Preview
Identifier
Revue Program_Page_18
Creation Date
4-23-2021
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Theatre and Performance Studies
Description
DRAMATURGY - “IT’S DE-LOVELY”
“It’s De-Lovely” is a song from the musical Red, Hot and Blue by Cole Porter, which premiered on Broadway in 1936. This song was later used in another Cole Porter musical, Anything Goes, which is more widely known. The idea for the title of this song came when Porter’s wife and friend were on a cruise departing from Rio and they were watching the sunrise. Porter commented saying that it looked “delightful.” Then his wife said it looked “delicious,” and his friend, not wanting to be left out, chimed in with the funny comment, “It’s de-lovely!” which Porter later used in the song.
The plot of Red, Hot and Blue is about an ex-manicurist, “Nails” O’Reilly, who inherited a fortune from her late husband. She joins an ex-convict, “Policy” Pinkle, who she managed to rehabilitate and the two of them set out to help a lawyer, Bob Hale, find his childhood sweetheart. Throughout their quest, O’Reilly and Hale fall in love and “It’s De-Lovely” is the song when they realize that they are in love, even though throughout the song they casually and satirically appear to be mocking love. Red, Hot and Blue is a fun musical that used satire to provide its audience with much needed comedic release during the Great Depression.
DRAMATURGY - “PEOPLE WILL SAY WE’RE IN LOVE”
Oklahoma! is regarded as one of the greatest American musicals of all time. Debuting on Broadway in March 31, 1943 at the St. James Theater, it started the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Building off the innovations Show Boat made for American musicals, Oklahoma! further refined the style with music, librettos, choreographed dance, and staging. It is the complete integration of these techniques that sparked a revolution in American theater.
The musical was expected to be a commercial and critical failure, as Oklahoma! was an adaptation of the 1930 play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, which was unsuccessful commercially. It also lacked star power of a leading actor, Hammerstein’s previous six productions were bombs, and producer Mike Todd walked out of an Off-Broadway show expecting failure. However, once Oklahoma!’s Broadway premiere defied all expectations and became a blockbuster event lasting for 2,212 performances over the course of five years.
Publisher
Arkansas State University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Theatre Program
Keywords
musical, compliation, retrospective, medley
