''Roberta'' is a musical from 1933 with music by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by

Alice Duer Miller Alice Duer Miller (July 28, 1874 – August 22, 1942) was an American writer whose poetry actively influenced political opinion. Her feminist verses influenced political opinion during the American suffrage movement, and her verse novel ''The W ...

. It features the songs " Yesterdays", " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "

Let's Begin "Let's Begin" is a popular song composed in 1933 by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Otto Harbach. It was written for the musical ''Roberta'' (1933) where it was introduced by George Murphy. In the 1935 film version, the song was performed by Fr ...

", "You're Devastating", "Something Had To Happen", "The Touch of Your Hand" and "

I'll Be Hard to Handle "I'll Be Hard to Handle" is a 1932 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Bernard Dougall. It was written for the musical ''Roberta'', where it was introduced by Lyda Roberti. ''Roberta'' opened on Broadway in November 1933.

Productions

The original Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 18, 1933, and ran for 295 performances closing on 21 July 1934. It starred Tamara Drasin (billed as Tamara),

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

, George Murphy,

Lyda Roberti Lyda Roberti (née Pecjak; May 20, 1906 – March 12, 1938) was an American singer and stage and film actress. Early years Born in Warsaw, then part of Imperial Russia, Lyda Roberti was the daughter of a German father (a professional clown surn ...

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

Fay Templeton Fay Templeton (December 25, 1865 – October 3, 1939) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Her parents were actors/vaudevillians and she followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900. Templeton excelled ...

, Ray Middleton (billed as Raymond E. Middleton), Allan Jones, and Sydney Greenstreet. Hope, Murphy, MacMurray and Greenstreet were not yet the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

stars they would soon be, and Middleton was not the Broadway leading man he would become after '' Annie Get Your Gun''. An Australian production opened at

His Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre may refer to: *Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, Australia, known as His Majesty's Theatre 1901–1952, demolished 1983 * His Majesty's Theatre, London, England, known as Her Majesty's Theatre 1952–2023 *His Majesty's Theatre, ...

in Melbourne on December 22, 1934. The cast featured Madge Elliot and Cyril Richard.

Original Broadway cast

as Huckleberry Haines * Tamara Drasin as Princess Stephanie * Ray Middleton as John Kent *

as Aunt Minnie / Roberta * George Murphy as Billy Boyden *

as Madame Nunez / Clementina Scharwenka * Sydney Greenstreet as Lord Henry Delves *

as California Collegian * Allan Jones as California Collegian * Helen Gray as Sophie Teale * Jane Evans as Mrs. Teale * Bobette Christine as Angele *

William Hain William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

as Ladislaw *

Nayan Pearce Nayan may refer to: * Nayanthara (born 1984), Indian actress * Nayan Desai (born 1946), Indian poet * Nayan Mongia (born 1969), Indian cricketer * Nayan Ghosh (born 1956), Indian musician * Nayan Doshi (born 1978), British cricketer * Nayan Sh ...

as Luella Laverne *

Mavis Walsh Mavis is a female given name, derived from a name for the common Old World song thrush. Its first modern usage was in Marie Corelli's 1895 novel ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which featured a character named Mavis Clare (whose name was said to be "rat ...

as Marie *

Ed Jerome Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

as Monsieur Leroux *

Berenice Alaire Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the ancient Macedonian language, Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete (Mygdonia), Lete ca. 350 ...

as Sidonie *

Gretchen Sherman Gretchen (, ; literal translation: "Little Grete" or "Little Greta") is a female given name of German origin that is mainly prevalent in the United States. Its popularity increased because a major character in Goethe's ''Faust'' (1808) has thi ...

as The Buyer *

Virginia Whitmore Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...

as The Flower Girl

Other versions

The play was made into a 1935 film by

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

. The film omitted "The Touch of Your Hand" (sung by a minor character), "Something Had To Happen", and "You're Devastating" (originally Middleton's big song in the show), but added the Kern songs " I Won't Dance" (lifted from the flop Kern show '' Three Sisters'') and "Lovely to Look At" (written for the 1935 film and nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

). These two additions became so popular that they are now frequently included in revivals and recordings of ''Roberta''. A radio adaptation of ''Roberta'' was presented on '' Philip Morris Playhouse'' on CBS May 14, 1943.

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

and

William Gargan William Dennis Gargan (July 17, 1905February 17, 1979) was an American film, television and radio actor. He was the 5th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1967, and in 1941, was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

starred in the program. In

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

remade ''Roberta'' under the title '' Lovely to Look At''. This remake also included the two songs added to the 1935 film. It starred Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel,

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

, Gower Champion, Marge Champion, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, was made in Technicolor and reuniting four members of the previous year's '' Show Boat'' (Grayson, Keel and the two Champions). In 1958, it was made into a made-for-TV-movie starring

, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Howard Keel and Janis Paige. The show was also presented on television in a highly adapted, modernized 1969 NBC color telecast. This production was presented by Bob Hope, who reprised his original stage role, inserting many new, then-topical jokes about current events. Others in the cast included Michele Lee, John Davidson, Eve McVeagh, and Janis Paige (who sang " I Won't Dance" with a male chorus). In 2014, New World Records released a complete recording of the score, reconstructed by Larry Moore, with Rob Berman conducting the Orchestra of Ireland and a cast of American, British, and Irish performers, including

Jason Graae Jason Graae (pronounced "grah" or "graw", but not "gray") (born 15 May 1958) is an American musical theater actor, best known for his musical theater performances but with a varied career spanning Broadway, opera, television and film. He has ...

, Annalene Beechey, Kim Criswell, Patrick Cummings, Tally Sessions, Diana Montague, Laura Daniel, Jeanne Lehman, John Molloy, and Eamonn Mulhall.

References

Sources

External links

* {{Authority control 1933 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on novels Musicals by Jerome Kern Musicals by Otto Harbach