Theatre Register
Kismet

Kismet

Shows · Kismet

In Old Baghdad, the beggar Hajj (Otis Skinner) is caught stealing and is brought before the Wazir Mansur (Hamilton Revelle) who says he will not chop off Hajj’s hands if he will kill the young Caliph Abdullah (Fred Eric) who wishes to usurp him. Hajj tries to stab the Caliph, not knowing he is in love with Hajj’s daughter Marsinah (Rita Jolivet), but is caught and thrown into prison.

Opened
1953
Performances
583
Type
Musical
Era
Golden Age
Music: Robert Wright & George Forrest Based on Alexander BorodinLyrics: Robert Wright & George Forrest Based on Alexander BorodinBook: Charles Lederer & Luther Davis

Productions2 on Broadway

1911 Knickerbocker Theatre Original. December 25, 1911 · Harrison Grey Fiske · predates this show 184 performances
1953 Ziegfeld Theatre Revival. December 3, 1953 · Albert Marre 583 performances · 1 Tony wins

Every Broadway staging held in broadway-data, sourced to IBDB. 1 of these predate the show itself and are almost certainly a different work of the same name. Shown, marked, not merged. West End runs are not yet held.

Licensing 1 entry

US Music Theatre International Kismet matched on title alone — a lead, not a confirmed licensor

Read from the licensor's own pages and catalogues. Rights move, and an empty row means we have not confirmed a publisher, not that the show cannot be licensed.

In the literature34 passages

Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) had died seventy years before “his” musical Kismet opened on Broadway, and thus became the oldest Tony Award winner (of course, his music had been adapted by Robert Wright and George Forrest). book:complete-book-of-1950s-broadway-musicals-the-dan-dietz#p366

Steve Reeves played the Muscle Man and Samson in the musical, and previously was one of the Wazir’s tough guards in Kismet. book:complete-book-of-1950s-broadway-musicals-the-dan-dietz#p512

She first gained widespread acclaim in 1953 for her performance as the lusty, busty Lalume in Kismet, her style perfectly suited to the exotic songs “Not Since Nineveh” and “Rahadlakum.” After the out-of-town closing of the 1956 version of the Ziegfeld Follies with Tallulah Bankhead, she worked exclusively with her hus… book:broadway-musicals-the-101-greatest-shows-of-all-time-bloom-ken-1949-vlastnik-fra#p175

ctor Richard Kiley, who, in a Jramatic | his rich baritone voice to great advantage in Broadway musicals. He musical debut as the juvenile lead in Kismet, singing ‘ Redhead, and was almost continually employed through the 1960s, as the r tic lead of No Strings and in the Buddy Hackett vehicle / Had a Ball. book:broadway-musicals-the-101-greatest-shows-of-all-time-bloom-ken-1949-vlastnik-fra#p213

he soon delivered another star turn as Hajj in Kismet, winning a Tony Award. book:broadway-musicals-the-101-greatest-shows-of-all-time-bloom-ken-1949-vlastnik-fra#p245

Kismet made its way back to Broadway renamed Timbuktu! book:broadway-musicals-the-101-greatest-shows-of-all-time-bloom-ken-1949-vlastnik-fra#p263

Passages naming this show, found by keyword across 178 books. Where this show turns up in the literature, not curated trivia about it.

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