Lady in the Dark (1941), a musical comedy by Moss Hart (book), Kurt Weill (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics). [Alvin Theatre, 467 perf.] Although Liza Elliott (Gertrude Lawrence) is a successful fashion magazine editor, privately she is an unhappy woman. She tells her analyst that while her dreams are filled with familiar figures, they act in unfamiliar ways. Most prominent in her dreams are Kendall Nesbitt (Bert Lytell), her lover and the man who has helped her to the top of her profession; Charley Johnson (MacDonald Carey), her crusty advertising manager; Russell Paxton (Danny Kaye), the magazine's effeminate photographer; and Randy Curtis (Victor Mature), a handsome but stupid movie star. By recounting her dreams, Liza comes to realize that her father's disdain for her when she was a child has warped her relations with men, yet she finds a soul mate in Charley. Notable songs: My Ship; The Saga of Jenny; Tschaikowsky; This Is New. Prompted by Hart's interest in psychoanalysis, the script was innovative in that all but one of the musical numbers were presented as part of Liza's essentially surrealistic dream sequences. The Sam H. Harris production was one of Larwence's greatest triumphs and it made a star of Kaye.
Lady in the Dark
| American Theater Guide: Lady in the Dark |
| Wikipedia: Lady in the Dark |
| Lady in the Dark | |
| Music | Kurt Weill |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Ira Gershwin |
| Book | Moss Hart |
| Productions | 1941 Broadway 1944 Film 1981 UK regional 1997 London |
Lady in the Dark is a musical written by Kurt Weill (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics), and Moss Hart (book and direction). It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis, said to be based on Hart's own experiences with psychoanalyst Gregory Zilboorg. Except for the final song, all the music in the play is heard in three extended dream sequences: the Glamour Dream, the Wedding Dream, and the Circus Dream which, to some extent, become three small operas integrated into a straight play. The final song, "My Ship", functions as a leitmotif for Liza's insecurity: as each dream commences, a snippet of the tune is heard, as it is a haunting melody which Liza recognizes but cannot name, or sing with words, until her anxiety is resolved.
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Productions
The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) on January 23, 1941 and closed on May 30, 1942 after 467 performances. Direction was by Hart, with musical staging by Hassard Short (also the production design), and choreography by Albertina Rasch. The original production's cast included Gertrude Lawrence, Danny Kaye, Bert Lytell, Victor Mature, and Davis Cunningham. The musical ran at The Broadway Theatre from February 27, 1943 through May 15, 1943, for 83 performances. Gertrude Lawrence reprised her role as Liza Elliott.
Kaye's performance as gay fashion photographer Russell Paxton, and particularly his consistently showstopping performance of the patter song "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" in which he dashes through the names of 50 Russian composers in 39 seconds, made him a star.[1]
- Film and television
The 1944 film version starred Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland, and cut most of the Weill/Gershwin songs from the score. "The Saga of Jenny" and "Girl of the Moment" remained, and part of "This Is New" is played by a nightclub band in the background. Kaye's role went to Hollywood's "Mad Russian", the slightly taller Mischa Auer.
Lady in the Dark was twice presented on radio, in 1947 and 1950 for Theatre Guild on the Air. Gertrude Lawrence reprised her role both times and Keene Crockett played Russell. The musical was produced on television on September 25, 1954 as part of an intermittent series broadcast under the umbrella title Max Liebman Presents. Ann Sothern played Liza and Carleton Carpenter as Russell became one of the earliest identifiably gay characters to appear on television.[2] A cast recording of the television special was released on Sepia.[3]
- Other productions
Lady in the Dark premiered in the UK in a regional production at The Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham, which opened on December 9, 1981. Celeste Holm, in her British debut, starred.[4] The musical was produced by the Royal National Theatre, London, from March 11, 1997 to August 2, 1997, directed by Francesca Zambello and starring Maria Friedman.[5]
The City Center Encores! semi-staged concert production was performed in May 1994 with Christine Ebersole.[6]
Songs
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Notes
- ^ McClung, Bruce. p. 33
- ^ Capsuto, p. 31
- ^ Suskin, Steven."On the Record:Lady in the Dark and Warm Spring Night",playbill.com, August 7, 2005
- ^ McClung, pp. 195-196
- ^ Lady in the Dark London production listingbroadwayworld.com, March 1, 2009
- ^ Holden, Stephen. "Fashion, Freud, and Frigidity, With 40's Fizz", The New York Times, p.C3., May 1994
References
- Capsuto, Steven (2000). Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345412435
- McClung, Bruce (2007). Lady in the Dark, Biography of a Musical. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195120124
External links
- Lady in the Dark on Internet Broadway Database
- Lady in the ark listing at RNH
- Lady in the Dark (film) at the Internet Movie Database
- Lady in the Dark (TV) at the Internet Movie Database
- Plot, song list at Guide to Musical Theatre
- Detailed review of the film
- UArts Lady in the Dark Summary
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lady in the Dark". Read more |
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