the show's hilarious yet sincere book parodies Victorian melodrama, as a clinically-bumbling beat cop suddenly finds himself tasked with ferreting out the city's most notorious cat burglar – who just happens to be the debutante daughter of the wealthiest family in town.
Levin originally titled this confection Cat And Mouse, and composed all of its elements himself – its book, lyrics, and yes – music as well. He was convinced however to bring in a pro to handle the musical duties – the talented Milton Schafer. The result was a beloved, "cult" musical with some oft-recorded songs (see our Discography) – and lyrics praised by no less than Stephen Sondheim.
Drat! starred Lesley Ann Warren (fresh off her success in Rodgers and Hammerstein's televised Cinderella), and Elliott Gould, who was then segueing from Broadway to Hollywood (where he'd star five years later in the film version of M*A*S*H).
Despite Levin's charming script and lyrics, and Milton Schafer's expert and tuneful melodies, Drat! ran but a single week – a fact bemoaned by fans of classic musicals. Those in the know faulted the Broadway production's overly-slick staging, financial under-funding, and the bad luck of opening during a newspaper strike (the only advertising channel for shows at the time).
Drat!'s enchanting score yielded one of Barbra Streisand's signature songs ("He Touched Me"). Aided by a widely-circulated 1965 bootleg recording of the original Broadway run (whose raucous audience response speaks to the script's hilarity) and appearances both in the classic musical theater compendium Not Since Carrie, and on Joe Allen's wall, Drat! has achieved true cult status over the course of its sixty-plus years.
Poster: Zap! Theatre (2019)
Poster: Plain Jane Theatre Company
(2015)
