The Robber Bridegroom

by Alfred Uhry, Robert Waldman

The Robber Bridegroom is a musical with a Tony-nominated book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry and music by Robert Waldman. The story is based on the 1942 novella by Eudora Welty of the same name, with a Robin Hood-like bandit hero; the adaptation placed it in a late 18th-century American setting.

Genres: Plays

80 pages, Textbook Binding

Published January 1, 1978

About the author

Alfred Uhry was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His book for the musical version of Eudora Welty's The Robber Bridegroom was Tony nominated in 1976. Driving Miss Daisy won the Pulitzer Prize, and The Last Night of Ballyhoo and his book for the musical Parade won Tony Awards. In 2006 his play Without Walls, starring Laurence Fishburne, opened in Los Angeles, and Edgardo Mine opened at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. He has also written the book for Lovemusik, which opened on Broadway in May 2007. Screenplays include Mystic Pizza, Rich in Love, and I'll Take Virginia.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read the original fairy tale that loosely inspired this story, I was intrigued to read both the novella and musical of The Robber Bridegroom.

I’m lukewarm.

Let me say this: I’m not shocked the novella isn’t more widely known today. It doesn’t wear its age well in places, and I think some readers would find the central love story more disturbing than romantic.

The musical does a better version of both playing up the humor of the story and doing away with some of the more disturbing details of the novella. From that standpoint, it’s entertaining.

But both versions overly rely on the poor hapless idiot married to a shrew wife. While that can be funny, for this reader at least, it fell surprisingly flat.

I really thought I’d like these more than I did. Not recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really good idea, but the story has some holes in it. Plus, it leaves out a lot of stage direction, so it can get confusing.