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The Songs
Every song in BEGUILED AGAIN was composed by the writing team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics). Their biographies appear later in this study guide.
Here is a list of the songs as they appear in BEGUILED AGAIN, the year it was written, and the musical or film in which they first appeared.
Act I: Introductions
Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered -- From "Pal Joey" (1940). Starring Gene Kelly, Vivienne Segal, and June Havoc, it played the Ethel Barrymore Theatre for 374 performances.
The Lady Is a Tramp -- From "Babes In Arms" (1937). It originally starred teenagers Alfred Drake and Harold and Fayard Nicholas (The Nicholas Brothers). "Babes In Arms" is about show biz kids who put on a show. The original production was choreographed by George Balanchine and played the Shubert Theatre for 289 performances.
Thou Swell -- From "A Connecticut Yankee" (1927), which was Rodgers and Hart's eighth Broadway hit in a row. Based on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court," this musical starring William Gaxton played the Vanderbilt Theatre for 418 performances.
This Can't Be Love -- From "The Boys From Syracuse" (1938). Based on Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors," "The Boys From Syracuse" was directed by George Abbott, choreographed by George Balanchine, and starred Eddie Albert. It played the Alvin Theatre for 235 performances.
That Terrific Rainbow -- From"Pal Joey."
Johnny One Note -- From "Babes In Arms."
The Creative Process
First Blue Moon (Manhattan Melodrama) Intended for the 1934 film, "Manhattan Melodrama," this first, unused version of the song later became Blue Moon (See The Story of "Blue Moon").
The Girlfriend -- From "The Girl Friend" (1926), a show about a six day bicycle race.
You Mustn't Kick It Around -- From "Pal Joey."
A Ship Without a Sail -- From "Heads Up!" (1929). It played the Alvin Theatre for 144 performances and featured Ray Bolger.
'Cause We Got Cake -- From "Too Many Girls" (1939). This college football musical, which starred Desi Arnaz and Eddie Bracken, was directed by George Abbott and played the Imperial Theatre for 249 performances. (The film version of "Too Many Girls" again featured star Desi Arnaz, but his new leading lady was his future wife: Lucille Ball.)
Radio Days
Second Blue Moon (The Bad In Every Man) -- From the film "Manhattan Melodrama." This second version of the song was included in the film and sung by Shirley Ross. This MGM musical film, produced by David O. Selznick, starred Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. (The movie became famous as the one attended by Chicago gangster John Dillinger the night he was killed.)
Sing For Your Supper -- From "The Boys From Syracuse"
With A Song In My Heart -- From "Spring Is Here" (1929), which was based on the Owen Davis play, "Shotgun Wedding," and played the Alvin Theatre for 104 performances.
This Is My Night To Howl -- From the 1943 revival of "A Connecticut Yankee." This revival was rewritten slightly, and featured new songs. It starred Vivienne Segal and played the Martin Beck Theatre for 135 performances. This was to be Lorenz Hart's last show.
Manhattan -- Originally written for the unproduced musical, "Winkle Town," this song was first heard onstage in The Garrick Gaieties, A Bubbling Satirical Musical Revue of Plays, Problems and Persons (1925). The show was a benefit for The Theatre Guild, a professional New York theatre company. The benefit at the Garrick Theatre was supposed to play only twice, but it was so successful, it ran for 161 performances.
Mountain Greenery -- From the second edition of "The Garrick Gaieties" (1926), which ran for 174 performances.
Hollywood Dreams
Third Blue Moon (Prayer) -- Intended for the 1934 film, Hollywood Party. Written for Jean Harlow, the song was not used in the film after Harlow declined the role (see The Story of "Blue Moon.") When released, the film starred Jimmy Durante and Lupe Velez and had cameos by The Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy.
My Heart Stood Still -- First heard in the London Pavilion revue titled, One Dam Thing After Another (1927). It was first heard on Broadway in "A Connecticut Yankee" (1927). The song was inspired by a near-collision Rodgers and Hart had in a Paris taxicab.
Ten Cents A Dance -- From "Simple Simon" (1930), which was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld at the Ziegfeld Theatre. Featuring comedian Ed Wynn and Ruth Etting, the song was sung by Etting as a downtrodden manicurist. The show played for 135 performances.
Any Old Place With You -- From the 1919 Lew Fields musical comedy, "A Lonely Romeo." The music in A Lonely Romeo was by Malvin Franklin and Robert Hood Bowers, but this song, the first that Rodgers and Hart sold professionally, was added after the show had already opened.
That's The Song Of Paree -- From the 1932 film, "Love Me Tonight." Now a considered a classic film, it starred Maurice Chevalier as a tailor who falls for a princess, played by Jeannette McDonald.
Dear Old Syracuse -- From "The Boys From Syracuse."
Chicago -- From"Pal Joey."
She Could Shake The Maracas -- From "Too Many Girls."
Back To New York
I Gotta Get Back To New York -- From the 1933 film, "Hallelujah, I'm A Bum." The movie starred Al Jolson as a carefree hobo who rescues Madge Evans from suicide in Central Park.
Blue Moon -- The final version of this song was not written for a specific show, but as a commercial song to be recorded.
Act II: Humor
Zip -- From"Pal Joey."
Lover -- From The film, "Love Me Tonight."
I've Got Five Dollars -- From "America's Sweetheart" (1931). Starring Ann Sothern, this satire on Hollywood was directed by Monty Wooley and played the Broadhurst Theatre for 135 performances.
You Took Advantage Of Me -- From "Present Arms!" (1928). This musical about the Marines starred Busby Berkley and played the Mansfield Theatre for 155 performances.
My Romance -- From "Jumbo" (1935), which starred Jimmy Durante and an elephant named Rosie in the title role. The book for this musical was written by The Front Page authors Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (their only musical), and the book was directed by George Abbott. (The whole production was directed by John Murray Anderson.) Staged at the Hippodrome Theatre, "Jumbo" ran for 233 performances.
The Most Beautiful Girl In the World -- From "Jumbo."
Sophistication
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered -- From "Pal Joey."
It Never Entered My Mind -- From "Higher and Higher."
Little Girl Blue -- From "Jumbo."
Nobody's Heart -- From "By Jupiter" (1942). Directed by Joshua Logan, this wartime musical starred Ray Bolger and played the Shubert Theatre for 427 performances.
Where Or When -- From "Babes In Arms."
Isn't It Romantic? -- From the film, "Love Me Tonight."
Why Can't I? -- From "Spring Is Here."
Irony
A Lovely Day For a Murder -- From "Higher and Higher" (1940). With a book by Joshua Logan, it starred Jack Haley and played the Shubert Theatre for 108 performances.
To Keep My Love Alive -- A new song from the 1943 revival of "A Connecticut Yankee."
Ev'rything I've Got -- From "By Jupiter."
Search For True Love
I Wish I Were In Love Again -- From "Babes In Arms."
Have You Met Miss Jones? -- From "I'd Rather Be Right" (1937). With a book by George Kaufman and Moss Hart,this political satire marked the return to Broadway of legendary star, George M. Cohan, who starred as Franklin D. Roosevelt. It played the Alvin Theatre for 290 performances.
There's A Small Hotel -- From "On Your Toes" (1936). Originally a musical conceived for Fred Astaire, it actually starred Ray Bolger. Playing for 315 performances at the Imperial Theatre, the choreography was by George Balanchine. It included "Slaughter On 10th Avenue," now considered one of Balanchine's masterpieces.
Glad To Be Unhappy -- From "On Your Toes."
Ten Cents A Dance -- Reprise
Falling In Love With Love -- From "The Boys From Syracuse."
What is a Revue?
BEGUILED AGAIN is a musical revue. A revue is a topical show consisting of a series of scenes, episodes, and/or songs usually having a central theme but not a dramatic plot, often with spoken verse and prose, sketches, songs, dances, ballet and specialty acts. Revues developed in France in the 19th century, and were taken up by other countries including Britain and the United States, and enjoyed their greatest acclaim and significance between the World Wars. In a revue there are elements of other stage forms such as cabaret, variety show, vaudeville, pantomime, burlesque and musical comedy.
In the United States, revue developed mostly from extravagant burlesques and vaudeville in New York during the late 19th century. John Brougham wrote one of the first, The Dramatic Review for 1868 (1869), a piece burlesquing the previous year's popular theatre. The show was unsuccessful and prompted no imitations. The first popular revue came in 1894 with The Passing Show (music by Ludwig Englander), which, like Brougham's piece, was a satire on theatrical productions but which incorporated some topical songs in the style of Tin Pan Alley. Soon there were many revues on the New York stage. Those starring Joe Weber and Lew Fields (1896-1904) had vaudeville-like farce and pantomime, humorous songs, dances and more send-ups of theatrical productions.
The real establishment of American revue came with the Follies of 1907, 'a musical review of the New York sensations of the past season'. Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., it appropriated the name and style of the Parisian Folies-Bergere, though the female chorus had to attract more by sheer beauty than mere nakedness. It became the first of an annual series of Ziegfeld Follies that became progressively more spectacular. Ziegfeld set the standard with very large casts, an emphasis on female glamour, grand costumes and sets, fast-paced scenes and star performers like Fanny Brice, W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor and Marilyn Miller. The shows remained a leading form of American stage entertainment into the 1920's and produced many imitators; notably the Shubert brother's The Passing Show series from 1912, the Greenwich Village Follies from 1919, Irving Berlin's four Music Box Revues (1921-24) and Earl Carroll's Vanities from 1922. The team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart collaborated on several revues (most significantly The Garrick Gaieties) in which simplicity and economy replaced elaborateness of setting and costume. Smaller-scale but still lavish revues also played in rooftop theatres and nightclubs, notably the Cotton Club in Harlem.
From the late 1920's, more serious, intimate revue came to the fore as lavish productions waned during the economic depression. In addition, the departure of the leading composers for Hollywood hastened the decline of the genre, although giving opportunities to newer songwriters.
After World War II revues were performed less frequently at large Broadway theatres. While the song-and-dance revue found new life on television, satirical, intimate revue was fostered by repertory companies throughout the country in the 1960s. The productions more often favored improvised sketches and topical commentary on American society, abandoning complex choreography, and elaborate sets. The music increasingly used rock and electronic idioms.
Throughout the 1970's and 1980's revues became popular for looking back at music from the past. Popular revues included Ain't Misbehavin', made up of songs written or popularized by Fats Waller; Eubie!, the music of Eubie Blake; Sophisticated Ladies, the music of Duke Ellington; Berlin To Broadway with Kurt Weill, the music of Kurt Weill; Closer Than Ever, the music of Richard Maltby, Jr., and David Shire; and Tintypes, the music of the turn of the 19th century.
In the 1990's and in the new millennium, revues such as It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues (blues songs); Fosse (musical theatre numbers choreographed by Bob Fosse); Smokey Joe's Café (rock & roll songs of Leiber and Stoller); Putting It Together (musical theatre songs by Stephen Sondheim); Swing! (songs and dances from the swing era); and Tango Argentino (tango dances from Argentina) played Broadway.
In 2002, revues on Broadway included Bea Arthur - Just Between Friends (songs and sketches from actress Bea Arthur's career), Barbara Cook - Mostly Sondheim (actress Cook singing many Stephen Sondheim songs), and Elaine Stritch At Liberty (songs and sketches from actress Elaine Stritch's Broadway career). Broadway revues still scheduled to open this season include Movin' Out, which features the songs of pop singer Billy Joel, and The Look of Love, a new revue of pop songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
Who were Rodgers and Hart?
Richard Rodgers, Composer (1902 - 1979)
Lorenz Hart, Lyricist (1895 - 1943)
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart are considered giants of the American popular song. Their enduring legacy is forever assured as generation after generation are introduced to their classic mix of gorgeous melodies, romantic playfulness, and clever wittiness.
It all began in New York City, where both Rodgers and Hart were born and raised. Rodgers was the son of a well-respected doctor, and Hart, the son of well-to-do German immigrants. Hart, seven years older than Rodgers, was fascinated by language at an early age, and by the age of five was writing verse in rhyme. Rodgers family, avid theatergoers, had a grand piano in their home, and young Rodgers was enamored with music. He learned to play by ear, and could pluck out a melody on the keys almost immediately.
Lorenz Hart quickly developed a reputation as a good rhyming lyricist, and after dropping out of Columbia University (where he wrote and acted in the shows) found his first permanent job adapting lyrics for the popular foreign operettas heading for Broadway. Meanwhile, Rodgers' older brother, Mortimer, was a member of the Akron Club, an amateur sports club that needed cash to pay for uniforms. A fundraising idea was to rent a ballroom and produce a show to raise the money. Mortimer suggested his teenage brother Richard write the music for the revue. The show, One Minute Please, was a success, and a second edition was soon planned.
Club members felt the lyrics were weak in the first show, so Phil Leavitt, an Akron Club member, and aspiring artist, asked his good friend and Columbia chum Lorenz Hart to write lyrics on the next show. The meeting of Rodgers and Hart one afternoon at Hart's apartment proved fortunate. They bonded immediately and set to work on a collaboration.
Phil Leavitt was again to prove instrumental in Rodgers and Hart's career as he knew Dorothy Fields, daughter of the famous musical comedy star, Lew Fields. The writing team had written a song that Leavitt thought the elder Fields would like,and he asked Dorothy if she would have her father listen to the song. Fields didn't like the song, but asked to hear others the duo had written. When they played "Any Old Place With You," Lew Fields liked it so much, he decided to incorporate it into his Broadway show, A Lonely Romeo. It was their first professional song, and it was a hit.
Richard Rodgers was accepted to Columbia University in 1919, the same year A Lonely Romeo played Broadway, and he quickly became involved in the school's very popular varsity shows. Anyone who had attended Columbia, whether they graduated or not, was eligible to take part in the varsity shows. Hart, a former student, continued his collaboration with Rodgers at the school, writing Fly With Me for the 1920 season. Meanwhile, Lew Fields asked Hart and Rodgers to contribute to a new musical he was producing for Broadway, Poor Little Ritz Girl, which was to try out in Boston. At the last minute, Fields got nervous, and replaced their songs with those of Sigmund Romberg. The show closed in Boston, never making it to Broadway.
After their second show for Columbia University, 1921's You'll Never Know, Richard Rodgers dropped out and enrolled at the Institute of Musical Arts (now The Juilliard School). For the next two years he studied classical music and composition, all the while continuing to write with Hart.
After struggling through three musically unproductive years (1922-1925), Richard Rodgers was approached by Edith Meiser, a member of the popular Theatre Guild, to write songs for a revue that would be a fundraiser for the company. When Rodgers played the melody of his song "Manhattan" from the unproduced "Winkle Town," Meiser immediately hired the young composer. Rodgers expressed a desire to collaborate on the score with Hart, who, too,was hired. The pair then landed their friend Herbert Fields (son of Lew) the job as book writer and the team happily set about writing the revue; a satirical look at the topical happenings of the day.
The Garrick Gaieties was an instant, enormous success. Scheduled to play only twice, the show exceeded everyone's expectations, and The Theatre Guild booked a Broadway theater for the show. Rodgers and Hart had their first success, and their song, "Manhattan," took off. Future superstars connected with the The Garrick Gaieties company included film actor Sterling Holloway, director and teacher Sanford Meisner, director Harold Clurman (stage manager), and writer Morrie Ryskind.
Just in time. Had Rodgers not had success, he would have given up the theater and hit the road as a traveling salesman - selling children's clothing. Meanwhile, a show that he and Hart had written during their dry years attracted the attention of a fairly well-known musical theater actress, Helen Ford, who found the necessary $50,000 to produce it on Broadway. The show, Dearest Enemy, opened in 1925, running simultaneously with The Garrick Gaieties. It proved an instant success and continued its run for 286 performances.
As the pair continued to look for material to adapt into Broadway shows, their creative process took shape. Rodgers always maintained that Hart needed a melody first, and if he liked the melody the lyrics would flow naturally. Without a tune, Hart was hard pressed to write at all, so most of their collaborations started with Rodgers' music.
Following Dearest Enemy, Rodgers and Hart succeeded in 1926 with "The Girl Friend" (which produced the hit song, "The Blue Room"), and a second, less successful edition of The Garrick Gaieties (which contained the popular "Mountain Greenery"). That same year they traveled to London to write a musical, Lido Lady, for the producer/actor Jack Hulbert. Though Lido Lady was a huge London success (running 529 performances), it never traveled to New York. The hot pair were then to have two new musicals open on Broadway one night apart. The first, Peggy-Ann, a show featuring their friend Helen Ford, and the second, a bungled experience with super showman, Florenz Ziegfeld.
The Ziegfeld production that proved an unhappy experience was Betsy, featuring the musical star Belle Baker. Unhappy with the featured song Rodgers and Hart had written for her, Baker called her dear friend Irving Berlin the night before the show was to open, and asked him to write her a new song. The following morning, Berlin and Baker took the new song to Ziegfeld, who had orchestral arrangements done for that evening's opening performance. No one told Rodgers and Hart. It was so popular on opening night the audience asked to hear it again - 28 times! Berlin's song, which was to become one of the biggest hits of the 20th century, was "Blue Skies." According to Baker's son, Rodgers and Hart didn't speak to her for 10 years.
Rodgers and Hart returned to London, where their earlier show, Lido Lady, was still running. They were hired to create a new revue which was to become One Dam Thing After Another, and contained the hit song, "My Heart Stood Still." While in Britain, Rodgers, with his handsome, good looks and gracious manners, became socially popular, invited into the same circles that included the Prince of Wales. Hart, who was incredibly short and decidedly unattractive, was less favored. On the ship back to New York, Richard Rodgers became reacquainted with Dorothy Feiner, a charming and sophisticated New Yorker, whom he eventually married.
Back in the States, Rodgers, Hart, and Herb Fields readied a musical they had started but shelved six years earlier: an adaptation of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Shortened to "A Connecticut Yankee," it opened in November of 1927 and was an enormous success, spawning several hit songs, including their London smash, "My Heart Stood Still," and "Thou Swell" (which producer Lew Fields adamantly wanted cut from the show).
The year 1928 began badly for the pair when their next two musicals fared poorly. She's My Baby was unpopular with critics and audiences alike, despite the presence of wacky Beatrice Lillie, and Present Arms!, produced by Lew Fields, received the same negative reaction, though it did include the hit song, "You Took Advantage of Me."
The next musical Rodgers and Hart tried was an experimental piece based on the novel, The Son of the Grand Eunuch by Charles Pettit. The story was set in the time of the Tartars in Peking, where the grand eunuch was raised to a high position in the emperor's court - after castration! Needless to say, their musicalization, Chee-Chee, was not a success and closed after only 31 performances.
The year 1929 saw two new musicals from Rodgers and Hart. The first, Spring Is Here, featured hits "With A Song In My Heart," and "Why Can't I?" The second, Heads Up!, unfortunately opened in November just after the stock market crashed. Both shows ran just over 100 performances.
Just after the turn of the new decade, when the Great Depression changed the theatrical landscape, Rodgers and Hart begrudgingly accepted an offer to write a new musical for comic Ed Wynn, Simple Simon, to be produced by Ziegfeld, with whom they had had a bad experience on Betsy. Ziegfeld threw out six of the songs the team had written and demanded new songs that weren't so "fancy-schmanzy." One of the results was "Ten Cents A Dance," a now classic Rodgers and Hart tune, which was sung in the show by popular Ruth Etting.
After Simple Simon, Rodgers and Hart headed back to London; Rodgers coming in from Italy where he was honeymooning with his new bride Dorothy, Hart from New York. The result was Ever Green, which played at the Adelphi Theater. Eager to get back to the United States as Dorothy was pregnant and wanted their child born at home, Rodgers and Hart sailed as soon as possible. As the Depression increased financial problems for newlywed Rodgers, he and Hart accepted a three picture contract with the Warner brothers (who were running First National Studios), and headed straight for Los Angeles.
The first movies Rodgers and Hart worked on were the celluloid versions of their Broadway shows, "Spring Is Here" and Heads Up! featuring Helen Kane (the inspiration for Betty Boop). The Hot Heiress, the third, was completely forgettable. Featuring Ona Munson and Walter Pidgeon, the movie contained four Rodgers and Hart songs, but in a musical film crazy America, The Hot Heiress barely made a ripple.
With some good Hollywood stories to tell, Rodgers and Hart returned to New York and wrote a satire, America's Sweetheart. It was notable for "I've Got Five Dollars," "A Lady Must Live," and a performance by Harriet Lake, who would soon change her name to Ann Sothern.
They went back to Hollywood after the birth of Rodgers' first child, Mary, in 1931. Their next film was Paramount's "Love Me Tonight," which featured French star Maurice Chevalier, and prima donna Jeanette MacDonald, fresh from New York. The experience proved much more agreeable to Rodgers and Hart, as the director Rouben Mamoulian made the film making atmosphere innovative and exciting. The film produced several popular songs, none more popular than "Isn't It Romantic?" a duet by Chevalier and MacDonald.
A second Paramount film, "The Phantom President," starred George M. Cohan. Cohan hated doing the movie and was difficult on the film set, unaccustomed to the new film medium. Al Jolson, who starred in the writer's next film, "Hallelujah, I'm A Bum," was more amenable, and their score contained yet another hit "You Are Too Beautiful."
Rodgers and Hart returned to New York and immediately went to work writing the score to showman Billy Rose's new gargantuan "Jumbo," billed as the "..biggest musical extravaganza in the history of the world.." Playing The Hippodrome, considered the 'largest playhouse on Earth,' "Jumbo" featured Jimmy Durante and several hit songs including," My Romance," "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World," and "Little Girl Blue."
While "Jumbo" played the Hippodrome, Rodgers and Hart set to work on their next musical, which had been conceived in Hollywood as a musical film for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but disliked by MGM. Attracting book writer George Abbott and revolutionary choreographer George Balanchine, the new musical,On Your Toes, was instead written for the stage, and was to fulfill Richard Rodgers' dream of integrating both song and dance in order to advance the plot. The show was a huge hit and made a star out the lead, Ray Bolger. It featured the hits "Glad To Be Unhappy," and "There's A Small Hotel," and included the now legendary ballet "Slaughter on 10th Avenue."
As the hit "On Your Toes" played the Imperial Theater, Rodgers and Hart set to work writing not only the songs, but also the book (or story) for their next musical, which was to begin a whole new musical genre. When "Babes In Arms" opened in April of 1937, there were no previous "let's put a show on in the barn" musicals as a model. "Babes In Arms" featured one of the finest scores ever written, including the now classics, "Where or When," "My Funny Valentine," "The Lady Is A Tramp," Johnny One Note," and "I Wish I Were In Love Again." It also made stars out of the almost entirely teenage cast, including Alfred Drake and the Nicholas Brothers.
Rodgers and Hart were on a roll. After nearly being forgotten in New York after their years away in Hollywood, Rodgers and Hart reestablished themselves as a real Broadway musical force. Richard Rodgers constantly had melodies pouring out of him, but Lorenz Hart wasn't necessarily keeping up with the output. Hart had begun to drink heavily and was constantly late or a no-show at work sessions, meetings, conferences, and rehearsals. Rodgers was an extremely organized man, and Hart's actions began to irritate the methodical composer, disrupting his creative process.
Rodgers and Hart's next show had originally been offered to George and Ira Gershwin. The Gershwin's were in Hollywood, so Producer Sam Harris presented Rodgers and Hart the show, which was to be a musical satire on politics starring the longtime Broadway song and dance man, George M. Cohan. The "Yankee Doodle Boy's" presence made the show, I'd Rather Be Right, highly anticipated, but the experience of getting the show to opening night became unbearable. Cohan hated working with Rodgers and Hart, but mostly hated working only as an actor: He'd made his career for years as the producer, director, writer, composer, and star of his own shows, and he felt he could do it better than anyone else. The whole process was an unpleasant one for Rodgers and Hart, with problems not only with their star but also the book writers, George S. Kaufmann and especially Moss Hart, who voiced his "distaste for music in the theater." They did have one successful song in the show, "Have You Met Miss Jones?"
Immediately following "I'd Rather Be Right" was 1938's "I Married An Angel," featuring Vivienne Segal and a first time director of musicals, Joshua Logan. Later that same year, their new musical based on Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, "The Boys From Syracuse," opened for an acclaimed run. It featured the mega-hit, "Falling In Love With Love," along with "Sing For Your Supper," and "This Can't Be Love."
Meanwhile, Hart's drinking problem made life increasingly difficult for Rodgers, who was getting fed up with the ever absent lyricist. While writing the music for 1939's Too Many Girls, and 1940's "Higher and Higher," Rodgers began composing music on his own for a ballet, Ghost Town. It was commissioned by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, then one of the premier ballet companies in the world. It wasn't wildly successful, but it did give Rodgers a creative outlet to express himself musically without words.
The next project for Rodgers and Hart was the adaptation of a series of John O'Hara short stories which ran in The New Yorker magazine. "Pal Joey"'s protagonist is a cynical, hard-boiled, nightclub emcee in a seamy nightclub in a disreputable neighborhood. Not the typical Broadway musical fare, "Pal Joey" trail blazed blunt, harsh realism in American musical theater, and produced the blockbuster hit, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." It starred the new hot Broadway actor, Gene Kelly.
By now Hart's drinking had become debilitating, and he was frequently found unconscious. After Rodgers himself found Hart, he was taken to a hospital to 'dry out.' While Hart was in recovery, Rodgers moved a piano into the hospital, and the team set about writing songs for their new musical, "By Jupiter." "By Jupiter" was a success and played 427 performances in 1942. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the Theatre Guild, where Rodgers and Hart had had their first success with The Garrick Gaieties, had offered Rodgers and Hart the opportunity to musicalize a play the Guild had produced several years earlier, Green Grow The Lilacs. Rodgers was very interested, but Hart was not.
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, another writing team, were also interested in the Theatre Guild production, but the director chosen by the Guild to direct, Joshua Logan, wanted Richard Rodgers. When it was discovered that Hammerstein was as passionate about the project as Rodgers was, composer Kern back away. Rodgers and Hammerstein both accepted the jobs as writers. Meanwhile, Hart's sobriety didn't last, and he became increasingly sickly from heavy drink. Green Grow The Lilacs, under its new title, Oklahoma!, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in 1943, and the new musical theater partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein was born.
Only one more project united Rodgers with Hart, and that was a 1943 revival of "A Connecticut Yankee." Though Hart wrote lyrics for several new songs, including one his best, "To Keep My Love Alive," they were to be his last. Within one week of its November 17 opening night, Lorenz Hart was dead, a victim of his alcoholism.
Richard Rodgers continued his association with Oscar Hammerstein, writing some of the masterpieces of the American musical theater, including Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), Flower Drum Song (1958), and The Sound of Music (1959), and the television production of Cinderella (1957). After Hammerstein's death in 1960, Richard Rodgers wrote his own lyrics for No Strings (1962), collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on Do I Hear A Waltz (1965), and with Martin Charnin on Two By Two (1970) and I Remember Mama (1979), his last show. Rodgers also wrote the Emmy-award winning music to the 1952 documentary Victory at Sea. Rodgers' daughter, Mary Rodgers, wrote the music for the popular Once Upon A Mattress (1959), and his grandson, Adam Guettel, has written the popular Floyd Collins (1996).
The story of "Blue Moon"
In BEGUILED AGAIN, there are four different lyrical versions of the hit tune that we now know as "Blue Moon." Here is the story from composer Richard Rodgers on the genesis of one of the most popular songs of the 20th century.
We arrived in California on the twenty-third day of December, 1932, and stayed there until April, 1933, without coming east at all.
During this period, Eddie Goulding, who had directed such pictures as Grand Hotel, came into my office at Metro with an idea for a picture called Hollywood Party, in which he wanted to use as many of the stars on the MGM lot as possible. One of the ideas was that of a telephone operator, to be played by Jean Harlow, anxious to break into moving pictures and become a star. Eddie wanted her to sing a song just as she was going to bed, talking about her ambitions and desires as far as the moving picture business was concerned. I, in turn, suggested that it be a prayer - this little girl praying because she was a kind of a "jazz" kid. But I wanted the melody played on a solo trumpet because Jean Harlow had such a small voice...I wrote this tune because it seemed to fit the requirements. I played it for Larry [Lorenz Hart] who then wrote the lyric. But Jean never signed for Hollywood Party, and the song was dropped.
Then not much after that, we tried the song another way. New lyrics were written and the song was called "Manhattan Melodrama," to be put in the picture of the same name. That didn't work out either, and the lyrics were again rewritten, this time as "The Bad In Ev'ry Man." It was shot and sung with that lyric and that title and is still in the print of that picture. Shirley Ross sang it.
Our contract was up with MGM in April 1933. When we were in California in July 1933, working for Paramount, we received a telegram from Jack Robbins suggesting that we take the melody of "Payer," "Manhattan Melodrama," and "The Bad in Ev'ry Man" and write for it what was called a 'commercial' lyric, and let him publish it.
Sometime within the next three months, a new lyric was written, the song being called, "Blue Moon."
A brief history of the musical up to Rodgers and Hart
Music has been used to enhance drama for centuries, in Greek and Roman times, and in the theaters of India and China. Even in Shakespeare's time plays usually included a song ot two, but they could not be classed as musicals by any stretch of the imagination.
The development of the musical - an entertainment which weaves song, story and often dance into a single homogenous whole - is comparatively recent. Whereas ballet and opera were originally court entertainments financed by powerful patrons, kings and princes throughout Europe, musical comedy has always had to pay its own way, and to find its audiences not exclusively from the rich and the nobility, but principally from the middle and lower classes, who paid for their seats and on whose patronage the success or failure of the shows depended. This is not to say that the early forerunners of musical comedy did not borrow from the grander forms of music. The tunes in John Gay's 1728 success, The Beggar's Opera, were cheerfully filched not merely from popular ditties and folk songs, but from classics by George Frederick Handel and Henry Purcell, among others.
The Victorian era, for all its seeming prudishness, entertained some of the most savage lampooning of its public figures in cartoon and other forms on the printed page. This was reflected in the musical theater of the time. The comic operettas of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, direct forerunners of the modern musical comedy, were brimful of topical allusions satirizing - to give just two examples - the aesthetic movement of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley in Patience, and the craze for everything Japanese in The Mikado.
The mid- to late 19th century brought a great expansion of entertainment with the building of chains of theaters in large cities and towns. Improved roads, better forms of transportation, and prosperity meant that there was greater opportunity for leisure pursuits, and these included going to the theater.
One of the first works in the U.S. considered "musical theater" because of it's story, song, dance, chorus girls, and special effects, was William Wheatley's spectacular ballet-melodrama, The Black Crook. Produced at Niblo's Gardens (a theater) in 1866, The Black Crook, had a running time of about five and a half hours!
The 50 years or so following The Black Crook was really the age of the European operetta; English, German, or Austrian. Composers such as Franz Lehar, Victor Herbert, and Rudolf Friml, traveled to America as political conditions in Europe were deteriorating, provided Americans with dreamy visions of European-style delicacy, romance, and exotic fantasies. Their works, such as Babes In Toyland, The Red Mill, and Naughty Marietta (Herbert), The Merry Widow and The Count of Luxembourg (Lehar), andThe Firefly (Friml), were enormously successful, keeping many American writers and composers busy as adaptors and translators. One popular American who burst through the European craze was George M. Cohan (Little Johnny Jones, Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway), whose peppy songs and upbeat stories captivated audiences from coast to coast.
World War I, however, forever changed the operetta as European culture, particularly German, became an undesirable subject. For the next ten years, stories with a decidedly American bent became the fashion as the works of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin gained in popularity. The former Europeans continued to have success, but their stories were now firmly centered in America, such as Friml's Rose-Marie. Kern's growing success included Very Good Eddie (1915), Sally (1920), and Sunny (1925), Berlin propelled the Ragtime craze with shows such as Watch Your Step (1914), and Stop! Look! Listen! (1915), while Gershwin hit big with Lady, Be Good! (1924), Tip-Toes (1925), and Oh, Kay! (1926).
Rodgers and Hart and the Roaring 1920's
The 1920's was a time of rapid change. The United States had just emerged from the "Great War" (World War I) and the newfound technology used for weapons, airplanes, and communications allowed the country to embark on a spectacular industrial and, consequently, financial boom. Everyday life was transformed with the widespread availability of telephones, radios, automobiles, and other remarkable new appliances. The pace of life quickened and the old restrictions of the previous generation gave way to new found freedoms. Huge wealth was accumulated as the stock market skyrocketed and real estate speculation flourished and boomed (especially here in Florida). To most it seemed the heady party would never end, but the market crash at the end of the decade slapped Americans with the sobering reality that the party couldn't last forever.
The music of the period reflected the quickening pulse of the nation, and dancing became increasingly vibrant as The Charleston swept the country and the world. Men and women no longer danced as couples, but jumped and kicked as arms flailed to the new jazz music.
Musical theater composers kept apace with the new trends, incorporating the new hot rhythms into their shows. Tunesmiths such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Vincent Youmans, DeSylva, Henderson, and Brown, and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, became wildly popular for their catchy songs extracted from their Broadway hits (and misses).
Rodgers and Hart had their first full-fledged Broadway show, Poor Little Ritz Girl, produced in 1920, but it wasn't very successful. (They had one song, "Any Old Place With You" in the 1919 show, A Lonely Romeo) It would be another five years before the writing team had a hit, The Garrick Gaieties, that set them on a course for popular success. Eight hit Broadway shows in a row in the 1920's secured Rodgers and Hart's place as one of the most popular song writing teams of the decade.
The following is a 1920's parallel timeline of Rodgers and Hart's songs and musicals with what was happening artistically, economically, socially, and technologically in America.
1920 - In January, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into affect, prohibiting the making, selling, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. In March, radio station WGI in Boston initiated the first known regularly scheduled radio broadcast. In April, physicist Albert Einstein arrived in New York to lecture at Columbia University on his theory of relativity. Also, Grand Canyon National Park was dedicated. In July, the first transcontinental New York to San Francisco air mail service began. In August, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted, allowing women the right to vote. In September, the first broadcast of a prize fight was heard (the Jack Dempsey-Billy Miske fight broadcast by WWJ), and the first broadcast by a dance band was transmitted (Paul Spech and His Orchestra). In November, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge won the vote for President and Vice President. The most popular playwright produced on Broadway that year was Eugene O'Neill. Two of his plays presented included Beyond The Horizon and The Emperor Jones. In 1920, Rodgers and Hart's first musical, Poor Little Ritz Girl, opened on Broadway at the Central Theater and played for 119 performances. There were no songs of lasting merit in the score.
1921 - In February, French aviator Etienne Oehmichen made the first helicopter flight, and Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan starred in The Kid. In May, the Immigration Quota Act severely limited immigration to no more than 3 percent annually of each nationality (based on the number of that nationality already residing in the U.S. as of 1910.) In August, hair bobbing gained national attention as the State Barber's Commission of Connecticut ruled that women who bob hair must have a barber's license. In October, it was reported that there had been a 100% divorce rate increase since 1896; the St. Louis Court of Domestic Relations attributed this to women's growing feeling of independence. In November, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was established at Washington, D.C.'s Arlington National Cemetery.
1922 - In February, James Joyce's groundbreaking stream-of-consciousness novel Ulysses was published by the Paris bookstore owned by expatriate American Sylvia Beach. The novel was banned as indecent in Britain and the U.S. shipment was seized by the postal authorities, who proceeded to burn 500 copies. Also, The Permanent Court of International Justice opened in The Hague, The Netherlands. In March, women's fashions were deemed so revealing that Catholic Pope Pius XI urged a campaign against them. In July, Johnny Weissmuller was the first to break the one minute mark in the 100 meter swim. In November, John Barrymore scored a triumph on Broadway as Shakespeare's Hamlet, earning critical and popular acclaim.
1923 - In January, the first wireless telephone call, sent via radio waves, was made from New York to London. Also, the Nazi Party held its first Congress in Munich. In March, the inaugural issue of Time, the first weekly news magazine, was published by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden. In June, Jelly Roll Morton made his first records in Chicago. On August 2, President Harding died of an apoplectic stroke in a San Francisco hotel room. He was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge.
1924 - In January, the first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France. In February, George Gershwin, as composer and pianist, premiered his 'Rhapsody in Blue' backed by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra at New York City's Aeolian Hall. Also, King Tut's Egyptian tomb was opened. In June, Congress declared American Indians to be U.S. citizens. On November 7, a stock market boom that began early in the decade hit a five-year high on this date, with 2.33 million shares traded on the New York exchange. On the 9th, Nellie Ross in Wyoming was elected the first woman governor in U.S.
1925 - In February, Floyd Collins, trapped for 18 days in a cave in Kentucky, died. A media circus surrounded the ongoing rescue effort, and supposedly "respectable" newspapers acted like tabloids with daily cliffhanger updates. In March, Tennessee banned the teaching of evolution, setting the stage for the May Scopes 'monkey trial.' In June, the United States and other nations agreed to ban the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons in war. The agreement was signed at an international arms control and trade convention in Geneva, now known as the Geneva Convention. On May 17, Rodgers and Hart's first successful musical, The Garrick Gaieties, opened at the Garrick Theater and played for 161 performances. The show produced a huge hit song, "Manhattan," establishing the duo as a viable writing force. On August 6, with an established hit show running, Rodgers and Hart were able to get one of their previously written but unproduced musicals onto the Broadway stage. Dearest Enemy opened at the Knickerbocker Theater, directed by young, hot director John Murray Anderson, and featured the popular musical comedy star, Helen Ford. A song from the show, "Here In My Arms," joined "Manhattan" as a hit.
1926 - In March, Robert H. Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. In May, U.S. Commander Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett were the first to fly over the North Pole, in the zeppelin Norge. On August 23, film superstar Rudolph Valentino died of a perforated ulcer at age 31. Hundreds of thousands mourned in the streets. In September, writer Anita Loos premiered a Broadway version of her popular novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, detailing the antics of the flapper, Lorelei Lee. In October, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises was published, and superstar escape artist Harry Houdini died from peritonitis in Detroit. In November, NBC, the National Broadcasting Co., was founded in New York City. On March 17, Rodgers and Hart opened The Girl Friend, a musical about a six day bicycle race. The song, "The Blue Room," was a big hit, and the show eventually ran for 409 performances at the Vanderbilt Theater. In May, a second edition of The Garrick Gaieties opened at The Garrick Theater, starring Sterling Holloway and Edith Meiser. Rodgers and Hart not only wrote another hit tune, "Mountain Greenery," but also included a one-act operetta spoof called "The Rose of Arizona." At the end of the year, Rodgers and Hart had two musicals open one day apart. On December 27, Peggy-Ann, Rodgers and Hart's third musical of the year opened, featuring Helen Ford and Edith Meiser. It played for 333 performances at the Vanderbilt Theater and produced no notable hits. On December 28, the song writing team opened another show, Betsy, with legendary producer Florenz Ziegfeld. It was a huge disappointment, and produced no hit records, except Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" which Ziegfeld slipped in without telling Rodgers or Hart. It played the New Amsterdam Theater for only 39 performances.
1927 - In January, Massachusetts became the first state to require auto insurance, and on the 17th, movie director Fritz Lang premiered his silent masterpiece, Metropolis. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a Texas law barring blacks from voting in the state's primary election, and Major H.O.D. Segrave set the world land speed record (auto) right here in Daytona Beach (203.79 mph), driving the "Sunbeam." In May, Charles Lindbergh, 'Lucky Lindy,' made the first one-person, nonstop transatlantic airplane flight, from New York to Paris, in his "Spirit of St. Louis" monoplane in just over 33 hours. Also in May, the Iron Lung, to help polio victims breathe, was invented by Philip Drinker and Louis Shaw. In September, Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in a season, breaking his own six-year-old record of 59. In October, the first movie with synchronized sound, The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, opened. On May, 20, Rodgers and Hart opened One Dam Thing After Another in London at the London Pavilion, starring Jessie Matthews. "My Heart Stood Still" from the show became a big hit. On November 3, their next musical, "A Connecticut Yankee," opened at the Vanderbilt Theater on Broadway featuring the musical comedy actor, William Gaxton. It was a huge success, playing for 418 performances, and included another hit song, "Thou Swell."
1928 - In March, record trading on Wall Street hit 4,796,270 shares. In May, General Electric began the first regularly scheduled television broadcasts (three days a weeks for two hours each) at station WGY in Schenectady, N.Y. In July, women's events were featured for the first time at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Also, The Dodge Bros. auto makers merged with Chrysler Corp. in a $160 million deal. The Plymouth model also appeared. In September, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in London. On November 6, Herbert Hoover won the Presidency, defeating Al Smith. Also, The world's first fully synchronized sound cartoon, Walt Disney's Steamboat Willy, starring Mickey Mouse, premiered at the Colony Theatre in New York City. On December 8, the stock market took a 22-point plunge. Rodgers and Hart had three relatively unsuccessful musicals in 1928, including She's My Baby, which opened on January 3 at the Globe Theater, ran 71 performances, and featured Beatrice Lillie and Irene Dunne; Present Arms!, which opened on April 26 at the Mansfield Theater, ran 155 performances, and featured future film director Busby Berkley; and Chee-Chee, which opened on September 25, ran 31 performances, and featured Helen Ford. The only hit song Rodgers and Hart had from these three musicals is "You Took Advantage of Me" from Present Arms!
1929 - On January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was born in Atlanta, GA. On March 11, Major Seagrave again shattered the auto speed record in Daytona Beach (231.3 mph) in the 450-horse power "Golden Arrow." In September, stocks reached an all-time high, with some stocks tripling in price from the year before. On October 24, the U.S. stock market started its steep downward crash. By Tuesday, October 29, "Black Tuesday," the market seemed to have bottomed out, with 16 million shares sold. A few days of apparent recovery followed, with a slight rebound in prices, but the market dropped again. The crash, combined with other negative factors in the U.S. and world economies, very decisively brought to an end the decade of the 1920's and hastened the Great Depression. Again, Rodgers and Hart's 1929 musicals were fairly unsuccessful. Lady Fingers opened on January 31 at the Vanderbilt Theater, and played 132 performances. "Spring Is Here" opened on March 11, 1929 at the Alvin Theater, played 104 performances, and featured the hit, "With A Song In My Heart." Heads Up!, with Ray Bolger, Betty Starbuck, and Victor Moore, opened at the Alvin Theater, and played 144 performances.
Rodgers and Hart and The Great Depression
The 1930's were a decade of difficulty for not only those in America, but around the world as well. One way to escape the daily financial hardship was to seek out joyful entertainment that lifted spirits weighed down by daily harsh realities.
Rodgers and Hart delivered comedy, energy, and upbeat romance throughout the 1930's in both stage and film productions. Musicals such as "Babes In Arms," "Love Me Tonight," "The Boys From Syracuse," and "On Your Toes" provided a much needed respite from the depressing daily outlook on life as well as the gathering gloom of war in Europe.
The following is a 1930's parallel timeline of Rodgers and Hart's Broadway musicals and films to what was happening artistically, economically, socially, and technologically in America.
1930 - In March, Mahatma Gandhi began his civil disobedience campaign in India. In September, photo flashbulbs replaced dangerous flash powder. Also, the Japanese invaded Manchuria in China, the comic strip "Blondie" appeared in U.S. newspapers and Grant Wood painted "American Gothic." Rodgers and Hart's first musical films, Heads Up! and "Spring Is Here" were released. On Broadway, they were represented by "Simple Simon" at the Ziegfeld Theatre (135 performances) and in London by Ever Green at the Adelphi Theatre (254 performances). It was also the year Richard Rodgers married Dorothy Feiner.
1931 - In March, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the United States National anthem. In April, King Alfonso of Spain fled and a revolutionary provisional government was set up. In December, the bankruptcy of German Danatbank led to the closure of all German banks and German millionaires lined up to support the Nazi Party. Also in December, Hattie T. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Also, the Empire State Building was completed in New York, and Charlie Chaplin starred in City Lights. Rodgers and Hart's third film, The Hot Heiress was released, as well as their fourth,Ten Cents A Dance starring Barbara Stanwyck. On Broadway, their musical "America's Sweetheart" opened at the Broadhurst Theatre (135 performances), and they contributed one song for Fanny Brice in the musical Crazy Quilt at the 44th Street Theatre (79 performances). Richard Rodgers had a daughter, Mary.
1932 - In January, the Indian National Congress was declared illegal, and Mahatma Gandhi was arrested. In March, aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby was kidnapped from his bedroom. In November, Franklin D. Roosevelt won the Presidential election over Herbert Hoover and became the 32nd president. He introduced his 'New Deal,' a plan to get the American economy moving again. Also in November, the newspaper "The Times of London" introduced its new Times Roman typeface, Shirley Temple made her first film, Aldous Huxley published Brave New World, and Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. In December it was reported that 1 in 4 families in America were on relief. Also in December, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is decreed by Ibn Saud, and Iraq gained independence. Rodgers and Hart had a huge success at the box office with their film, "Love Me Tonight," starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeannette MacDonald. They also wrote songs for the film, The Phantom President, with George M. Cohan.
1933 - On January 30, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. In February Hitler suspended civil liberties, and in March, Hitler became "Dictator." In December, the Prohibition repeal ratification was completed creating the 21st amendment to the Constitution. On December 6, James Joyce's Ulysses was finally declared legal and publishable in the U.S. where it became an immediate success. Also, Mae West starred in She Done Him Wrong, the film version of her 1928 play Diamond Lil. The film broke box-office records and saved Paramount from selling out to MGM. Rodgers and Hart contributed music to the film Dancing Lady starring Joan Crawford, and had a big hit with "Hallelujah, I'm A Bum" starring Al Jolson. They also contributed a song for Beatrice Lillie to sing in Please! at the Savoy Theatre in London (108 performances).
1934 - In March, the U.S. declared that the Philippines would be independent in 1945. In August, the American explorer, William Beebe, descended 3,028 feet in his bathysphere into the ocean near Bermuda. Also, the Spanish Civil War began, lasting until 1936. General Batista (Fulgencio Batista Zaldivar), the head of the Cuban army, ruled Cuba through a series of puppet presidents, with the United States equipping the army and training Cuban officers. FDR's Emergency Relief Appropriation Acts was signed, as well as the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Act, which provided long-term mortgage loans by private lenders for home construction. Rodgers and Hart wrote songs for three movies, "Manhattan Melodrama" starring Clark Gable, Nana, and Hollywood Party, starring Jimmy Durante. Their British musical, Ever Green, also was made into a British film (now condensed to Evergreen) starring its stage star, Jessie Matthews.
1935 - In March, Hitler renounced the Treaty of Versailles. In November, Persia officially changed its name to Iran, and the publisher Allen Lane launched the inexpensive paperback series, Penguin Books, which sold for 10 cents. Also this year, Eastman-Kodak developed Kodachrome color film, and FDR created the Social Security Act, giving Americans the ability to save for retirement. Rodgers and Hart moved back to New York after writing songs for the film, Mississippi, starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields. Their first musical back in New York was "Jumbo" at the Hippodrome Theater (233 performances), starring Jimmy Durante. They also contributed one song for Tallulah Bankhead in the play, Something Gay at the Morosco Theatre (72 performances).
1936 - On January 20, King George V of Britain died. His son, Edward VIII was crowned then abdicated so he could marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. His brother George VI was subsequently crowned. In August, the XI Olympic Games were held in Berlin, making a star of black runner Jesse Owens, to Hitler's chagrin. In November, FDR was reelected President, defeating Alfred M. Landon. Also that year, construction was completed on the Boulder (Hoover) Dam on the Colorado River, creating Lake Mead, Henry Luce began publication of Life magazine, Piet Mondrian painted 'Composition in Red and Blue,' and Margaret Mitchell published Gone With The Wind. Rodgers and Hart wrote songs for the film The Dancing Pirate, starring Frank Morgan, and opened "On Your Toes" on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre (315 performances).
1937 - On May 6, the German airship Hindenburg burst into flame when mooring in Lakehurst, NJ. Also, Disney's Snow White, the first feature length animated film, opened. The Golden Gate bridge opened in San Francisco, and the Lincoln Tunnel, connecting New York City and New Jersey was completed. Also, the first jet engine was built by Frank Whittle, Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" mural was shown at the Paris World Expo, and Richard Wright published Black Boy. Rodgers and Hart wrote songs for the film Hollywood Hotel, and wrote two shows for Broadway: "Babes In Arms" at the Shubert Theatre (289 performances), and "I'd Rather Be Right" starring George M. Cohan at the Alvin Theatre (290 performances).
1938 - In March, German troops occupied and annexed Austria. In June, 'Superman' was first published in comic book form. On October 30, Orson Welles's radio adaptation of 'The War of the Worlds' was broadcast, causing mass panic in the eastern United States. Also, Thorton Wilder published Our Town, the Biro Brothers invented the ballpoint pen in Argentina, and CBS's "World News Roundup" ushered in modern newscasting. Rodgers and Hart created two shows for Broadway: I Married An Angel at the Shubert Theatre (338 performances), and "The Boys From Syracuse" at the Alvin Theatre (235 performances). They also wrote for the film Fools For Scandal starring Carole Lombard, and Rodgers wrote the musical score for the film The Goldwyn Follies.
1939 - In April, Italy invaded Albania, and on the 30th, the New York World's Fair "The World of Tomorrow" opened. In May, Pan American Airline's "Clipper" service began regular flights between the U.S. and Europe. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany. On September 10, Canada declared war on Germany. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland and then occupied eastern Polish territories. Also this year, Siam changed its name to Thailand, James Joyce published Finnegans Wake, and John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath. Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz opened at the movie theaters. Two film adaptations of Rodgers and Hart's stage musicals opened: "Babes In Arms" starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, and "On Your Toes." On Broadway, Too Many Girls, featuring Desi Arnaz, opened at the Imperial Theatre (249 performances), and Rodgers' ballet, Ghost Town, opened at the Metropolitan Opera House featuring the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
World conflict and the end of the Rodgers and Hart partnership
As war engulfed Europe, Asia, and North Africa, the American economy began to improve as factories increased production to meet demand for machinery, artillery, automobiles, and airplanes. Sympathies for European allies increased dramatically as the world divided into strong allegiances.
Entertainment began to reflect the growing nationalism as soldiers and every day "Joe's" took center stage, slowly replacing the rich playboy as the musical protagonist.
This was also the last stage of the Rodgers and Hart partnership, as Lorenz Hart succumbed to alcoholism.
The following is an early 1940's parallel timeline of Rodgers and Hart's up to the end of their partnership.
1940 - On June 10, Italy declared war on the Allies. Throughout the year, Hitler invaded Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, and began a bombing campaign against Britain in preparation for an invasion, in what became known as the Battle of Britain. Also, the USSR annexed the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. In October, Tito was named Chairman in Yugoslavia. In November, F.D.R. was reelected, defeating Wendell L. Wilkie, in the first election with significant African-American voters. Also this year, Ernest Hemingway published For Whom the Bell Tolls, the Pennsylvania Turnpike became the first U.S. intercity motorway, and Walt Disney's Fantasia opened, introducing stereo sound on film. Two of Rodgers and Hart's stage musicals were filmed: Too Many Girls with Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, and "The Boys From Syracuse" with Martha Raye. On Broadway were "Higher and Higher" at the Shubert Theatre (108 performances), and"Pal Joey" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (374 performances).
1941 - In March, the Italians commenced a second offensive against Greece, but failed to break the front. Also, Hitler signed Directive No. 25, which authorized the invasion of Yugoslavia. Hungary and Italy were assigned auxiliary roles in the invasion, and the U.S. government stated that it would support the Yugoslav resistance to Germany. In April,Yugoslavia and Greece were invaded by Germany. The Greek government formally surrendered to Germany. In June, Hitler invaded the USSR. On December 7, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered World War II. Also this year, Orson Welles opened Citizen Kane, and the first Gold Record ever awarded was given to Glenn Miller for his "Chattanooga Choo Choo." Rodgers and Hart only had one project together: the score for the film They Met In Argentina starring Maureen O'Hara. Rodgers did produce (silently) a Broadway show: Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane's Best Foot Forward.
1942 - In June, the U.S. ferociously battled Japan in the Midway Islands, handing Japan their first defeat. In December, at a German-Italian conference in Görlitz (near Dresden), Hitler declared his intention to crush all Yugoslav resistance. Also this year, the "Archie" comic books appeared for the first time, women's skirt's hemlines were raised due to war rationing, and the first electronic computer was in development. Rodgers and Hart had their last original musical on Broadway: "By Jupiter" at the Shubert Theatre (427 performances). There was also a film version of I Married An Angel, starring Nelson Eddy and Jeannette MacDonald in their final film together. Rodgers also began work with Oscar Hammerstein on a musical version of Green Grow The Lilacs, tentatively titled Away We Go!
1943 - In February, the end of the Battle of Stalingrad in Russia had Germany defeated. Also in February, General Eisenhower was selected to command the Allied armies in Europe. On July 10, the Allied troops invaded Sicily as a first step in invading mainland Italy, which occurred on September 3. Also this year, - 43,000 draftees refused to fight, and 6,000 were imprisoned. Conscientious objector camps were established on the West Coast, especially Walport, Oregon. Also, the development of the Colossus computer by the British helped to break German code encryption, and Iran declared war on Germany, but did no active fighting. Rodgers and Hammerstein's first musical, the previously titled Away We Go! opened at the St. James Theatre under it's new name, Oklahoma! It would eventually play 2,248 performances. Rodgers and Hart revived their 1927 hit, "A Connecticut Yankee," with several new songs, at the Martin Beck Theatre (135 performances). The Rodgers and Hart partnership ended on November 22 when Lorenz Hart died after a two week drinking binge. The official cause of death was pneumonia.
Glossary of Terms and Names
acropolis -- "It has no big acropolis..." an acropolis is a fortress of protection, usually on a high hill. The Acropolis in Athens is the most famous today.
Aida -- "Poor Johnny One Note, got in Aida..." Grand opera written by Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and first performed in 1871.
Allah -- "And I simply worship Allah." Muslim name for God.
Beguiled -- "I'm wild again, beguiled again..." Filled with wonder and delight.
Bewitched -- "Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I." To have the power of resistance taken away by witchcraft.
Blue Moon -- "Blue moon, you saw me standing alone..." A blue moon, in astronomy, is the second full moon in a month's time, an infrequent occurrence. It probably got it's name when the moon appeared blue from the atmospheric dust caused by a volcanic eruption.
Bowling Green -- "And Bowling Green you'll see with me." Bowling Green is the oldest public park in the U.S., and is at the very southern tip of the island of Manhattan. A bowling green is an area of grass used for the game of bowling.
Brighton -- "We'll bathe at Brighton..." Brighton Beach is in Brooklyn, and is an area settled by many Jewish and Russian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Cabala -- "I have read the great Cabala..." (variation in spelling on Kabbalah) The Cabala are mystical teachings exactly interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures.
Cakewalk -- "Come you all, kick up the cakewalk." a strutting dance based on a march originally popular in the early 1900's.
Canarsie -- "And fair Canarsie's lake we'll view." Canarsie is a section of Brooklyn that overlooks Jamaica Bay (see below). It's famous for its long pier.
Charleston -- "When in the Charleston dance I want to bump a knee..." An American ballroom dance that was all the rage in the 1920's. The Charleston was very fast and energetic.
Charlie's Aunt -- "I don't care for...Charlie's Aunt" Extremely popular farce by Brandon Thomas, first performed in 1892 in London.
Contralto -- "I don't like a deep contralto..." The lowest female singing voice, usually with a full, rich sound.
Crap Games -- "I don't like crap games with Barons and Earls." A gambling game with two dice.
Cur -- "The pulled out fur of cat and cur..." A dog considered to be inferior or undesirable.
Delancy Street -- "It's very fancy on old Delancy Street, you know." Delancy Street is in the lower east side in Manhattan, an immigrant area, and was known as a manufacturing and merchandising district.
Dietrich -- "The most beautiful star in the world...isn't Dietrich." The smoldering German movie star, Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), known for such films as Blue Angel (1930) and Destry Rides Again (1939).
Forum -- "..of cuties in the forum." A public meeting place, usually a town square. In ancient Rome, it was the assembly place for judicial activity and public business.
Gable and Garbo -- "I must see Garbo in person, with Gable when they're rehearsin' " Clark Gable (1901-1960) and Greta Garbo (1905-1990) are two acting legends of the silver screen. Clark Gable is best known for his films Gone With The Wind, Mutiny On The Bounty, It Happened One Night, and Rodgers and Hart's own "Manhattan Melodrama." Swedish Greta Garbo is known for her films, Grand Hotel, Ninotchka, and Camille.
Greenwich -- "We'll go to Greenwich..." (pronounced GREN' itch) Greenwich Village is a lower Manhattan neighborhood known for its community of artists and free thinkers.
Hacks -- "Even ride in London hacks." Short for hackney, which was a horse and carriage for hire, now known as a taxi.
Harlem -- "Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls." A section of New York City in northern Manhattan bordering on the Harlem and East rivers. A rapid influx of African Americans beginning around 1910 made it one of the largest black communities in the United States. Harlem was known for its world class nightclubs, such as the Cotton Club.
Hudson tunnel -- "That lovely Hudson tunnel..." There are two tunnels under the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey; the Holland Tunnel connects lower Manhattan with Jersey City, NJ, while the Lincoln Tunnel connects midtown Manhattan with Union City, NJ
Jamaica Bay -- "I'd like to take a sail on Jamaica Bay with you..." Jamaica Bay is a large bay in Brooklyn with numerous small ports and marinas.
Klaxon -- "They have taxi horns and klaxons..." A trademark name for a loud electric horn found on early automobiles.
Latin Quarter -- "..for just one Latin Quarter." A region in the City of Paris on the south side of the River Seine. Since it borders the big university, Le Sorbonne, it is populated with mainly students and artists.
Lollapaloosa -- "Sweet lollapaloosa in thee." A slang word meaning something outstanding.
Maracas -- "She could shake the maracas." A Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of a hollow-gourd rattle containing pebbles or beans. They are generally played in pairs.
Mason-Dixon Line -- "..is my Mason-Dixon Line." The original Mason-Dixon Line was the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, first surveyed in 1763 to 1767 by two British astronomers, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in order to settle a dispute between the Calvert and Penn families, the owners at that time of the two states in question. Later, it became known as the boundary between the "free states" and the "slave states" during the Civil War.
Melodrama -- "It's just that kind of play...Manhattan Melodramae (variation)" a drama abounding in romantic sentiment and agonizing situations, with a musical accompaniment only in parts which are especially thrilling or pathetic.
Metropolitan -- "Can they make the Metropolitan pay?" Referring to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Misogynistic -- "I'm misogynistic." One who dislikes women.
Mott Street -- "And tell me what street, compares with Mott Street in July?" Mott Street is in lower Manhattan, in what's known as Little Italy and Chinatown.
Overlorded -- "Sang out with gusto, and just overlorded the place." Filling with authority.
Passé -- "I consider Dali's paintings passé" (See Dali below) Passé is a French word meaning out of date or old-fashioned.
Piaf -- "Okay, kid, think Piaf" Edith Piaf (1915-1963) was a tremendously popular French cabaret singer whose nickname was "the little Sparrow" because of her small stature. She is famous for her song "La vie en rose" ("My Life In Pink").
Quorum -- "..and yet there is a quorum..." a gathering of members of an organization large enough to transact business.
Rockefeller Center Plaza -- "And now - high atop Rockefeller Center Plaza..." Built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., during the Great Depression, Rockefeller Center is a New York City landmark that contains offices, shops, Radio City Music Hall, and a very famous ice rink. It originally housed radio stations, but is now better known for its NBC Television Studios.
Saint Bartholomew's Day -- "Have you ever heard of Saint Bartholomew's Day?" On the Feast of St. Bartholomew (August 24) in 1574, Protestants throughout France were slaughtered by Catholics.
Shylock -- "Mister Shylock was stingy." Shylock is the moneylender character from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
Swell -- "Thou swell, thou witty." One who is fashionably dressed or socially prominent.
Syracuse -- "Dear old Syracuse." A city on the southeast side of the island of Sicily in Italy. Syracuse was populated by colonists of Corinth in the 8th century, B.C. It finally fell to the Romans in 212 A.D.
Tunics -- "Though the boys wear tunics that are out of style..." A loose-fitting garment, sleeved or sleeveless, extending to the knees and worn by men and women especially in ancient Greece and Rome.
Unrequited -- "Unrequited love's a bore." Not returned in kind.
Valentine -- "My funny Valentine." Valentine is actually the name of the lead male character in Rodgers and Hart's "Babes In Arms," not the card given on February 14th. The song points up the double meaning.
Woolworth Building -- "I'll climb up that Woolworth and kiss every floor." The Woolworth building in New York City was completed in 1913, and was for a time the tallest building in the world. It was built by F. W. Woolworth, who owned Woolworth dry goods stores all over the United States.
The following are all the names mentioned in the Act II opening song, "Zip":
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) -- Famous 20th century Spanish painter known for painting in the surrealist mode (heightened realism).
Countess Dorothy Di Frasso (d.1954) -- Italian socialite and friend to many movie stars, who moved to America after Mussolini took control of her palatial Roman villa during WWII.
Margie Hart (c.1915 - 2000) -- Burlesque artist known for her red hair and her stature: just 5 feet.
Walter Lippman (1889-1974) -- Influential political commentator, who had a very popular newspaper column in the 1920's and 1930's.
Morton Minsky Owner of Minsky's Theater in New York City -- Famous for its burlesque shows.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1975) -- Famous 20th century Spanish artist known for his cubist art.
Sally Rand (1904-1979) -- A circus performer and actor most known after her move into burlesque where she did a dance with fans.
William Saroyan (1908-1981) -- Well-known author and playwright of The Human Comedy and The Time Of Your Life.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) -- Prussian philosopher who believed that man's will was the key to his existence, and that the body was the expression of that existence.
The Shuberts -- The three Shubert Brothers, Lee (1875-1953), Sam (1876-1905), and Jacob (1880-1964), held a virtual monopoly of legitimate theaters in New York and other cities in the early 20th century through their Shubert Theater Corporation. The brothers were from Syracuse, NY, and the title of one of Rodgers and Hart's best known musicals, "The Boys From Syracuse" , was a nod toward the powerful producers.
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) -- Famed Russian composer known for his modern ballet music with stamping, irregular rhythms, in such works as Firebird and The Rite of Spring.
Whistler's Mother -- This refers to a painting by James NcNeil Whistler (1834-1903) actually entitled Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1 (1871). The subject is seated in a rocking chair and is very prim and stern.
Cobina Wright, Sr. (1887-1970) -- Popular Los Angeles newspaper society columnist.
Vera Zorina (born 1917) -- Famous ballerina and actress who appeared in Rodgers and Hart's "On Your Toes" and I Married An Angel. She was married to choreographer George Balanchine.
Bibliography
Books found in the Volusia County Library system:
Hart, Dorothy Thou Swell, Thou Witty: The Life and Lyrics of Lorenz Hart. New York: Harper and Row, 1976.
Henderson, Amy Red, Hot & Blue: A Smithsonian Salute to The American Musical. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996.
Hyland, William Richard Rodgers. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1998.
Katz, Ephraim The Film Encyclopedia. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Koerner, Julie Hollywood Musicals. New York: Friedman/Fairfax Publishing, 1997.
Lloyd, Ann Movies of the Thirties. London: Orbis Publishing, 1983.
Marx, Samuel Rodgers and Hart: Bewitched, Bothered, and Bedeviled. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1976.
Rodgers, Richard Musical Stages: An Autobiography. New York: Random House, 1975.
Secrest, Meryle Somewhere For Me: A Biography of Richard Rodgers. New York: Knopf, 2001.
Taylor, Deems Some Enchanted Evenings: The Story of Rodgers and Hammerstein. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953.
Other Books:
Kennedy, Michael Patrick Musicals New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
Law, Jonathon, et al The Cassell Companion To Theatre. New York: Sterling Publishing, 1999.
Suskin, Steven Show Tunes: 1905-1985. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1986.
Websites:
For everything Lorenz Hart: www.geocities.com/Broadway/4109/main.htm
Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization for shows and bios: http://www.rnh.com/index1.html
All Movie website with excellent listings for Rodgers and Hart: http://www.allmovie.com/
Internet Broadway Database for comprehensive Broadway listings: http://www.ibdb.com/
Comprehensive Theater History website: http://www.theatrehistory.com/
Especially for Students...
In live theatre, unlike movies and television, the actors can hear (and often see) you as easily as you can hear and see them. If you comment out loud at a live show, or read or eat, you disturb not only other members of the audience but also the people on stage, thus diminishing the performance and, ultimately, your enjoyment of it.
This doesn't mean you have to remain silent. Actors want you to respond with laughter and applause; but such responses should always be genuine and appropriate to the moment. Such inconsiderate behavior as shouting, catcalling or sustained whispering, even during blackouts, can ruin the concentration of actors and audience members alike. And throwing paper or objects of any kind towards the stage is not only rude, it's also extremely dangerous to the performers.
In the event of any student misbehavior, the relevant school will be contacted and its principal informed.
We want you to enjoy your visit to Seaside Music Theater, and we rely on you to exercise your common sense and mature judgment. Thank you for being a valuable part of our audience this season.