''Silk Stockings'' is a

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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

with a book by

George S. Kaufman George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and other ...

, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and 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 ...

. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story ''Ninotchka'' and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired. It ran on Broadway in 1955. This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.

Production history

Background

During the "severely troubled tryout" George S. Kaufman and his wife Leueen MacGrath were replaced by Abe Burrows. (According to Cecil Michener Smith and Glenn Litton, Kaufman became angry and quit.Michener Smith, Cecil and Litton, Glenn.
"Chapter:The Book Musical Refined"
''Musical Comedy in America'', Psychology Press, 1981, , p. 220) Burrows re-wrote most of the book. The producer

Cy Feuer Cy Feuer (January 15, 1911 – May 17, 2006) was an American theatre producer, director, composer, musician, and half of the celebrated producing duo Feuer and Martin. He won three competitive Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Th ...

took over the direction from Kaufman. The three leads had not performed in a Broadway musical comedy: Hildegard Knef was a German film and stage actress,

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

never had sung on stage, and Gretchen Wyler was making her Broadway debut. "All three triumphed."

Productions

Following tryouts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit, the production opened Broadway on February 24, 1955 at the Imperial Theatre and closed on April 14, 1956 after 478 performances."'Silk Stockings' production, plot and song list"
sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011 Directed by Cy Feuer and choreographed by Eugene Loring, the cast included Hildegard Knef (Ninotchka),

(Steve Canfield), Gretchen Wyler (Janice Dayton), George Tobias, David Opatoshu, Julie Newmar, and Onna White. Jan Sherwood replaced Knef as Ninotchka and portrayed the role for the show's first national tour. Scenic and lighting designs were by

Jo Mielziner Joseph "Jo" Mielziner (March 19, 1901 – March 15, 1976) was an American theatrical scenic design, scenic, and lighting design, lighting designer born in Paris, France. He was described as "the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Br ...

and costumes were by Lucinda Ballard. The tour played the

Curran Theatre The Curran Theatre, located at 445 Geary Street between Taylor and Mason Streets in the Theatre District of San Francisco, California opened in February 1922, and was named after its first owner, Homer Curran. As of 2014, the theater is owned by ...

in San Francisco, California starting in April 1956, as well as Los Angeles. The score "played a large part in keeping ''Silk Stockings'' running on Broadway for 478 performances and in helping to recoup the immense production expenses for the show (brought in at a cost of $370,000, ''Silk Stockings'' was considered one of Broadway's most expensive musicals for its time)...The big hit...was clearly 'All of You'." An original cast recording was released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. The Lost Musicals staged reading of the musical was held in September 2005 in New York City.Dale, Michael.
"'Silk Stockings': Cole Porter Fights The Cold War"
offbroadway.broadwayworld.com, September 15, 2005 Hildegard Knef (original German spelling) gave a vivid backstage account of the casting, rehearsals, tryouts and Broadway opening of ''Silk Stockings'' in her autobiography ''The Gift Horse: Report on a Life'' (McGraw Hill, 1971) pages 281 through 342.

Synopsis

The musical involves special envoy Nina Yaschenko, who is dispatched from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

to rescue three foolish commissars from the pleasures of Paris. Romanced by theatrical agent Steven Canfield, she eventually comes to recognize the virtues of

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

indulgence. Other characters include Peter Boroff, Russia's greatest composer, who is being wooed by Janice Dayton, America's swimming sweetheart, to write the score for her first non-aquatic picture, a musical adaptation of '' War and Peace''.

Song list

;Act I * "Too Bad" - Ivanov, Brankov, Bibinski, and Hotel Staff * "Paris Loves Lovers" - Steve Canfield and Ninotchka * "Stereophonic Sound" - Janice Dayton * "It's a Chemical Reaction, That's All" - Ninotchka * " All of You" - Steve * "Satin and Silk" - Janice * "Without Love" - Ninotchka * " All of You" (Reprise) - Steve ;Act II * "Hail, Bibinski" * "As On Through the Seasons We Sail" * "Josephine" - Janice * "Siberia" * "Silk Stockings" * "The Red Blues" * "Too Bad" (Reprise)

Film

The film '' Silk Stockings'', based on the stage musical, was released in 1957.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musicals by Cole Porter 1955 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on films