High Society is a musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Cole Porter

Cole Porter

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...

.

Based on the Philip Barry

Philip Barry

Philip James Quinn Barry was an American playwright born in Rochester, New York.-Early life:Philip Barry was born on June 18, 1896 in Rochester, New York to James Corbett Barry and Mary Agnes Quinn Barry. James would die from appendicitis a year after Philip's birth, and his father's marble and...

 play The Philadelphia Story

The Philadelphia Story (play)

The Philadelphia Story is a 1939 American comic play by Philip Barry. It tells the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist.-Production:...

and the 1956 musical screen adaptation with Porter's songs, High Society, the plot centers on pretentious Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 socialite

Socialite

A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....

 Tracy Lord, who is planning a June 1938 wedding to an equally pretentious executive when ex-husband Dexter Haven arrives to disrupt the proceedings. Additional comic complications arise when tabloid reporter Mike Connor, who is there to cover the wedding, also falls for the bride-to-be. The score's songs were compiled from various Porter musicals; in some instances, updated or new lyrics were provided by Susan Birkenhead

Susan Birkenhead

Susan Birkenhead is an American lyricist.Birkenhead made her Broadway debut as one of a team of songwriters contributing to Working , for which she received her first Tony Award nomination. Her second was earned for Jelly's Last Jam , which won her the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics and a...

.

After 27 previews, the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production, directed by Christopher Renshaw, opened on April 27, 1998 at the St. James Theatre

St. James Theatre

The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...

, where it ran for 144 performances. The opening night cast included Stephen Bogardus

Stephen Bogardus

-Biography:Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Bogardus graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1972 and Princeton University in 1976, where he was a member of the Princeton Nassoons and the Princeton Triangle Club.-Career:...

, Melissa Errico

Melissa Errico

-Biography:Born in Manhattan, Errico moved to Manhasset on Long Island at an early age. Her parents, a sculptor and a physician/concert pianist, supported her early interest in ballet, and gymnastics, and Melissa competed nationally as a gymnast...

, Daniel McDonald, John McMartin

John McMartin

John McMartin is an American actor of stage, film and television.-Early life and career:McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana and raised in Minnesota. He attended college in Illinois and New York. He made his off-Broadway debut in Little Mary Sunshine in 1959, playing opposite Eileen Brennan...

, Randy Graff

Randy Graff

Randy Graff is an American actress. Graff has been in feature films such as Keys to Tulsa and Rent as well as being in television shows such as NBC's Law & Order a number of times. In addition to film and television, Graff has been in several Broadway shows...

, Lisa Banes

Lisa Banes

Lisa Banes is an American stage and screen actress. She played Lady Croom in the U.S. premiere of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1995 and won a 1981 Theatre World Award for her performance in Look Back in Anger. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she recently appeared on Broadway in the 2010 revival...

, Marc Kudisch

Marc Kudisch

Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...

, Betsy Joslyn

Betsy Joslyn

Betsy Joslyn is a Broadway musical and dramatic actress and soprano. Joslyn is best known for her Broadway work, including the original production of Sweeney Todd. She appeared in the ensemble of the original Broadway production and eventually took over the ingenue role of Johanna from Sarah Rice...

, and Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick is an American film and stage actress best known for the role of Natalie Keener in the 2009 film Up in the Air. Her other work includes the films Camp , Rocket Science , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , 50/50 , and the Broadway musical High Society...

.

The costumes were designed by Jane Greenwood and are on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida.

On October 1, 2005, a West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 production starring Katherine Kingsley, Graham Bickley

Graham Bickley

Graham John Bickley is an English actor. He is probably best known for playing Joey Boswell in Bread from 1989, until 1991 taking over from Peter Howitt, who played him from 1986, until 1989.Career=...

, Paul Robinson, and Jerry Hall

Jerry Hall

Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger, with whom she had four children.-Early life:...

 opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Shaftesbury Theatre

The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...

. This was based on the 2003 Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park Production and subsequent tour. All of these productions were directed by Ian Talbot OBE.

Song list

Act I

• High Society
• Ridin' High
  Ridin' High (song)
  Ridin' High is a 1936 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical Red, Hot and Blue, where it was introduced by Ethel Merman.-Notable recordings:*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook...
  
  
• Throwing A Ball Tonight
• Little One
  Little One
  "Little One" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, where it was introduced by Bing Crosby....
  
  
• Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?
  Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (song)
  "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, where it was introduced by Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm....
  
  
• I Love Paris
  I Love Paris
  "I Love Paris" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1953. The song was introduced by Lilo in the musical Can-Can.Was the title of Michel Legrand's most popular album, which included an orchestral arrangement of the song...
  
  
• She's Got That Thing
• Once Upon A Time
• True Love
  True Love (song)
  "True Love" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and was published in 1956.The song was introduced by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in the musical film High Society. The Crosby–Kelly version, accompanied by Johnny Green's MGM studio orchestra using a romantic arrangement by Conrad Salinger, was...
  
  

Act II

• High Society (Reprise)
• Let's Misbehave
  Let's Misbehave
  "Let's Misbehave" is a famous song written by Cole Porter in 1927, originally intended for the female lead of his first major production, Paris...
  
  
• I'm Getting Myself Ready For You
• Once Upon A Time
• Just One Of Those Things
  Just One Of Those Things (song)
  "Just One of Those Things" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee.The song was later featured in two Doris Day musical films, Lullaby of Broadway and Young at Heart .-Influence in popular culture:...
  
  
• Well, Did You Evah!
  Well, Did You Evah!
  "Well, Did You Evah!" is a song written by Cole Porter for his 1939 musical Du Barry Was a Lady, where it was introduced by Betty Grable and Charles Walters....
  
  
• You're Sensational
  You're Sensational
  "You're Sensational" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, where it was introduced by Frank Sinatra.-Notable recordings:*Frank Sinatra - High Society *Jack Jones - Dear Heart...
  
  
• Say It With Gin
• Ridin' High
• It's All Right With Me
  It's All Right with Me
  "It's All Right With Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical Can-Can, where it was introduced by Peter Cookson as the character Judge Aristide Forestier.The song is also used in the Cole Porter musical High Society...
  
  
• He's A Right Guy
• I Love You, Samantha
  I Love You, Samantha
  "I Love You, Samantha" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, where it was introduced by Bing Crosby.In the United Kingdom, an instrumental version of the song recorded by the Pete Moore Orchestra has been used as a theme tune by BBC Radio 2 presenter David Jacobs for many...
  
  
• True Love (Reprise)

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award
  Tony Award
  The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
  
   for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (McMartin, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Kendrick, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award
  Drama Desk Award
  The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
  
   for Outstanding New Musical (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Errico, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (McMartin, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Kendrick, nominee)
• Theatre World Award
  Theatre World Award
  The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
  
  (Kendrick, winner)