Biography
Born on 2 July 1924 in Reedly, California, Rick Besoyan passed away in March 1970 in Sayville, Long Island, New York. From an early age he composed melodies, and while still a student he began creating full-length stage musicals. During World War II military duty he performed in entertainment units for troops and, during a posting in London, took piano lessons. After the conflict ended he joined the Breden-Savoy Light Opera Company in California and later moved to New York City.
In the final years of the 1950s he appeared in two revues that brought him notice: Cole Porter’s Out Of This World and In Your Hat, the latter presented at Jim Paul Eilers’ Greenwich Village venue, The Showplace, located at 146 West 4th Street. His breakthrough arrived with Little Mary Sunshine in 1959. Conceived expressly for Eileen Brennan, who played Mary Potts, the piece offered an affectionate parody of Broadway and Hollywood musical comedies. Critics responded enthusiastically, and Besoyan received the Drama Desk’s Vernon Rice Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement. The production ran for three years, toured extensively across the United States and abroad, and has continued to receive performances worldwide, with cumulative stagings reportedly exceeding one hundred thousand.
Besoyan’s subsequent efforts proved less fortunate. The Student Gypsy, Or The Prince Of Liederkranz reached Broadway in 1963, while Babes In The Wood opened off-Broadway the following year; both closed quickly, the former lasting only sixteen performances at the 54th Street Theatre. He also conducted classes in musical comedy at the Stella Adler Studio. At the time of his death he was developing a musical adaptation of Paul Gallico’s Mrs. ’Arris Goes To Paris, a project left unfinished. In 2002 a fresh Broadway mounting of Little Mary Sunshine featured Sarah Rice in the role of Mary Potts.
In the final years of the 1950s he appeared in two revues that brought him notice: Cole Porter’s Out Of This World and In Your Hat, the latter presented at Jim Paul Eilers’ Greenwich Village venue, The Showplace, located at 146 West 4th Street. His breakthrough arrived with Little Mary Sunshine in 1959. Conceived expressly for Eileen Brennan, who played Mary Potts, the piece offered an affectionate parody of Broadway and Hollywood musical comedies. Critics responded enthusiastically, and Besoyan received the Drama Desk’s Vernon Rice Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement. The production ran for three years, toured extensively across the United States and abroad, and has continued to receive performances worldwide, with cumulative stagings reportedly exceeding one hundred thousand.
Besoyan’s subsequent efforts proved less fortunate. The Student Gypsy, Or The Prince Of Liederkranz reached Broadway in 1963, while Babes In The Wood opened off-Broadway the following year; both closed quickly, the former lasting only sixteen performances at the 54th Street Theatre. He also conducted classes in musical comedy at the Stella Adler Studio. At the time of his death he was developing a musical adaptation of Paul Gallico’s Mrs. ’Arris Goes To Paris, a project left unfinished. In 2002 a fresh Broadway mounting of Little Mary Sunshine featured Sarah Rice in the role of Mary Potts.