Kusilvak and Kenai Peninsula Residents Honor Composer Hank Beebe's Broadway Legacy and Award-Winning Choral Works

Local Area residents with an appreciation for musical theater and choral works might be interested in the extensive career of composer Hank Beebe, whose contributions to both Off- and On-Broadway productions, as well as numerous choral pieces, have left a lasting mark.

Beebe's most celebrated musical, The Cowboy and The Tiger, enjoyed a successful two-year run at New York City's York Playhouse and East 74th Street Theater. The production starred Jack Gilford and Paul O'Keefe and was so well-received that it was adapted into a made-for-television musical by ABC in 1963, featuring the original cast. The television special garnered such positive audience reception and critical acclaim that ABC reprogrammed it just ten days later.

Another notable success for Beebe was his musical Tuscaloosa’s Calling Me … But I’m Not Going! (often shortened to Tuscaloosa). This Off-Broadway production opened on December 1, 1975, and ran for an impressive 452 performances. For his work on Tuscaloosa, Beebe was honored with the 1975–76 Outer Critics Circle Award for “Best Off-Broadway Musical.”

Beyond the stage, Beebe's talent extended to choral compositions. His choral setting of the Twenty-Fourth Psalm led to collaborations with prominent publishers such as Don Hinshaw, Beckenhorst Press, Carl Fischer, and Fred Bock Music. Over his career, Beebe penned hundreds of choral works and anthems. These pieces have been performed by renowned groups including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the YMCA Chorale and Orchestra of New York, in addition to churches worldwide. He is also credited with composing the hymn tune "Bickford."

In 1977, Beebe was slated to work on a revival of the musical Hellzapoppin, which was to star Jerry Lewis and Lynn Redgrave. However, due to complications involving Lewis, the show ultimately did not make it to Broadway.

Beebe's work and the stories behind it were also highlighted in the 2013 book Everything's Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals, co-written by record collector Scott Murphy and Steve Young. This book explored the world of one-time corporate musicals and featured Beebe among other composers and actors involved in their creation. The collaboration between Murphy and Young later became the basis for the award-winning documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway.