Destry Rides Again is a 1959 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Leonard Gershe

Leonard Gershe

Leonard Gershe was an American playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist.Born in New York City, Gershe made his Broadway debut as a lyricist for the 1950 revue Alive and Kicking. He wrote the book for Harold Rome's musical stage adaptation of Destry Rides Again in 1959, and in 1969 a play, ...

. The play is based on the 1939 classic film of the same name

Destry Rides Again

Destry Rides Again is a western starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, Billy Gilbert, Bill Cody, Jr., and Una Merkel. The original Max Brand novel was translated into an "oater" with the...

.

Production history

The show opened on Broadway

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...

 at the Imperial Theatre on February 23, 1959 and closed on June 18, 1960 after 472 performances. Michael Kidd

Michael Kidd

Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer.-Life and career:Born Milton Greenwald in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, an immigrant barber, and his wife Lillian, Michael Kidd moved to Brooklyn with his family and attended New Utrecht High School there...

 was the director and choreograper. The cast starred Andy Griffith

Andy Griffith

Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...

 as Destry and Dolores Gray as Frenchy.

The plot was loosely based on a story by Max Brand

Max Brand

Frederick Faust, aka Max Brand|thumb|rightFrederick Schiller Faust was an American author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary Westerns. Faust wrote mostly under pen names, but today is primarily known by only one, Max Brand...

. The song made famous by Marlene Dietrich in the film, "See What The Boys in the Back Room Will Have", was not used in the stage production.

Plot

Tom Destry becomes the deputy-sheriff of the town of Bottleneck, having been hired by the townsfolk to rid them of Kent and his gang. Frenchy, initially one of Kent's followers, saves Destry's life, and then becomes romantically involved with him. The show ends on a happy note with Frenchy and Destry together.

Characters and original cast

• Frenchy - Dolores Gray
• Destry - Andy Griffith
• Kent - Scott Brady
  Scott Brady
  Scott Brady was an American film and television actor.Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ...
  
   (followed by Art Lund
  Art Lund
  Art Lund was an American baritone singer, initially with bandleaders Benny Goodman and Harry James, and was also a television and stage actor.-Biography:...
  
  )
• Wash - Jack Prince
• Gyp - Marc Breaux
  Marc Breaux
  Marc Breaux is an American choreographer and occasional film director best known for his work on musical films of the 1960s and 1970s. Most of his well known work was in collaboration with Dee Dee Wood to whom he was married for many years...
  
  
• Bugs - Swen Swenson
  Swen Swenson
  Swen Swenson was a Broadway dancer and singer. Born in Inwood, Iowa, Swenson was trained by dancer Mira Rostova and at the School of American Ballet....
  
  
• Rockwell - George Reeder
• Rose Lovejoy - Elizabeth Watts

Songs

Act 1

• Bottleneck - Patrons of the Last Chance Saloon
• Ladies - Frenchy and Girls
• Hoop-de-Dingle - Wash and Patrons of the Saloon
• Tomorrow Morning - Destry
• Ballad of the Gun - Destry and Wash
• The Social - Townspeople, Gyp Watson, Bugs Watson and Rockwell
• I Know Your Kind - Frenchy
• I Hate Him - Frenchy
• Paradise Alley - Cowboys and The Rose Lovely Girls
• Anyone Would Love You - Destry and Frenchy
• Once Knew a Fella - Destry, Wash and Friends
• Every Once in a While - Gyp Watson, Bugs Watson, Rockwell, Cowboys and Saloon Girls
• Fair Warning - Frenchy

Act 2

• Are You Ready, Gyp Watson?- Friends of Gyp Watson
• Not Guilty - The Jury
• Only Time Will Tell - Destry
• Respectability - Rose Lovejoy and Girls
• That Ring on the Finger - Frenchy and Girls
• Once Knew a Fella (Reprise) - Destry and Frenchy
• I Say Hello - Frenchy

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award
  Tony Award
  The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
  
  Best Actor in a Musical - Andy Griffith (nominee)
• Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical - Dolores Gray (nominee)
• Tony Award Best Choreography - Michael Kidd (winner)
• Tony Award Best Direction of a Musical - Michael Kidd (nominee)

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing