Something for the Boys

Something for the Boys
Music Cole Porter
Lyrics Cole Porter
Book Herbert Fields
Dorothy Fields
Productions 1943 Broadway
1944 WestEnd

Something for the Boys is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical.[1]

Productions

Out of town tryouts began on December 18, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts.[2]

The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on January 7, 1943 and closed on January 8, 1944 after 422 performances. It starred Ethel Merman (Blossom Hart), Bill Johnson (Rocky Fulton), Betty Garrett (Mary-Frances), Paula Laurence (Chiquita Hart), and Allen Jenkins (Harry Hart). The director was Hassard Short, choreographer Jack Cole, costumes were by Billy Livingston and the set design was by Howard Bay.[2] A national tour starred Joan Blondell who would go on to marry producer Mike Todd.

The musical premiered in the West End at the Coliseum Theatre on March 30, 1944[3] and closed on May 20, 1944. It starred Evelyn Dall (Blossom), Daphne Barker (Chiquita), Bobby Wright (Harry), Leigh Stafford (Rocky) and Jack Billings (Laddie).[2]

The most recent production of the show opened its curtains in Winona Lake, Indiana in May 2013 and was performed on the Rodeheaver Auditorium stage.[4]

Plot

Three cousins inherit a Texas ranch that is next to a military base. Blossom Hart is a worker in the war department, Chiquita Hart is a night club dancer/singer, and Harry Hart is a carnival pitchman. Although none of the cousins know each other, they join together to convert the ranch into a boarding house for soldiers' wives. However, Lieutenant Colonel Grubbs thinks the activities at the house are suspicious and he tries to close it down. Meanwhile, Blossom and Rocky Fulton, a bandleader in the Army band, begin a romance, much to the displeasure of his fiance, Melanie.

Recordings

In 1985, the Original Cast Recording was released on the AEI Records label derived from long lost transcriptions made for shortwave radio transmission.[2]

A version of the title song was recorded by Ethel Merman for her Ethel Merman Disco Album in 1979.

Songs

Act I
  • See That You're Born in Texas - Ensemble
  • When My Baby Goes to Town - Staff Sgt. Rocky Fulton
  • Something for the Boys - Blossom Hart and Boys
  • When We're Home on the Range - Blossom Hart, Chiquita Hart and Harry Hart
  • Could It Be You? - Staff Sgt. Rocky Fulton and Boys
  • Hey, Good Lookin' - Blossom Hart and Staff Sgt. Rocky Fulton
  • Hey, Good Lookin' (Reprise) - Betty-Jean, Corp. Burns, Girls and Boys
  • He's a Right Guy - Blossom Hart
  • The Leader of a Big Time Band - Blossom Hart
Act II
  • I'm in Love with a Soldier Boy - Mary-Frances, Girls and Boys
  • There's a Happy Land in the Sky - Blossom Hart, Chiquita Hart, Harry Hart, Mr. Tobias Twitch and Staff Sgt. Rocky Fulton
  • He's a Right Guy (Reprise) - Blossom Hart
  • Could It Be You? (Reprise) - Staff Sgt. Rocky Fulton and Ensemble
  • By the Mississinewa - Blossom Hart and Chiquita Hart

Response

Life Magazine wrote that the musical was "gay and glittering" and that "from start to finish the show belongs to the exuberant Ethel Merman".[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Ethel Merman Biography" pbs.org, accessed January 10, 2011
  2. 1 2 3 4 "'Something for the Boys'" sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011
  3. ↑ "London Shows Chronology, 1944" guidetomusicaltheatre.com, accessed January 10, 2011
  4. ↑ http://www.gcsbnews.com
  5. ↑ (author unknown). "Review:'Something for the Boys'" Life Magazine, February 8, 1943, p. 79, 81-82
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