Warnick/Pahl : The Adventures of Marco Polo

Evidently tailored to cash in on the success of Kismet, created two years before, The Adventures of Marco Polo again teamed Alfred Drake and Doretta Morrow, who had beguiled crowds on Broadway and the West End in the earlier musical. The made-for-TV entertainment took as its main character the legendary Venetian sailor and explorer who traveled to Cathay (China) in the 13th century and discovered in the opulent court of Kublai Khan a fabulous world unknown to his European contemporaries. Drake was obviously the right man to portray this colorful adventurer, with Morrow adding the charm of her presence as a Princess with whom he falls in love. The brilliant music created for the occasion by Clay Warnick and Mel Pahl, with Edward Eager contributing the lyrics, drew from exotic Technicolor melodies composed by Rimsky-Korsakov, another glorious asset in this musical, which aired April 14th, 1956 on NBC. (MBroadway)