Mame is a happy happening. She is well-to-do, lives in New York at the peak of the
Twenties, and is surprised by a "wonderful present": an orphan nephew named Patrick.
Now, ten-year-old Patrick needs his aunt, and this is something new for Mame-to be
needed. It changes her life. It brings her into sharp conflict with her best friend, Vera
Charles, a multi-martini grande dame of the legitimate theatre-for Vera can't stand
children. The man Mame is about to marry is perfectly willing to take on the boy as a
bonus, but Mame doesn't think she'll have time for marriage-"I'll be too busy being a
mother!"
The boy's nanny, Agnes Gooch, doesn't approve of those irrepressible things which go
on in Mame's Beekman Place apartment, and yet she inevitably falls under her spell.
Eye to eye, toe to toe, Mame battles Babcock, the Babbitt-ish banker who wants to
make young Patrick the prisoner of the Establishment and put the chains of conformity
around him. With the balloon burst of the Depression, it looks as if Babcock is going to
have his way. Mame loses all her money, and she loses jobs as quickly as she finds them.
(Mame's gift is giving, not working for hire!) In a brief adventure as a manicurist, she
meets Beau-a wealthy scion of the South. He takes Mame to his plantation for the
begrudging approval of his family. They are astounded at her exploits on horseback (so is
she)! Of course, Beau proposes-in the bouncing title song which sings the praises of
Mame!
There's only one problem as the curtain falls on the first act-young Patrick, who has
given her such joy and provided a purpose in her life, smiles bravely. But he's afraid he
has lost his Best Girl.
Act Two rushes headlong into the Thirties. Vera stands by her Bosom Buddy when
Mame returns to Beekman Place after Beau's sudden death. Patrick, now in college, and
Mame's former suitor, Lindsay Woolsey, prompt Mame into writing her memoirs. Gooch
has been primed in secretarial school to type up Mame's pearls of wisdom-but an
experiment in a liberated life has a transforming influence on Patrick's nanny.
And the maturing Patrick seems to be slipping away from Mame's ideal of freedom.
When he declares his engagement to a fatuous blonde "with the IQ of a dead flashlight
battery," Mame is in despair. What did she do wrong? What would she do differently, "If
he walked into my life today?"
But the lady's resources are endless. Just as young Patrick rescued her from the
shallow trap of the Twenties, she helps the boy to save himself from a life of Darien
drabness and snobbery.
Ingeniously, she foils the Establishment and life goes on, not with Auntie Mame but
with Grand Auntie Mame rescuing another youngster from the toils of conformity.
Mame is Eve, St. Joan, Lady Godiva, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Bow and Florence
Nightingale. She dances, too, and defies all generation gaps! We have seen hundreds of
Auntie Mames and Mames: in each one there seemed to be a flash of something a bit
different, a new discovery in the way this remarkable lady thinks, feels, moves.
• St. Bridget
• It's Today
• It's Today (Reprise #1)
• Open a New Window
• The Moon Song
• My Best Girl
• We Need a Little Christmas
• We Need a Little Christmas (Reprise)
• The Fox Hunt
• Mame
• Finale - Act I
• Opening Act II
• My Best Girl (Reprise)
• Bosom Buddies
• Bosom Buddies (Reprise)
• Gooch's Song
• That's How Young I Feel
• If He Walked Into My Life
• It's Today (Reprise #2)
• Finale Act II
SONG LIST
CHARACTERS
Mame — An elegant woman who loves to party. Energetic,
flamboyand and lovable
Patrick — An orphaned ten year-old who is Mame's nephew. He
grows into an adult toward the end of the show.
Agnes Gooch — Patrick's caring, protective, and loyal nanny.
Beau — A wealthy southern gentleman who is a client of Mame's
at the beauty salon. He eventually falls in love with her.
Dwight Babcock — Patrick's father's dull executor who is in
charge of keeping an eye on Patrick's upbringing.
Ito — Mame's Chinese butler.
Mother Burnside — Beau's feared mother and head of the
Burnside clan.
Sally Cato — Mame's competition for Beau's hand. She is
extremely jealous of Mame
Vera — An operetta star and Mame's best friend.
Cousin Fan
Gloria Upson — Patrick's pretentious girlfriend. A snob.
Gregor
Lindsay — Mame's Accountant and friend
Madame Branislowski
Mr. Upson
Mrs. Upson
Pegeen Ryan — Mame's decorator and the woman Patrick
eventually marries.
Ralph Devine
Uncle Jeff