Let's Face It!
Encyclopedia
Let's Face It! is a musical
with music and lyrics by Cole Porter
. The book by Herbert
and Dorothy Fields
is based on the 1925 play The Cradle Snatchers by Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell.
The 1941 Broadway
and 1942 West End
productions were successful, and a film version was released in 1943.
inductees to Maggie's summer house in Southampton
on Long Island
to make their husbands jealous. Jerry is engaged to Winnie, and, because he needs the money, agrees to the plot. Their philandering husbands leave on yet another camping trip. Winnie, hearing of Jerry's involvement, brings in two friends (who are actually girlfriends of the other two soldiers) to pretend to be interested in the older men. The husbands actually do go fishing. Winnie and her friends crash Maggie's party and the husbands unexpectedly return home.
Act II
"A Fairy Tale" and "Melody in Four F" were written by Sylvia Fine
and Max Liebman. Both were dropped later in the run, and "Melody in Four F" was replaced by "It Ain't Etiquette" from Du Barry Was a Lady.
. After a tryout at the Colonial Theatre in Boston
, the musical opened on Broadway
at the Imperial Theatre on October 29, 1941 and closed on March 20, 1943 after 547 performances. The cast included Danny Kaye
as Jerry Walker, Eve Arden
as Maggie Watson, Edith Meiser as Cornelia Abigail Pigeon, Vivian Vance
as Nancy Collister, Benny Baker, Mary Jane Walsh as Winnie Potter, and Nanette Fabray
. Danny Kaye had made his successful debut earlier in the year in Lady in the Dark
, and Porter allowed the actor's wife, Sylvia Fine, to add two comedy numbers into the score for him to sing. Later in the run, Carol Goodner
replaced Eve Arden and José Ferrer
replaced Kaye.
Tryouts in the UK began on June 23, 1942 at the Palace Theatre in Manchester
, England. The West End
production opened on November 19, 1942 at the Hippodrome Theatre and ran for 348 performances. It was directed by Bobby Howell and choreographed by Joan Davis. The cast included Bobby Howes
as Jerry Walker and Pat Kirkwood as Winnie Potter.
42nd Street Moon San Francisco, California, presented a staged concert in October 1999. Musicals Tonight!, New York City, presented a staged concert version in May 2006.
and Betty Hutton
. Although the plot remained the same, most of the Porter score was replaced by songs by other composers.
It was shown on the NBC
television network on November 21, 1954 on The Colgate Comedy Hour, with Bert Lahr
as Frankie Burns / Aunt Pamela Burns, Vivian Blaine
as Winnie Potter, Gene Nelson
as Jerry Walker, and Betty Furness
as Maggie Watson.
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 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...
. The book by Herbert
Herbert Fields
Herbert Fields was an American librettist and screenwriter.Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage direction before turning to writing. From 1925 until his death, he contributed to the libretti of many Broadway musicals...
and Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
is based on the 1925 play The Cradle Snatchers by Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell.
The 1941 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...
and 1942 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...
productions were successful, and a film version was released in 1943.
Plot
Three suspicious wives, Maggie Watson, Nancy Collister and Cornelia Pigeon invite three ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
inductees to Maggie's summer house in Southampton
Southampton (town), New York
The Town of Southampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, U.S., partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 54,712...
on 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...
to make their husbands jealous. Jerry is engaged to Winnie, and, because he needs the money, agrees to the plot. Their philandering husbands leave on yet another camping trip. Winnie, hearing of Jerry's involvement, brings in two friends (who are actually girlfriends of the other two soldiers) to pretend to be interested in the older men. The husbands actually do go fishing. Winnie and her friends crash Maggie's party and the husbands unexpectedly return home.
Song list
Act I- Milk, Milk, Milk – Ensemble
- A Lady Needs a Rest – Maggie, Nancy, Cornelia
- Jerry, My Soldier Boy – Winnie
- Let's Face It – The Royal Guards
- Farming – Jerry, Frankie, Eddie, Muriel, Jean, Ensemble
- Ev'rything I Love – Jerry and Winnie
- Ace in the HoleAce in the Hole (Cole Porter song)"Ace in the Hole" is a popular song composed by Cole Porter. The song was written expressly for Porter's musical Let's Face It! which debuted at New York City's Imperial Theatre on 29 October 1941. In the original production, "Ace in the Hole" was performed by Mary Jane Walsh and Nanette Fabray...
– Winnie, Muriel, Jean, Ensemble - You Irritate Me So – Jean and Eddie
- Baby Games – Jerry, Maggie, Frankie, Cornelia, Nancy, Eddie
- A Fairy Tale – Jerry
- Rub Your Lamp – Winnie
Act II
- I've Got Some Unfinished Business with You – Winnie, Jean, Muriel, Dorothy, Gloria, Julian, Judge Pigeon
- Let's Not Talk About Love – Jerry
- Let's Talk About Love – Maggie
- A Little Rumba Numba – The Royal Guards, Madge, Mary, Billy
- I Hate You, Darling – Nancy, George, Jerry, Maggie
- Melody in Four F – Jerry
- Get Yourself a Girl – The Royal Guards
"A Fairy Tale" and "Melody in Four F" were written by Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine was an American lyricist, composer, producer and the wife of the comedian Danny Kaye...
and Max Liebman. Both were dropped later in the run, and "Melody in Four F" was replaced by "It Ain't Etiquette" from Du Barry Was a Lady.
Productions
The original production was directed by Edgar MacGregor and choreographed by Charles WaltersCharles Walters
Charles Walters was a Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies in from the 1940s to the 1960s....
. After a tryout at the Colonial Theatre in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, the musical opened on 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...
at the Imperial Theatre on October 29, 1941 and closed on March 20, 1943 after 547 performances. The cast included Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
as Jerry Walker, Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
as Maggie Watson, Edith Meiser as Cornelia Abigail Pigeon, Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance
Vivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
as Nancy Collister, Benny Baker, Mary Jane Walsh as Winnie Potter, and Nanette Fabray
Nanette Fabray
Nanette Fabray is an American actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, and activist. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and then became a musical theatre actress during the 1940s and 1950s, winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her performance in Love Life...
. Danny Kaye had made his successful debut earlier in the year in Lady in the Dark
Lady in the Dark
Lady in the Dark is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis...
, and Porter allowed the actor's wife, Sylvia Fine, to add two comedy numbers into the score for him to sing. Later in the run, Carol Goodner
Carol Goodner
Carol Goodner was an American actress who appeared mostly in British films and television. She was born in New York in 1904 later moving to England where she appeared in her first film Those Who Love in 1929. She retired in 1957.A toe dancer when she was only four years old, she continued to earn...
replaced Eve Arden and José Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
replaced Kaye.
Tryouts in the UK began on June 23, 1942 at the Palace Theatre in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. The 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 opened on November 19, 1942 at the Hippodrome Theatre and ran for 348 performances. It was directed by Bobby Howell and choreographed by Joan Davis. The cast included Bobby Howes
Bobby Howes
Bobby Howes, born as Charles Robert William Howes on 4 August 1895 in Battersea, England. His parents were Robert William Howes and Rose Marie Butler.- Biography :...
as Jerry Walker and Pat Kirkwood as Winnie Potter.
42nd Street Moon San Francisco, California, presented a staged concert in October 1999. Musicals Tonight!, New York City, presented a staged concert version in May 2006.
Film and television versions
A 1943 screen adaptation featured Bob HopeBob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
. Although the plot remained the same, most of the Porter score was replaced by songs by other composers.
It was shown on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network on November 21, 1954 on The Colgate Comedy Hour, with Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr was an American actor and comedian. Lahr is remembered today for his roles as the Cowardly Lion and Kansas farmworker Zeke in The Wizard of Oz, but was also well-known for work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway.-Early life:Lahr was born in New York City, of German-Jewish heritage...
as Frankie Burns / Aunt Pamela Burns, Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.-Life and career:...
as Winnie Potter, Gene Nelson
Gene Nelson
Gene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director.-Biography:Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films when he was a child...
as Jerry Walker, and Betty Furness
Betty Furness
Elizabeth Mary Furness was an American actress, consumer advocate and current affairs commentator.-Early years:...
as Maggie Watson.