The New Yorkers is a musical written by Cole Porter (lyrics and music) and Herbert Fields (book). Star Jimmy Durante also wrote the words and music for the songs in which his character was featured.
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1930. It is based on a story by a cartoonist for The New Yorker, Peter Arno, and E. Ray Goetz. The musical satirizes New York types, from high society matrons to con men, bootleggers, thieves and prostitutes during Prohibition. The musical includes Porter's famous, sad song about a prostitute, "Love for Sale", which was banned from the radio for its frank lyrics. The original Broadway production received mostly good reviews and ran for 168 performances.
The musical was "built to order around star comic Jimmy Durante, indisputably featured special material (songs as well as bits) that wouldn't scan without Schnozzola himself delivering it."[1] In fact, Durante himself wrote 5 of the 17 songs featured in the musical—the only 5 songs in which he was a featured performer.
Ray Goetz, who was the producer of the show as well as production supervisor, wanted to help audiences forget the Great Depression and so made The New Yorkers "as bright and sparkley as possible-from the variegated costumes and the Arno settings to the large and dynamic cast...He also featured a young group that had never appeared on Broadway as the stage band for the show: Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians." The clean-cut band sang as well as played instruments.[2]
Synopsis
Wealthy New York socialite Alice Wentworth has a romantic interlude with Al Spanish, a nightclub owner and bootlegger. During their time together, they escape from the police and go to the bootlegging factory, among other adventures. Jimmy Deegan and his buddies Ronald and Oscar aid in their escapades, invent a new alcoholic drink, murder Feet McGeehan and assist with the gangland wedding of Al and Alice, while offering tributes to money, wood, and "The Hot Patata".[3] Jokes and songs about alcohol, and how far people will go to get it, such as "Drinking Song" and "Say It With Gin", reflect the musical's origin from the Prohibition period.[4]
Musical numbers
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter except as noted
Act 1
Go Into Your Dance – Mona Low, Lola McGee and Toro Girls
The Hot Patata (Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante) – Jimmie Deegan, Ronald Monahan and Cyril Gregory
Where Have You Been? – Al Spanish and Alice Wentworth
Say It With Gin – Ensemble and Trainor Brothers
Venice† – Alice Wentworth, Ronald Monahan, Jimmie Deegan and Cyril Gregory
Let's Fly Away (Reprise) – James Livingston, Alice Wentworth and Ensemble
Sing Sing for Sing Sing – Al Spanish and Waring's Pennsylvanians
Sing Sing for Sing Sing (Reprise) – Mona Low, Three Girl Friends and Waring's Pennsylvanians
Data (Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante) – Jimmie Deegan, Ronald Monahan, Cyril Gregory and Waring's Pennsylvanians
Sing Sing for Sing Sing (Reprise) – Waring's Pennsylvanians
Take Me Back to Manhattan – Entire Company
†Music missing; Lyric partially lost;
Productions
The New Yorkers began pre-Broadway tryouts at the Chestnut Street Opera House, Philadelphia, on November 10, 1930[5] and then moved to the Shubert Theatre, Newark on November 24, 1930.[3]
The musical opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on December 8, 1930, this theatre's first stage production,[6] and closed on May 2, 1931 after 168 performances.[7] Direction was by Monty Woolley, choreography by George Hale,[6] special numbers staged and directed by Fred Waring, and production supervised by E. Ray Goetz. Costumes were by Peter Arno and Charles Le Maire, and the set design was by Dale Stetson, based on sketches by Peter Arno. The conductor was Max Meth.[7] The cast featured Frances Williams as the hostess Mona Low, Charles King as Al Spanish, Hope Williams as Alice Wentworth, Ann Pennington as Lola McGee, Marie Cahill as Gloria Wentworth,[6][7] the Fred Waring Orchestra,[6]Lou Clayton as Cyril Gregory, Eddie Jackson as Ronald Monahan, Jimmy Durante as Jimmie Deegan, Kathryn Crawford as May[7] (later replaced by Elisabeth Welch),[8] and Oscar Ragland as Mildew.[7] (Clayton, Jackson & Durante were a successful vaudeville act.)[9][10][11]
Brooks Atkinson, theatre critic for The New York Times wrote that the musical "manages to pack most of the madness, ribaldry, bounce and comic loose ends of giddy Manhattan into a lively musical." As for Porter's songs, "most ... hold well to the average of song-and-dance scores."[17]
The song "Love for Sale" was sung by an actress playing the role of a prostitute ("advertising young love for sale"). As recounted by Charles Schwartz in his biography Cole Porter, the critic for the World, Charles Darnton, "excoriated" the song and called it "in the worst possible taste." The song was subsequently banned from the radio.[2]
The reviewer of the "Musicals Tonight!" 2003 concert noted that Peter Arno (who provided the story) was a cartoonist whose drawings appeared on the cover and pages of the magazine The New Yorker. "His subjects were jazz babies, society dames, gangsters, café habitues, with a specialization in the lusty and lustful. Herb Fields's book...is full of that kind of sexuality, with a heaping helping of puns and double (and triple) entendres."[18]
References
^Denton, Martin."2002–03 Theatre Season Reviews" nytheatre.com, April 5, 2003 October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ abSchwartz, Charles (1979). Cole Porter. Da Capo Press. ISBN0-306-80097-7, pp. 115–116
^ ab"The New Yorkers. Original Broadway production". sondheimguide.com. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
^"Review: The New Yorkers, Lilian Bayliss Theatre, Sadlers Wells". karinski.net. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
^Chestnut St. Opera House pre-Broadway tryout program
^ abcdGreen, Stanley; Green, Kay (1996). Broadway Musicals Show by show (5 ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 74. ISBN0-7935-7750-0.
"The New Yorkers: Reclaiming Cole Porter's Lost 'Pre-Code' Musical" by Jack Viertel, Playbill, republished by New York City Center, March 3, 2017
December 31, 2022
yorkers, musical, written, cole, porter, lyrics, music, herbert, fields, book, star, jimmy, durante, also, wrote, words, music, songs, which, character, featured, original, broadway, programmusiccole, porterlyricscole, porterbookherbert, fieldsproductions1930,. The New Yorkers is a musical written by Cole Porter lyrics and music and Herbert Fields book Star Jimmy Durante also wrote the words and music for the songs in which his character was featured The New YorkersOriginal Broadway programMusicCole PorterLyricsCole PorterBookHerbert FieldsProductions1930 Broadway 1996 Lincolnshire IL 2017 City Center Encores The musical premiered on Broadway in 1930 It is based on a story by a cartoonist for The New Yorker Peter Arno and E Ray Goetz The musical satirizes New York types from high society matrons to con men bootleggers thieves and prostitutes during Prohibition The musical includes Porter s famous sad song about a prostitute Love for Sale which was banned from the radio for its frank lyrics The original Broadway production received mostly good reviews and ran for 168 performances Contents 1 History 2 Synopsis 3 Musical numbers 4 Productions 5 Response 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe musical was built to order around star comic Jimmy Durante indisputably featured special material songs as well as bits that wouldn t scan without Schnozzola himself delivering it 1 In fact Durante himself wrote 5 of the 17 songs featured in the musical the only 5 songs in which he was a featured performer Ray Goetz who was the producer of the show as well as production supervisor wanted to help audiences forget the Great Depression and so made The New Yorkers as bright and sparkley as possible from the variegated costumes and the Arno settings to the large and dynamic cast He also featured a young group that had never appeared on Broadway as the stage band for the show Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians The clean cut band sang as well as played instruments 2 Synopsis EditWealthy New York socialite Alice Wentworth has a romantic interlude with Al Spanish a nightclub owner and bootlegger During their time together they escape from the police and go to the bootlegging factory among other adventures Jimmy Deegan and his buddies Ronald and Oscar aid in their escapades invent a new alcoholic drink murder Feet McGeehan and assist with the gangland wedding of Al and Alice while offering tributes to money wood and The Hot Patata 3 Jokes and songs about alcohol and how far people will go to get it such as Drinking Song and Say It With Gin reflect the musical s origin from the Prohibition period 4 Musical numbers EditMusic and lyrics by Cole Porter except as noted Act 1 Go Into Your Dance Mona Low Lola McGee and Toro Girls The Hot Patata Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante Jimmie Deegan Ronald Monahan and Cyril Gregory Where Have You Been Al Spanish and Alice Wentworth Say It With Gin Ensemble and Trainor Brothers Venice Alice Wentworth Ronald Monahan Jimmie Deegan and Cyril Gregory Love for Sale May and Three Girl Friends I m Getting Myself Ready for You Mona Low James Livingston Lola McGee and Alfredo Gomez Drinking Song Lyrics By Charles Henderson Music By Fred Waring Waring s Pennsylvanians The Great Indoors Mona Low and Girls Money Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante Jimmie Deegan Ronald Monahan and Cyril Gregory Wood Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante Jimmie Deegan Ronald Monahan Cyril Gregory and Company Act 2 Sheikin Fool Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante Jimmie Deegan Ronald Monahan and Cyril Gregory Let s Fly Away James Livingston Alice Wentworth and Ensemble I Happen to Like New York Mildew Let s Fly Away Reprise James Livingston Alice Wentworth and Ensemble Sing Sing for Sing Sing Al Spanish and Waring s Pennsylvanians Sing Sing for Sing Sing Reprise Mona Low Three Girl Friends and Waring s Pennsylvanians Data Music and Lyrics By Jimmy Durante Jimmie Deegan Ronald Monahan Cyril Gregory and Waring s Pennsylvanians Sing Sing for Sing Sing Reprise Waring s Pennsylvanians Take Me Back to Manhattan Entire Company Music missing Lyric partially lost Productions EditThe New Yorkers began pre Broadway tryouts at the Chestnut Street Opera House Philadelphia on November 10 1930 5 and then moved to the Shubert Theatre Newark on November 24 1930 3 The musical opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on December 8 1930 this theatre s first stage production 6 and closed on May 2 1931 after 168 performances 7 Direction was by Monty Woolley choreography by George Hale 6 special numbers staged and directed by Fred Waring and production supervised by E Ray Goetz Costumes were by Peter Arno and Charles Le Maire and the set design was by Dale Stetson based on sketches by Peter Arno The conductor was Max Meth 7 The cast featured Frances Williams as the hostess Mona Low Charles King as Al Spanish Hope Williams as Alice Wentworth Ann Pennington as Lola McGee Marie Cahill as Gloria Wentworth 6 7 the Fred Waring Orchestra 6 Lou Clayton as Cyril Gregory Eddie Jackson as Ronald Monahan Jimmy Durante as Jimmie Deegan Kathryn Crawford as May 7 later replaced by Elisabeth Welch 8 and Oscar Ragland as Mildew 7 Clayton Jackson amp Durante were a successful vaudeville act 9 10 11 The musical was performed at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire in 1996 12 Musicals Tonight presented the musical as a staged concert in April 2003 in New York City 13 The Lost Musicals series presented The New Yorkers at Sadler s Wells Theatre London in March and April 2009 starring Anna Francolini as Alice and Dawn Spence as Mona Low 14 15 The New York City Center presented it in March 2017 in their Encores staged concert series with Tam Mutu Scarlett Strallen and Kevin Chamberlin directed by John Rando 16 Response EditBrooks Atkinson theatre critic for The New York Times wrote that the musical manages to pack most of the madness ribaldry bounce and comic loose ends of giddy Manhattan into a lively musical As for Porter s songs most hold well to the average of song and dance scores 17 The song Love for Sale was sung by an actress playing the role of a prostitute advertising young love for sale As recounted by Charles Schwartz in his biography Cole Porter the critic for the World Charles Darnton excoriated the song and called it in the worst possible taste The song was subsequently banned from the radio 2 The reviewer of the Musicals Tonight 2003 concert noted that Peter Arno who provided the story was a cartoonist whose drawings appeared on the cover and pages of the magazine The New Yorker His subjects were jazz babies society dames gangsters cafe habitues with a specialization in the lusty and lustful Herb Fields s book is full of that kind of sexuality with a heaping helping of puns and double and triple entendres 18 References Edit Denton Martin 2002 03 Theatre Season Reviews nytheatre com April 5 2003 Archived October 7 2008 at the Wayback Machine a b Schwartz Charles 1979 Cole Porter Da Capo Press ISBN 0 306 80097 7 pp 115 116 a b The New Yorkers Original Broadway production sondheimguide com Retrieved 27 August 2009 Review The New Yorkers Lilian Bayliss Theatre Sadlers Wells karinski net 1 April 2009 Retrieved 27 August 2009 Chestnut St Opera House pre Broadway tryout program a b c d Green Stanley Green Kay 1996 Broadway Musicals Show by show 5 ed Hal Leonard Corporation p 74 ISBN 0 7935 7750 0 a b c d e The New Yorkers at the Internet Broadway Database Elisabeth Welch Internet Broadway Database Retrieved 31 August 2009 Jimmy Durante redhotjazz com accessed August 31 2009 Golden Eve Jimmy Durante That Well Dressed Man filmsofthegoldenage com Fall 1998 Bakish David 1994 Jimmy Durante McFarland ISBN 0 89950 968 1 p 26 accessed August 31 2009 Bommer Lawrence 18 April 1996 The New Yorkers Chicago Reader Retrieved 27 August 2009 Reviews The New Yorkers by Donald Lyons New York Post April 11 2003 via musicalstonight org accessed March 8 2017 McHugh Dominic Cole Porter The New Yorkers musicalcriticism com accessed August 23 2009 Lost Musicals 2009 lostmusicals org accessed August 23 2009 Clement Olivia The Encores Revival of The New Yorkers Finds Its Cast Playbill February 23 2017 Atkinson Brooks The Play Gilded Gotham The New York Times December 9 1930 p 34 Mackler David Upper crust and other assorted flakes The off off Broadway Review accessed August 24 2009External links Edit The New Yorkers at the Internet Broadway Database The New Yorkers Reclaiming Cole Porter s Lost Pre Code Musical by Jack Viertel Playbill republished by New York City Center March 3 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The New Yorkers amp oldid 1129386647, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
