''Between the Devil'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by

Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. Biography Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia Colle ...

and music by

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on Nov ...

Production and background

The musical opened in pre-Broadway tryouts in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in October 1937. The original plot had the leading man,

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

, as an Englishman who married two women at the same time. The plot was changed to have Buchanan marry the second wife only because he thought his first wife had died. Produced by

Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart; March 25, 1871– December 25, 1953) was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer and the eldest of seven siblings of the theatrical Shubert family. Biography Born to a Jewish family, the so ...

and J. J. Shubert, 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 on December 22, 1937, 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 ...

and closed on March 12, 1938, after 93 performances. The production was staged by

Hassard Short Hubert Edward Hassard Short (15 October 1877 – 9 October 1956), usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatre Kenrick, JohnWho's Who in Musicals: Short, HassardMusicals101. ...

, the book was staged by John Hayden, and dances and principals' numbers were staged by

Robert Alton Robert Alton (2 January 1902 – 12 June 1957) was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the ...

. The cast starred Jack Buchanan as Peter Anthony and Pierre Antoine,

Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie Ma ...

as Natalie Rives,

Adele Dixon Adele Dixon (born Adela Helena Dixon; 3 June 1908 – 11 April 1992) was an English actress and singer. She sang at the start of regular broadcasts of the BBC Television Service on 2 November 1936. After an early start as a child actress, an ...

as Claudette Gilbert, and Charles Walters as Freddie Hill. The show was only a moderate success but introduced the songs " By Myself" and "Triplets", both of which were used 16 years later in the 1953 film, ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...

'', which also starred Buchanan. The song "By Myself" was also covered by

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

14 years after the movie (and included on his second album ''

Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy ''Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy'' is Leonard Nimoy's second album released shortly after '' Music from Outer Space''. It was released in early 1968 by Dot Records and reached 97 on the US album chart. Background The album is a continuation of the " ...

'') in 1968. It was also recorded by Polly Bergen in 1958.

Songs

Act I *

I See Your Face Before Me I See Your Face Before Me is a popular song composed by Arthur Schwartz, with lyrics by Howard Dietz. It was introduced by Evelyn Laye and Adele Dixon in the 1937 Broadway musical ''Between the Devil''. Two recordings of the song made the charts ...

- Natalie Rives * I See Your Face Before Me (Reprise) - Claudette Gilbert * The Night Before the Morning After - Freddie Hill and The Debonaires * Don't Go Away, Monsieur - Claudette Gilbert and Pierre Antoine * Experience - Pierre Antoine * Five O’Clock - Annabelle Scott and The Debonaires * The Cocktail - Ensemble * Triplets - The

Tune Twisters The Tune Twisters was an American jazz vocal trio founded in 1934 as The Freshmen by Andy Love, Robert "Bob" Wacker, and Jack Lathrop, who also played guitar. They were featured on radio broadcasts and recorded with jazz artists that included (i) ...

* Fly By Night - Ensemble * You Have Everything - Freddie Hill and Annabelle Scott * Bye Bye Butterfly Lover - Natalie Rives, The Debonaires and Boys * Celina Couldn't Say No - Claudette Gilbert, Natalie Rives and Ensemble Act II * Front Page News - Ensemble * Why Did You Do It? - Natalie Rives and Ensemble * By Myself - Pierre Antoine * The Gendarme - Pierre Antoine and Claudette Gilbert * The Gendarme (Reprise) - Claudette Gilbert and Raymond Mauroís * I'm Against Rhythm - Freddie Hill and Annabelle Scott

Critical response

In ''

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 ...

'', reviewer

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...

praised the performers, with Buchanan distinguishing himself in the solo 'By Myself', Miss Laye "still retains her ranking as a blonde goddess", and Miss Dixon "stimulating in a more earthly style of conquest". He wrote of the musical: "If it were not for the book, 'Beyond the Devil' would probably look and sound as frisky as it pretends to be. But, oh these bigamists! Oh, these wicked Parisian chanteuses! Oh, these improper situations! Oh!"Atkinson, Brooks. "The Play", ''The New York Times'', December 23, 1937, p. 24

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Between The Devil 1937 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Arthur Schwartz Musicals by Howard Dietz