Based on playwright
Eugene O'Neill
's sole comedy,
Ah, Wilderness
, the musical
Take Me Along
was mounted on Broadway in 1959 as a vehicle for TV star
Jackie Gleason
. It ran for a little over a year and lost money, although it has gone into the black since.
Robert Merrill
's score is...functional, although it does provide showcases for
Gleason
on such songs as
"Single Kid"
and "I Get Embarrassed" (a duet with
Eileen Herlie
).
Walter Pidgeon
also makes a strong impression and
Robert Morse
took a big step to stardom playing the juvenile and singing "I Would Die" with
Susan Luckey
... ~ William Ruhlmann