''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, and the book by Herbert Fields and Buddy DeSylva."'Du Barry Was a Lady'"
sondheimguide.com, accessed February 15, 2010 The musical starred Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman and Betty Grable, and the song "Friendship" was one of the highlights. The musical was made into a 1943 Technicolor film '' Du Barry Was a Lady'', starring Red Skelton, Lucille Ball,

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

and Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra.

Plot

A washroom attendant, Louis Blore, has won a sweepstakes, and subsequently quits his job. He is in love with the nightclub singer May Daly, but she is in love with Alex Barton. Alex is the brother of her friend Alice, who is in love with Harry Norton. Meanwhile, Alex is unhappily married to Ann. Charley, Louis's replacement, suggests that Louis slip Alex a Mickey Finn. While trying to do so, Louis inadvertently drinks the Mickey Finn, falls asleep, and dreams he is King Louis XV of France, and that May is

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly being ...

. In his dream, Charley becomes the Dauphin (later Louis XVI) and Harry becomes the captain of the guard, with Ann as Du Barry's

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

, and Alex as a peasant who wrote a rude song about The King and Du Barry (the title song: ''Du Barry Was a Lady''). Eventually after various entanglements (including the Dauphin's shooting the King in the posterior with a bow and arrow), Louis wakes up and realises that Alex is the man for May. He uses the last of his winnings to pay for Alex's divorce from Ann, and (with Charley having just quit his job) goes back to being a washroom attendant.

Productions

1939 Broadway

The musical opened on Broadway at the

46th Street Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Her ...

on December 6, 1939, transferred to the Royale Theatre on October 21, 1940 and closed December 12, 1940, after 408 performances. It was directed by Edgar MacGregor, choreographed by Robert Alton, with the orchestrations of

Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) 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, ...

and

Ted Royal Ted Royal ewar'' (6 September 1904, Skedee, Oklahoma - 27 March (?) 1981) was an American orchestrator, conductor and composer for Broadway theatre. He was most active in the 1940s and 1950s, being associated with the very successful original prod ...

. The cast featured Bert Lahr as Louis Blore, Ethel Merman as May Daly, Betty Grable as Alice Barton, Benny Baker as Charley, Ronald Graham as Alex Barton and

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasad ...

as Harry Norton.

Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted into ...

and

Frances Williams Frances Williams (1904 – 1978) was a composer and conductor, particularly known for her choral works. She was born in Waunfawr in Caernarvonshire, Wales. In 1913, she emigrated to the United States with her family who settled in Seattle, Wash ...

later played the part of May Daly.

West End

The show opened in the West End at Her Majesty's Theatre on 22 October 1942 and ran for 178 performances. It was directed by Richard Bird. The cast featured

Arthur Riscoe Arthur Riscoe MC (1896–1954) was a British stage and film actor. Early life He was born Arthur Charles Boorman on 19 November 1896 in Sherburn-in-Elmet near Leeds, but at the age of 15 moved to Tasmania as a farm worker. When 18, he joined ...

as Louis Blore,

Frances Day Frances Day (born Frances Victoria Schenk; December 16, 1907April 29, 1984) was an American actress and singer who achieved great popularity in the UK in the 1930s. Her career began as a nightclub cabaret singer in New York City and London. ...

as May Daly, Frances Marsden as Alice Barton, Jacky Hunter as Charley, Bruce Trent as Alex Barton and Teddy Beaumont as Harry Norton.

Later productions

The show has been produced in concert form several times in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The two London productions, in 1993 and 2001, were by the Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust and featured Louise Gold as May Daly with Barry Cryer as Louis in 1993 and Desmond Barrit in 2001. The May 1993 production was at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

. The November 2001 concert was (like the original London production) at Her Majesty's Theatre, recorded for radio by the BBC (it was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 during Christmas 2002). New York City Center

Encores! Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Ha ...

presented a staged concert in February 1996 with Robert Morse (Louis) and Faith Prince (May). New York's Musicals Tonight! presented a production March–April, 2017. The song " Give Him the Ooh-La-La" was performed by Carol Burnett in one of her earlier TV appearances in 1956 as part of the

Omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

program ''The American Musical Comedy''. The show later appeared on the BBC Radio with Louise Gold and

Desmond Barrit Desmond Barrit is a Welsh actor, best known for his stage work. Biography An early screen role for Barrit came in ''Alice through the Looking Glass'' (1998), in which he played Humpty Dumpty. In 2003, he played Shylock in the Chichester Festiva ...

singing the lead roles. ''Du Barry Was a Lady'' received a fully staged production in May 2014 by San Francisco's

42nd Street Moon 42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco, California. The company specializes in the preservation and presentation of early and lesser-known works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Ku ...

Company starring Bruce Vilanch in the Bert Lahr role, directed and choreographed by Zack Thomas Wilde.

Songs

In an early shared credit, the songwriting duo of Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane handled the vocal arrangements for the original Broadway production. ;Act I *Where's Louie? – Ensemble *Ev'ry Day's a Holiday – Harry Norton, Alice Barton and Ensemble *It Ain't Etiquette – His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France and Vi Hennessey *When Love Beckoned – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *Come On In – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and Ensemble *Dream Song – Four Internationals *Mesdames and Messieurs – Dames de la Coeur *Gavotte – Alice Barton and Ensemble *But in the Morning, No! – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France *

Do I Love You? "Do I Love You?" is a 1939 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical ''Du Barry Was a Lady'', where it was introduced by Ronald Graham and Ethel Merman. The song was included in the 1943 film adaptation of the musical, where it was ...

– Alex Barton and Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *Do I Love You (Reprise) – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and Zamore *Du Barry Was a Lady – Entire Company ;Act II * Give Him the Ooh-La-La – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *

Well, Did You Evah! "Well, Did You Evah!" is a song written by Cole Porter for his 1939 musical ''DuBarry Was a Lady'', where it was introduced by Betty Grable and Charles Walters. It is written as a duet, with the pair exchanging bad news and each shrugging off the ...

– Alice Barton and Harry Norton *It Was Written in the Stars – Alex Barton and Ensemble *L'Apres Midi d'un Boeuf – Charley and Zamore *Katie Went to Haiti – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and Ensemble *Katie Went to Haiti (Reprise) – Alex Barton and Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *Friendship – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France

Reception

Brooks Atkinson wrote in ''The New York Times'': "Although Miss Merman is jaunty and Mr. Lahr is funny, they have a hard time keeping this show merry. The authors have struck a dead level of Broadway obscenity that does not yield much mirth. As the music-maker Mr. Porter has written a number of accomplished tunes in the modern idiom and one excellent romantic song, "Do I Love You?" but the lyrics are no more inspired than the book; they treat all humor as middling. The performers supply more pleasure than the authors and composer. Betty Grable and Charles Walters, who would also be featured in a free society, dance and sing with remarkable dash." ''Life'' praised the performers, especially Betty Grable "who can dance and sing like a May breeze" and Merman and Lahr "two musical comedy veterans...in top form."(no author).
"Old and New Stars Make 'Du Barry Was a Lady' Cole Porter's Latest Hit"
''Life Magazine'', December 11, 1939, p. 59

Film

The film was released by MGM on May 30, 1943. It was directed by

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...

. It used very little of the original Cole Porter score.

References

External links

* * (1943 film adaptation)
The Shelf: Review of Du Barry Was a Lady
{{Authority control 1939 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Cole Porter Musicals by Herbert Fields West End musicals Cultural depictions of Louis XV Cultural depictions of Madame du Barry