Babes in Arms
Oxford Companion to American Theatre:
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Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms (1937), a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers (book, music), Lorenz Hart (book, lyrics). [ Shubert Theatre, 289 perf.] Threatened with assignment to a work farm, the children of traveling vaudevillians band together to mount a musical revue. The show wins critical acclaim but loses money, so the children are sent to the farm. They are rescued when a French aviator on a transatlantic flight makes an emergency landing on their farm and comes to their aid. Notable songs: Babes in Arms; I Wish I Were in Love Again; Johnny One Note; The Lady Is a Tramp; My Funny Valentine; Where or When; Way Out West. Hailed by John Mason Brown as “joyous and delectable,” the Dwight Deere Wiman–produced musical's major claim to fame, apart from its large list of great songs, was the many young talents to which it gave a leg up: Alfred Drake, Mitzi Green, Ray Heatherton, Wynn Murray, Dan Dailey, and Robert Rounseville. Although professional groups infrequently revive it, schools and summer theatre continue to present the musical with a revised libretto.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:
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babe in arms
An infant, as in She's been a family friend since I was a babe in arms. Although the word "babe" for baby has been used since the 1300s, this phrase describing a child too young to walk (and hence having to be carried) dates only from about
1900.
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Babes in Arms
For the film of the same name, see Babes in Arms (film).
| Babes in Arms | |
|---|---|
 Original Broadway Logo |
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| Music | Richard Rodgers |
| Lyrics | Lorenz Hart |
| Book | Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart |
| Productions | 1937 Broadway 1939 film |
Babes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.
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Contents
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Production history
Babes in Arms opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on April 14, 1937, transferred to the Majestic Theatre on October 25, 1937, and closed on December 18, 1937 after 289 performances. Directed by Robert B. Sinclair with choreography by George Balanchine, the cast featured Mitzi Green, Ray Heatherton, and Alfred Drake, as well as the Nicholas Brothers.
The City Center Encores! staged concert ran in February 1999, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall with Erin Dilly, David Campbell, Jessica Stone and Christopher Fitzgerald.[1]
The musical was produced at the Chichester Festival Theatre from June 7, 2007 through July 7, 2007, and featured Lorna Luft.[2]
Several songs in Babes in Arms became pop standards, including the title song; "Where or When"; "My Funny Valentine"; "The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Johnny One Note" and "I Wish I Were in Love Again".
The film version, released in 1939, starred Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and was directed by Busby Berkeley.
A studio cast recording starring Gregg Edelman as Val, Judy Blazer as Billie, Jason Graae as Gus, Donna Kane as Dolores, Judy Kaye as Baby Rose, Adam Grupper as Peter, with JQ and the Bandits as the Quartet and featuring the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra was released by New World Records in 1990.
Characters and original Broadway cast
- Billie Smith – Mitzi Green
- Val Lamar – Ray Heatherton
- Marshall Blackstone – Alfred Drake
- Peter – Duke McHale
- Baby Rose – Wynn Murray
- Ivor DeQuincy – Harold Nicholas
- Irving DeQuincy – Fayard Nicholas
Musical numbers
- "Babes in Arms"
- "I Wish I Were in Love Again"
- "Light on Our Feet"
- "Way out West"
- "Imagine"
- "All At Once"
- "Johnny One Note"
- "The Lady Is a Tramp"
- "My Funny Valentine"
- "Where or When"
- "You Are So Fair"
References
- ^ Brantley, Ben."THEATER REVIEW; Ageless Fun, With the Beat And Bounce Of Springtime",The New York Times, February 13, 1999
- ^ "Babes in Arms listing",London Theatre Database, accessed May 12, 2009
External links
- Internet Broadway Database listing
- "Babes in Arms songs, plot, production notes"
- "Babes in Arms" production information, Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization
- The Judy Garland Online Discography "Babes In Arms" pages.
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Copyrights:
Oxford Companion to American Theatre
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Babes in Arms
(1983 Album by MC5)
Four on the Aisle
(2000 Album by The Four Lads)
Music from the Movies: The 30s
(2002 Album by Louis Levy)
Babes in Arms [1951 Studio Cast]
(1952 Album by Studio Cast Recording)
Composers on Broadway: Rodgers & Hart
(2006 Album by Various Artists)
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