''Miss Liberty'' is a 1949

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

with a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of ''Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our L ...

and music and lyrics by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

. It is based on the sculpting of the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

(''Liberty Enlightening the World'') in 1886. The score includes the song "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor", a musical setting of

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which was inspired ...

's sonnet "

The New Colossus "The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...

" (1883), which was placed at the base of the monument in 1903.

Plot

In 1885, ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' publisher James Gordon Bennett assigns novice reporter Horace Miller to find the woman who served as

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculpture, sculptor and painting, painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life a ...

's model for the

. In the artist's

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

studio, Miller sees a photograph of Monique DuPont and mistakenly believes she was the one. Bennett arranges for her and her grandmother to accompany Horace back to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she becomes a media darling. When rival publisher

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

discovers it was Bartholdi's mother who actually posed for him, he exposes Monique as a fraud in his ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

''. She faces deportation until a sympathetic Pulitzer comes to her rescue, paving the way for her to plan a future with Horace, who jilts his American girlfriend Maisie Doll in favor of the French beauty.

Background and productions

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Robert Sherwood was deeply moved when he saw what the Statue of Liberty meant to American GIs who were being shipped overseas, and he wanted to write a story about this symbol of freedom. While crossing the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

on the '' Queen Mary'' with 15,000 recruits, the playwright had been "deeply moved" and "greatly impressed by the emotion that sight of the statue generated among these soldiers." Upon meeting Irving Berlin in England, he invited him to compose the score, and Berlin suggested

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

become part of the creative team as a co-producer and director. The book and score were completed in May 1949 and a cast of fifty-five began rehearsals. The musical opened in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on June 13 and, despite mostly negative reviews, the four-week-long run was a sellout, resulting in a profit of $175,000.Alonso, Harriet Hyman, ''Robert E. Sherwood: The Playwright in Peace and War''.

University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...

2007. , p. 293-296 With an advance sale of $500,000, the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production opened at the

Imperial Theatre The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed fo ...

on July 15, 1949 and closed on April 8, 1950, following 308 performances. Directed by Moss Hart and choreographed by

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

, the cast included

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

as Horace Miller,

Allyn McLerie Allyn Ann McLerie (December 1, 1926 – May 21, 2018) was a Canadian-born American actress, singer and dancer who worked with many of Golden Age musical theatre's major choreographers, including George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, and Jerome R ...

as Monique DuPont, Mary McCarty as Maisie Doll,

Philip Bourneuf Philip Bourneuf (January 7, 1908 - March 23, 1979) was an American character actor who had a long stage career before appearing in films. Early years The son of engineer Ambrose Bourneuf and his wife, the former Josephine Comeau, Bourneuf was ...

as Joseph Pulitzer, and

Charles Dingle Charles Dingle (December 28, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early life Dingle was born December 28, 1887, in Wabash, Indiana. His father was John Crockett Dingle, and he was said to be a descendant of Davy ...

as James Gordon Bennett, with

Maria Karnilova Maria Karnilova (August 3, 1920 – April 20, 2001) was an American dancer and actress. She was initially known legally as Maria Karniloff. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Filip (Philip) and Stefanida Dovgolenko (or Dowh ...

and

Tommy Rall Thomas Edward Rall (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American actor, ballet dancer, tap dancer, and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies. He later became a successful operatic tenor in the 1 ...

among the supporting players. Oliver Smith designed the sets

Ward Morehouse Ward Morehouse (November 24, 1895 – December 7, 1966) was an American theater critic, newspaper columnist, playwright, and author. Life and career Born in Savannah, Georgia, Ward Morehouse first worked as a reporter for ''The Savannah Press ...

of the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'' thought it was a "sharp disappointment,"

Richard Watts, Jr. Richard Watts Jr. (1898–1981) was an American theatre critic. Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Watts was educated at Columbia University. He began his writing career as the film critic for the '' New York Herald Tribune'' before assuming t ...

of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' felt it was "only pretty fair," and the ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' critic, citing an "overly-plotty book, undistinguished score, insufficient comedy and merely adequate performances," described it as "something of a clinker." Despite the poor reviews, many of its songs become popular hits, and 98 singles and three albums of the show's tunes were released. Weekly profits ranged from $5,000 to $9,000, although a six-week tour lost about $25,000. 42nd Street Moon in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

produced the musical in November 2005.Irving Berlin's Miss Liberty is an Old Fashioned Winsome Musical"
talkinbroadway.com, retrieved December 19, 2009

Songs

;Act 1 *Extra, Extra - Newsboys and Ensemble *What Do I Have to Do to Get My Picture Took? - Maisie Doll, Horace Miller, and Dancers *The Most Expensive Statue in the World - Joseph Pulitzer, James Gordon Bennett, the Mayor, Singers, and Dancers *A Little Fish in a Big Pond - Horace Miller, Maisie Doll, and the Sharks * Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk - Horace Miller, Monique DuPont, Singers, and Dancers *Homework - Maisie Doll *Paris Wakes Up and Smiles - Monique DuPont and Ensemble *Only for Americans The Countess - Horace Miller, Singers, and Dancers *Just One Way to Say I Love You - Horace Miller and Monique DuPont ;Act 2 *Miss Liberty - Entire Company *The Train - Monique DuPont and the Train *

You Can Have Him "You Can Have Him" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1949 musical ''Miss Liberty'', where it was introduced by Allyn McLerie and Mary McCarty. It is not to be confused with Roy Hamilton's 1961 hit "You Can Have Her", which has la ...

- Maisie Doll and Monique DuPont *The Policeman's Ball - Maisie Doll, the Dandy, and Ensemble *Homework (Reprise) - Maisie Doll *Follow the Leader Jig - Ensemble *Me and My Bundle - Horace Miller, Monique DuPont, and Company *Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun - Maisie Doll *Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor (from the poem ''

'' by

) - Monique DuPont and Singers

References

External links

*
''Miss Liberty'' plot and production information at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
{{Statue of Liberty Musicals by Irving Berlin 1949 musicals Broadway musicals Statue of Liberty in fiction