George Forrest (author) George Forrest (author) George Forrest (born George Forrest Chichester Jr., July 31, 1915 – October 10, 1999) was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show "Kismet", adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin. He was also known professionally at times as Chet Forrest. Throughout his career Forrest worked exclusively with the composer-lyricist Robert Wright. The pair had an affinity for adapting classical music themes and adding lyrics to these themes for Hollywood and the Broadway musical stage. Wright said that the music was usually a 50-50 "collaboration" between Wright & Forrest and the
Kismet (musical) It is melodic and gay". Bloom and Vlastnik noted that it was the score that made the show successful, as the songs "Stranger in Paradise" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" were "huge hits on radio, television and records." "Kismet" was even more successful in London's West End, enjoying a 648 performance run at the Stoll Theatre commencing in April 1955. The London production opened with the three stars of the Broadway cast, Drake, Morrow and Diener. They were subsequently replaced by Tudor Evans, Elizabeth Larner and Sheila Bradley, respectively. The first Australian production opened at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne in