Paris (1928 musical)
Encyclopedia
Paris is a musical with the book by Martin Brown, and music and lyrics by Cole Porter
, as well as Walter Kollo
and Louis Alter
(music) and E. Ray Goetz
and Roy Turk
(lyrics). The musical, which premiered on Broadway
in 1928, was Porter's first Broadway hit. The musical introduced the song "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love
" sung by the show's star, Irene Bordoni
. The story involves a young man from a very proper family in Newton, Massachusetts
whose mother is horrified by his intention to wed a French actress.
, the critics could not find the plot. An eleven-piece orchestra was placed in the leading lady's room, singing and dancing as well as providing the orchestral accompaniment. The producer (and also song-writer) Ray Goetz kept the musical in tryouts for almost 8 months, while songs were added and deleted. The song "Let's Misbehave
" was dropped in favor of one of Porter's "best known songs", "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love". The censors had insisted that the "Let's Fall in Love" be added to the title. The plot was designed for Irene Bordoni "to show off her wardrobe and ingratiating stage presence".
Act I
Act II
Act III
, Boston
as of May 7, 1928; and finally the Poli Theatre, Washington DC on September 30, 1928.
The Broadway premiere was at the Music Box Theatre
, opening on October 8, 1928 and closing on March 23, 1929, after 195 performances. The musical was directed by William H. Gilmore with choreography by "Red" Stanley. The cast featured Goetz' wife, Irene Bordoni
(Vivienne Rolland), Arthur Margetson (Guy Pennel), Louise Closser Hale
(Cora Sabot), Eric Kalkhurst (Andrew Sabot), and Elizabeth Chester (Brenda Kaley). Irving Aaronson and his Commanders
was the musical's band.
In 1929 Warner Brothers made the musical into a feature film
, starring Bordoni, Jack Buchanan
, Jason Robards Sr. and ZaSu Pitts
.
Ian Marshall Fisher's "Lost Musicals" series presented a staged concert in April 2010 at Sadler's Wells, London.
In 1983, Medicine Show Theatre, one of New York City's longest running experimental theatres, re-discovered the script and, working with the Cole Porter trust, restored the cut Cole Porter songs to the show as well as other Porter songs to make it an all-Cole Porter musical. Medicine Show revived this version in June 2011, scheduling performances through October 2011.
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, as well as Walter Kollo
Walter Kollo
Walter Kollo was a German composer of operettas, Possen mit Gesang, and Singspiele as well as popular songs. He was also a conductor and a music publisher.Kollo was born in Neidenburg, East Prussia...
and Louis Alter
Louis Alter
Louis Alter was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. Alter was 13 when he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films...
(music) and E. Ray Goetz
E. Ray Goetz
Edward Ray Goetz was an American composer, songwriter, author and producer. He was a charter member of ASCAP in 1914, and was a director until 1917. Goetz appeared in the films Somebody Loves Me , The Greatest Show On Earth and For Me And My Gal . He wrote the songs "Toddling The Todalo" and "For...
and Roy Turk
Roy Turk
Roy Kenneth Turk was an American songwriter. A lyricist, he frequently collaborated with composer Fred E. Ahlert – their popular 1928 song "Mean to Me" has become a jazz standard. He worked with many other composers, including for film lyrics...
(lyrics). The musical, which premiered 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...
in 1928, was Porter's first Broadway hit. The musical introduced the song "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love
Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love
"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical Paris by French chanteuse Irène Bordoni for whom Porter had written the musical as a starring vehicle...
" sung by the show's star, Irene Bordoni
Irène Bordoni
Irène Bordoni was a French singer and a Broadway and film actress.-Early years:Born in Ajaccio, France, from an Italian family, she had been a child actor, performing in Paris on stage and in silent films for a few years, having signed with theatrical agent André Charlot...
. The story involves a young man from a very proper family in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
whose mother is horrified by his intention to wed a French actress.
History
According to writer Stephen Citron in his book Noel & Cole: the Sophisticates, it was with Paris that Cole Porter would be accepted in the "upper echelon" of Broadway composers. Although it was not a revueRevue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
, the critics could not find the plot. An eleven-piece orchestra was placed in the leading lady's room, singing and dancing as well as providing the orchestral accompaniment. The producer (and also song-writer) Ray Goetz kept the musical in tryouts for almost 8 months, while songs were added and deleted. The song "Let's Misbehave
Let's Misbehave
"Let's Misbehave" is a famous song written by Cole Porter in 1927, originally intended for the female lead of his first major production, Paris...
" was dropped in favor of one of Porter's "best known songs", "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love". The censors had insisted that the "Let's Fall in Love" be added to the title. The plot was designed for Irene Bordoni "to show off her wardrobe and ingratiating stage presence".
Synopsis
Mrs. Cora Sabot is a domineering and haughty society matriarch who lives in Massachusetts. Her son Andrew plans on marrying the famous French stage actress Vivienne Rolland. Mrs. Sabot goes to Paris and decides that the actress is not of the caliber she wishes for her son, and therefore intends to stop the marriage. There she feigns drunkenness and fakes falling under the romantic influence of Guy Pennel, Vivienne's stage partner. However, she actually does becomes drunk and is comically transformed into a passionate woman. Mrs. Sabot's scheme works, and Vivienne realizes that she and Guy are meant to be romantic partners in life as well as on the stage. Andrew meanwhile understands that Brenda Kaley, as slow and obtuse as he is, will make the perfect wife.Songs
All songs are by Cole Porter (music and lyrics) unless notedAct I
- The Land of Going To Be (Lyrics By E. Ray Goetz, Music By Walter Kollo) - Vivienne Rolland and Guy Pennel
Act II
- Paris (Lyrics By E. Ray Goetz, Music By Louis Alter) - Vivienne Rolland
- Babes in the WoodBabes in the WoodBabes in the Wood is a traditional children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents entering unawares into any potentially dangerous or hostile...
- Vivienne Rolland - Don't Look at Me That Way - Vivienne Rolland
- Let's Do It, Let's Fall in LoveLet's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical Paris by French chanteuse Irène Bordoni for whom Porter had written the musical as a starring vehicle...
- Vivienne Rolland and Guy Pennel - The Land of Going To Be (Reprise) - Vivienne Rolland
- An' Furthermore (Lyrics By Bud Green, Music By Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
) - The Commanders - (Oh You) Sweet Old Whatcha-May-Call-It (Lyrics By Roy Turk, Music By Fred E. Ahlert) - The Commanders
Act III
- The Land of Going To Be (Reprise) - Vivienne Rolland
Productions
Paris started pre-Broadway tryouts at Nixon's Apollo Theatre, Atlantic City on February 6, 1928, followed by: the Adelphi Theatre, Philadelphia on February 13, 1928; the Wilbur TheatreWilbur Theatre
Wilbur Theatre is a historic theater at 244-250 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in Boston's theatre district.Clarence Blackall built the theatre in 1913. The National Historic Register added the Wilbur in 1980....
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
as of May 7, 1928; and finally the Poli Theatre, Washington DC on September 30, 1928.
The Broadway premiere was at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
, opening on October 8, 1928 and closing on March 23, 1929, after 195 performances. The musical was directed by William H. Gilmore with choreography by "Red" Stanley. The cast featured Goetz' wife, Irene Bordoni
Irène Bordoni
Irène Bordoni was a French singer and a Broadway and film actress.-Early years:Born in Ajaccio, France, from an Italian family, she had been a child actor, performing in Paris on stage and in silent films for a few years, having signed with theatrical agent André Charlot...
(Vivienne Rolland), Arthur Margetson (Guy Pennel), Louise Closser Hale
Louise Closser Hale
Louise Closser Hale was an American actress, playwright and novelist.Louise Closser was born either in Springfield, Massachusetts or Chicago, Illinois . Her father was Joseph A. Closser, a wealthy grain dealer and her mother was Louise M. Closser...
(Cora Sabot), Eric Kalkhurst (Andrew Sabot), and Elizabeth Chester (Brenda Kaley). Irving Aaronson and his Commanders
Irving Aaronson and his Commanders
Irving Aaronson and His Commanders was an American big band active in New York in the Mid-twenties led by Irving Aaronson.-Sidemen:Mickey Bloom, Red Stanley, Harold Saliers, Herman Hyde, Phil Saxe, Sal Cibelli, Ralph Napoli, Stanley Johnson, Frank Cornwell, Mack Walker, Artie Quenzer, Charlie...
was the musical's band.
In 1929 Warner Brothers made the musical into a feature film
Paris (1929 film)
Paris is a black-and-white musical comedy film with Technicolor sequences: four of ten reels were originally photographed in Technicolor. Paris was the fourth color movie released by Warner Bros.; the first three were The Desert Song, On With the Show and Gold Diggers of Broadway, all released in...
, starring Bordoni, Jack Buchanan
Jack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
, Jason Robards Sr. and ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
.
Ian Marshall Fisher's "Lost Musicals" series presented a staged concert in April 2010 at Sadler's Wells, London.
In 1983, Medicine Show Theatre, one of New York City's longest running experimental theatres, re-discovered the script and, working with the Cole Porter trust, restored the cut Cole Porter songs to the show as well as other Porter songs to make it an all-Cole Porter musical. Medicine Show revived this version in June 2011, scheduling performances through October 2011.