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.

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.

For the film of the same name, see Babes in Arms (film).

Babes in Arms
Original Broadway Logo
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.

Contents 1 Production history 2 Characters and original Broadway cast 3 Musical numbers 4 References 5 External links

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.

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

1. ^ Brantley, Ben."THEATER REVIEW; Ageless Fun, With the Beat And Bounce Of Springtime",The New York Times, February 13, 1999
2. ^ "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.

v • d • e Rodgers and Hart musicals The Garrick Gaieties · Dearest Enemy · The Girl Friend · Peggy-Ann · A Connecticut Yankee · Present Arms · Ever Green · Simple Simon · America's Sweetheart · Jumbo · On Your Toes · Babes in Arms · I'd Rather Be Right · The Boys from Syracuse · I Married an Angel · Too Many Girls · Higher and Higher · Pal Joey · By Jupiter

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