''Present Arms'' is a
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 ...
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
comedy that opened April 26, 1928, with 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 ...
, 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 book by
Herbert Fields
Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897March 24, 1958) was an American librettist and screenwriter.
Biography
Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage director, stage direction before turning to ...
. It 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 ...
with musical numbers stage by
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...
. It ran for 155 performances at the
Lew Fields' Mansfield Theatre, which today is known as the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. ''Present Arms'' was filmed in 1930 with
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...
, with its title changed to ''
Leathernecking
''Leathernecking'' is a 1930 American musical comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline, from a screenplay by Alfred Jackson and Jane Murfin, adapted from the Broadway musical comedy '' Present Arms'', by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and Herbert F ...
''. The film is presumed lost.
Plot
The show starred
Charles King,
Flora Le Breton
Flora Le Breton (1899 – 11 July 1951 in Brooklyn, New York City) was an English silent film actress from Croydon, Surrey, England. She was a dainty blonde with dark blue eyes. In the UK she was called both ''the British Mary Pickford'' an ...
,
Joyce Barbour
Joyce Barbour (1901–1977) was an English actress. She was the wife of the actor Richard Bird (actor), Richard Bird.
Barbour was born in Birmingham on 27 March 1901 the daughter of Horace and Miriam Barbour, her father was an assurance cle ...
and
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...
. A man from Brooklyn is serving as a buck private in Pearl Harbor. He flirts with an English Peer's daughter; however, she is being pursued by a German, who raises pineapples in Hawaii. The Brooklynite pretends to be a Captain in order to make an impression, but he is found out, booted out, and loses out on the girl, until he proves himself in a shipwreck.
Songs
Act One
* "Tell It to the Marines"
* "
You Took Advantage of Me
"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical '' Present Arms'' (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Doug ...
"
* "Do I Hear You (Saying I Love You)?"
* "A Kiss for Cinderella"
* "Is It the Uniform?"
* "Crazy Elbows"
Act Two
* "Down By the Sea"
*"I'm a Fool for You (I'm a Fool, Little One)"
* "Blue Ocean Blues"
* "Hawaii"
* "Kohala, Welcome"
External links
*
*
Overview of show
{{Herbert Fields
1928 musicals
Broadway musicals
Military humor
Musicals by Rodgers and Hart
Musicals set in the Roaring Twenties
Hawaii in fiction
Works about the United States Marine Corps
Musicals by Herbert Fields