Revenge with Music is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Howard Dietz

Howard Dietz

Howard Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...

 and music by Arthur Schwartz

Arthur Schwartz

Arthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...

.This was the first "book" musical by Dietz and Schwartz.

Background and production

Dietz, inspired by a trip to Spain, wrote his libretto based on the Spanish novel El Sombrero de Tres Picos by Pedro de Alarcon. The duo had wanted to write something other than the revues they had been doing. The musical takes place in Spain in 1800, and involves a young Spanish couple, played by Holman and Metaxa. The story is based on a Spanish folk tale about seduction.
Produced by Arch Selwyn and Harold B. Franklin, the 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...

 production, opened on November 28, 1934 at the New Amsterdam Theatre

New Amsterdam Theatre

The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...

 for a total of 158 performances. The dance ensembles were by Michael Mordkin, direction by Theodore Komisarjevsky, orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett

Robert Russell Bennett

Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...

. The cast starred Charles Winninger

Charles Winninger

Charles Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals, but equally at home in drama.-Biography:He began as a vaudeville actor...

, Libby Holman

Libby Holman

Libby Holman was an American torch singer and stage actress who also achieved notoriety for her complex and unconventional personal life.-Early life:...

 and Georges Metaxa.

Although this show was considered a failure, it included two hit songs "You and the Night and the Music" and "If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You." The former was used again in The Band Wagon

The Band Wagon

The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film that many critics rank, along with Singin' in the Rain, as the finest of the MGM musicals, although it was only a modest box-office success. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway play will restart his career...

.

Songs

Act I

• Flamenco – Dancing Soloists
• Never Marry a Dancer – Margarita
• If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You – Carlos
• In the Noonday Sun – Consuela and Ensemble
• That Fellow Manuelo – Alonzo, Carlos, Company, Dancing Soloists, Guitarists and Ensemble
• Think It Over – Don Emilio
• Maria – Carlos, Maria and Ensemble
• My Father Said – Carlos, Margarita and Ensemble
• You and the Night and the Music
  You and the Night and the Music
  "You and the Night and the Music" is a popular song composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Howard Dietz.The song was debuted in the Broadway show Revenge with Music. The show originally opened on November 28, 1934, ran for 22 performances, after which it closed. It then reopened on December...
  
  – Carlos and Maria

Act II

• Once in a While – Margarita, Miguel Rodriguez and Ensemble
• In the Middle of the Night – Alonzo and Ensemble
• Wand’ring Heart – Maria

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing