'' Poor Little Ritz Girl '' is a musical comedy in two acts, with book by George Campbell and
Lew Fields
Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...
. The show had some songs with lyrics by Alex Gerber and music by
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moon'' (1928).
Earl ...
and other songs with lyrics by
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...
and music by
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...
. The show was produced by
Lew Fields
Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...
at the
Central Theatre. It opened on July 28, 1920.
[Mantle, Burns, Editor, "The Best Plays of 1920–1921", Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 359.]
The production was staged by
Ned Wayburn
Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer.
Career
Wayburn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Elbert Delos Weyburn and Harriet Landon Beach. Ned Wayburn spent much of ...
, who also did the lighting design. It was choreographed by David Bennett, scenic design by H. Robert Law, and costume design by Cora MacGeachy, Anna Spencer and Marie Cook. The musical director was Pierce de Reeder. It ran for 93 performances, closing on October 16, 1920. The cast headlined Charles Purcell and
Andrew Tombes
Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor.
Biography
The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...
, and included
Eugenie Blair,
Ruth Hale, Eleanor Griffith, Lulu McConnell, Aileen Poe, and Florence Webber.
The plot revolves around Annie “Sweetie” Farrell (Florence Webber), an honest but poor chorus girl who rented a furnished apartment on Riverside Drive during the run of a musical in which she was appearing. Late one night she learns that the apartment belongs to a rich young bachelor named William Pembroke (Charles Purcell), who had not given anyone permission to rent it. He comes home to live in his apartment to find that she's occupying his own bedroom. Annie is so perturbed that she can hardly sing, but she convinces Bill, who is a baritone, that she meant no harm. He decides to let her stay there while he puts himself up at his club. Two acts later they are married.
The
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
sub-headline reported that the musical "Shows Clever Transformation from Flat to Theatre Stage" and the review said the show "contains much that is above the average of musical comedy, as well as a good deal that is just average."
[New York Times, July 29, 1920]
Songs
Lyrics by Alex Gerber and music by Sigmund Romberg except as noted by ** (lyrics by Lorenz Hart and music by Richard Rodgers) or by * (lyrics by Herbert Fields and music by Richard Rodgers).
Act 1
* “Poor Little Ritz Girl”
* “Mary, Queen of Scots”*
* “Love Will Call”**
* “Pretty Ming Toy”
* “I Love to Say Hello to the Girls”
* “When I Found You”
Act 2
* “You Can’t Fool Your Dreams” **
* “What Happened Nobody Knows”**
* “My Violin”
* “All You Need To Be a Star”**
* “Love’s Intense in Tents”**
* “The Daisy and the Lark”**
* “In the Land of Yesterday”
* “The Phantom Waltz”
* “The Bombay Bombashay”
References
{{reflist
1920 musicals
Broadway musicals
Original musicals
Musicals by Sigmund Romberg
Musicals by Rodgers and Hart