Panama Hattie (1940), a musical comedy by Herbert Fields, B. G. De Sylva (book), Cole Porter (music, lyrics). [46th Street Theatre, 501 perf.] Hattie Maloney (Ethel Merman) is a saloon owner in the Canal Zone, where she meets and falls in love with a Philadelphia socialite, Nick Bullett (James Dunn). He agrees to marry Hattie if she can win the affection of Nick's young daughter from a former marriage. So Hattie sets about wooing little Geraldine (Joan Carroll) and eventually succeeds. Notable songs: I've Still Got My Health; Let's Be Buddies; Make It Another Old‐Fashioned, Please. A brash, brassy musical without a truly top‐drawer Porter score, producer De Sylva's excellent production, Merman's appeal, and improving economic times made it the first book musical since the Depression to run more than five hundred performances.




