Based on
Jaroslav Hašek's 1921–1923
satiric novel The Good Soldier Švejk, the musical focuses on a naive and idealistic young man who, despite his
pacifist views, leaves his sweetheart Minny Belle Tompkins to fight in Europe in
World War I. He first tries to stop the war after meeting a young German sniper of the same name, who believes that the soldiers must unite. However, the commanders of the allied forces intend to use the discontent with the war among the German soldiers as a perfect time to advance in the war. Johnny then manages to bring the skirmish to a temporary halt by incapacitating a meeting of the generals with
laughing gas, but once they recover they promptly reinstate the war, resulting in hundreds of thousands of fatalities. Meanwhile, Johnny finds himself committed to an
asylum for ten years. He returns home to discover Minny Belle has married a
capitalist, and he settles down as a toymaker who will create anything except
tin soldiers, his personal gesture of peace in an increasingly warlike society.
The musical was written and composed by Green and Weill during the summer of 1936 in a rented old house located in
Nichols, Connecticut near the summer rehearsal headquarters of the
Group Theatre at
Pine Brook Country Club.[1][2] Its title was inspired by the fact the name appeared on United States
casualty rolls more often than any other.[3]
A 1956 production was presented
Off-Broadway at the Little Carnegie Playhouse at
Carnegie Hall. It was directed by
Stella Adler and starred among others
James Broderick as Johnny Johnson and
Gene Saks as the Mad Psychiatrist. It ran from October 21, 1956, through October 28. Samuel Matlowsky was the musical director and conducted the 1956 record album which had none of the cast from the Stella Adler production.[6]
After 10 previews, a revival directed by
José Quintero and choreographed by
Bertram Ross opened on April 11, 1971, at the
Edison Theatre, where it closed after one performance. The cast included Ralph Williams as Johnny and Alice Cannon as Minny Belle.[7]
In 2009, a concert-staging was mounted in London by the Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust, with
Max Gold in the title role.[9]
The ReGroup Theatre Company staged two sold-out staged readings that were directed by
Estelle Parsons at the 47th St Theatre, in New York on December 12, 2011.[10] Johnny was played by Pete McElligott, and his performances was named one of the 10 memorable performances of 2011 by Backstage.[11]