George Abbott, Upsilon 1911, University of Rochester A LOOK BACK AT THE DEAN OF BROADWAY SHOWMEN

By Chrisopher Lawrance Tang ESQ, Gamma Tau ‘01 (GeorgiaTech)

A young freshman at the University of Rochester’s Fall 1907 class found himself struggling with his studies. He worked the Summers as an electrician to pay for college and started to think of sacrificing his dreams of writing for that more reliable path. Fortunately for him and the world of theater, he found the brotherhood of Psi Upsilon and a generous teacher who helped him through those struggling days. Young George Abbott, Upsilon 1911 (Rochester) would go on to be so famous as to be heralded as the Dean of Broadway Showmen 1 .

Prior to university, young George enjoyed a childhood in New York. Though he spent some formative years in Wyoming riding and roping like a character from his musical Hello Dolly, he attended high school in his home town of Forestville, New York. There he led as both the captain of the football team and the lead actor for their drama program. In college George joined the Upsilon chapter and, thanks to the tutoring of his teacher Ednah Levis and the support of the brotherhood, George progressed through college with aplomb. Reflecting on the brotherhood George said that he felt guilty that other students at the University of Rochester were denied the Psi U experience 2. Within the University George continued to develop as a leader serving as a student council representative, vice president of student government, and named class poet during his senior year. Miss Levis’ attention not only aided him in college before a lifelong bond when they wed. After undergraduate George attended the renowned Harvard Dramatic Seminar under the renowned professor George Pierce Baker before moving to New York City to find his future.

In many ways, the history of Broadway is the history of George Abbot. A list of every work that he participated in as an actor, writer, producer, and/or director along with the accolades for all of those works would take up two pages of this publication. While George had plays produced by the university both at Rochester and Harvard, he began as an actor. His first appearance came as a background character of “drunken college boy” in The Misleading Lady and though a recent graduate he had, up to that point, never imbibed. George eventually found producers for his writing and his first breakout hit appropriately titled, given his future, Broadway. George would go on to take part in over one hundred Broadway productions as an actor, producer, director, or a writer. During his life he received a nomination for an Oscar, eleven Tony awards, and a Pulitzer prize for his work on Fiorello.

Throughout the years, Brother George remained an active alumni of Psi U with notes on his participation in the alumni association of the Upsilon chapter going back to 1938 4. He contributed frequently to the Psi Upsilon foundation and in 1952 established the George Abbott Foundation, Inc.,a charity for educational access. The foundation seeks to provide better education to the students of New York and from the beginning pledged to do so “regardless of race, creed, or color.” Brother George himself remembered those tender college years when his own academic achievement seemed uncertain and wanted to insure that others did not have to struggle as he did. This was not the only work for youth that George accomplished as he performed extensive work both rewriting and cooperating with school theater companies to make his work available to them and in some cases created original works solely to be performed in high school theaters.

Despite the wide ranging respect, George never let his ego get away from him. He said more than once he, “took for granted that I’m an outsider” 5 despite the widely held belief that “Everyone knew who Mister Abbot was. He was the best. He was the King”. On the the occasion of his 106th birthday he walked down the aisle for opening night of the revival of Damn Yankees and received a standing ovation. Upon seating he remarked to his companion “There must be someone important here.” 6

In 1961 after receiving the Pulitzer Prize, George penned his autobiography Mister Abbott. For most people such a high award and tome would represent the capstone after a forty year career, yet George would contribute to musical theater for a further 30 years. “The truth is that I love the theater and so I decided to stick around” 7. George went on to be honored with New York’s Handel Medallion, multiple honorary doctorates, and the National Medal of the Arts in 1990. He continued to work tirelessly producing many more great works and was in revisions of his latest work when he passed in 1995.

Abbott’s works continue to entertain and inspire new generations today and doubtless will for decades to come. To borrow the words given to him at the 1987 Tony Awards ceremony to honor his 100th birthday “[From] every kid who starred in the chorus of a George Abbott musical, from everyone working in musical theater today, we would like to say: thank you Mister Abbott”.

Footnotes:

1. https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/a/aa-an/george-abbott/

2. “Spotlight: The Harold Clurman seminar series on theater interview with George Abbott” CUNY TV interview with George Abbot taped 9/26/1989. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=MGrDqQHxgEo

3. https://www.psiuarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Diamond-of-Psi-Upsilon_ Sum_1976.pdf

4. https://www.psiuarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/The-Diamond-of-Psi-Upsilon_ June_1933.pdf#search=George%20Abbott

5. Great Performances on PBS “Carol Burnett meets George Abbott” Carol Burnnett recounting moving to New York with the goal to be a George Abbott production. She would be cast by Abbott as the star of his musical Once Upon a Mattress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkQ7wIilh-A

6. https://www.theatregold.com/content/george-abbott-bio/

7. 1987 Tony Awards special for George Abbott’s 100th birthday https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gL2z1SX1o70