Red, Hot and Blue
Encyclopedia
Red, Hot and Blue is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and the book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The musical premiered on Broadway
in 1936 and introduced the popular song, "It's De-Lovely
" sung by Ethel Merman
.
Act 2
, hoping to repeat that show's success. William Gaxton
was part of that cast, but withdrew because Ethel Merman
's part was so large and Bob Hope
was cast. The next conflict came over billing for Jimmy Durante
and Merman, whch was resolved by having their names crisscrossed above the title.
The musical was first titled But Millions! and then Wait for Baby!.
Porter had written the song "It's De-Lovely" for the film Born to Dance but it was not used. He turned it into a romantic duet for Merman and Bob Hope
, in which they trace their romance from first kiss to marriage to a baby.
in New Haven starting on October 19, 1936.
The musical premiered on Broadway on October 29, 1936 at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre
) and closed on April 10, 1937 after 183 performances. Directed by Howard Lindsay
with choreography by George Hale, it starred Ethel Merman
as Nails O'Reilly Duquesne, Jimmy Durante
as Policy Pinkle, and Bob Hope
as Bob Hale. It was loosely adapted as a 1949 film starring Betty Hutton
, Victor Mature
, and June Havoc
, with a re-written score by Frank Loesser
.
The Equity Library Theater (New York City) production ran in January 1984.
The "Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust" series staged the show at Barbican Centre
Cinema 1 in 1994, with a cast that included Louise Gold
and Don Fellows
.
, a singing group at Yale, Cole Porter
's alma mater, is named for this musical. The group still performs the title song of the musical.
Porter's songs were criticized by critics and the show had a limited run. According to theatre writer Stanley Green in his book The World of Musical Comedy, the show was not a success, and the major problem was the book, "...a fairly elementary piece..." Green said that Porter's songs were more "inspired", noting that Merman sang the song "Down in the Depths" in "a gold lamé gown illuminated by a single gold spotlight, brilliantly heightened the heroine's lonliness by contrasting it with her surroundings."
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...
in 1936 and introduced the popular song, "It's De-Lovely
It's De-Lovely
"It's De-Lovely" is one of Cole Porter's hit songs, originally appearing in his 1936 musical, Red Hot and Blue. The song was later used in the musical Anything Goes, first appearing in the 1962 revival. The hit records in late 1936 and early 1937 included versions by Eddy Duchin, Shep Fields, and...
" sung by Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
.
Synopsis
Nails O'Reilly Duquesne is a newly wealthy young widow. Loud and brassy, Nails is a former manicurist. She organizes a benefit for her favorite cause, the rehabilitation of ex-convicts. Together with her sidekick (an "ex-con" himself), Policy Pinkle, and her "square" boyfriend, lawyer Bob Hale, she embarks on a nationwide search for Bob's old girlfriend, which is really the reason for the enterprise. The girlfriend, 18 years earlier, had sat upon on a hot waffle iron and so had a unique "imprint". However, the national lottery that Nails starts gets the attention of the Finance Committee, and they wind up in Washington DC in an even more complicated situation. The Supreme Court declares the lottery unconstitutional, because it would benefit the people.Songs
Act 1- "At Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe in Cheyenne" – Reporters and Prison Band
- "It's a Great Life"/ "Perennial Debutantes" – Guests and Debutantes
- "Ours" – Anne Westcott, Sonny Hadley, Grace, "Fingers" and Girls
- "Down in the Depths on the 90th Floor" – Nails O'Reilly Duquesne
- "Carry On" – Sonny Hadley, Reporters and Muggs
- "You've Got Something" – Bob Hale and Nails
- "It's De-Lovely" – Nails and Bob
- "A Little Skipper from Heaven Above" – Policy Pinkle, Muggs and Reporters
- "Five Hundred Million" – Vivian, Betty and Debutantes
- "Ridin' High" – Nails and Ensemble
Act 2
- "We're About to Start Big Rehearsin'" – Ensemble
- "Hymn to Hymen" – Ensemble
- "What a Great Pair We'll Be" – Anne and Sonny
- "You're a Bad Influence On Me" [dropped soon after the New York opening] - replaced by the song "Nails"
- "The Ozarks Are Callin' Me Home" – Nails
- "Red, Hot and Blue" – Nails and Ensemble
History
During the out-of-town tryouts, according to Cole Porter's biography, Cole Porter: A Biography by Charles Schwartz, the book was too long and did not blend with the music. Further the producer Vinton Freedley made "numerous suggestions for overhauling the show", which were accepted by all except Porter. Porter initially told Freedley to communicate through his agent, but finally relented. Additional conflict had arisen before the show's tryouts, when Freedley had assembled the cast and creative team behind the musical Anything GoesAnything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
, hoping to repeat that show's success. William Gaxton
William Gaxton
William Gaxton was a star of vaudeville, film, and theatre.Born as Arturo Antonio Gaxiola in San Francisco, he appeared on film and onstage. He debuted on Broadway in the Music Box Revue on October 23, 1922...
was part of that cast, but withdrew because Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
's part was so large and Bob Hope
Bob 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...
was cast. The next conflict came over billing for Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
and Merman, whch was resolved by having their names crisscrossed above the title.
The musical was first titled But Millions! and then Wait for Baby!.
Porter had written the song "It's De-Lovely" for the film Born to Dance but it was not used. He turned it into a romantic duet for Merman and Bob Hope
Bob 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...
, in which they trace their romance from first kiss to marriage to a baby.
Productions
The musical had its pre-Broadway tryout in Boston at the Colonial Theatre, starting on October 7, 1936, and the Shubert TheatreShubert Theatre (New Haven)
The Shubert Theatre is a 1600-seat theatre located at 247 College Street in New Haven, Connecticut. Originally opened in 1914, it was designed by Albert Swazey, a New York architect and built by the H.E. Murdock Construction Company...
in New Haven starting on October 19, 1936.
The musical premiered on Broadway on October 29, 1936 at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre
Neil Simon Theatre
The Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway venue built in 1927 and located at 250 West 52nd Street in midtown-Manhattan....
) and closed on April 10, 1937 after 183 performances. Directed by Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay was an American theatrical producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse, and for his performance, with his wife Dorothy Stickney, in the long-running play Life with...
with choreography by George Hale, it starred Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
as Nails O'Reilly Duquesne, Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
as Policy Pinkle, and Bob Hope
Bob 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...
as Bob Hale. It was loosely adapted as a 1949 film starring 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...
, Victor Mature
Victor Mature
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
, and June Havoc
June Havoc
June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...
, with a re-written score by Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
.
The Equity Library Theater (New York City) production ran in January 1984.
The "Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust" series staged the show at Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
Cinema 1 in 1994, with a cast that included Louise Gold
Louise Gold
Louise Gold is an English singer, actress and puppeteer whose career has spanned almost four decades.From 1977, Gold was a puppeteer and voice actress for The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, and she has performed voice and puppet work on various other Muppet films and specials...
and Don Fellows
Don Fellows
Don Fellows was an American actor, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, who spent the bulk of his career acting in England, mostly in television....
.
Legacy
Redhot & BlueRedhot & Blue
Redhot & Blue, usually called Redhot, is Yale University's oldest coeducational a cappella group. Founded in 1977, the group has released twelve albums and toured around the United States and the world. The group’s repertoire is based in the jazz genre, but has expanded to include an array of...
, a singing group at Yale, 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...
's alma mater, is named for this musical. The group still performs the title song of the musical.
Response
Porter and Merman were mutually appreciative of each other's talents. Porter praised her delivery, professionalism, ability to memorize lyric changes, and said: "She has the finest enunciation of any American singer I know. She has a sense of rhythm which few can equal and her feeling for comedy is so intuitive that she can get every value out of a line without over-stressing." Merman said, "I'd rather sing his songs than those by any other writer."Porter's songs were criticized by critics and the show had a limited run. According to theatre writer Stanley Green in his book The World of Musical Comedy, the show was not a success, and the major problem was the book, "...a fairly elementary piece..." Green said that Porter's songs were more "inspired", noting that Merman sang the song "Down in the Depths" in "a gold lamé gown illuminated by a single gold spotlight, brilliantly heightened the heroine's lonliness by contrasting it with her surroundings."