''By the Beautiful Sea'' 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

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 direction before turning to writing. From ...

and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

, lyrics by

, 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 ...

. Like Schwartz's previous musical, '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'', also starring Shirley Booth, the musical is set in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

just after the start of the 20th century (1907). ''By the Beautiful Sea'' played on

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 ...

in 1954.

Productions

''By the Beautiful Sea'' played 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 ...

at the Shubert Theatre starting February 15, 1954; in Boston starting February 23; and Philadelphia starting March 16. The musical opened on

at the

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished * Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed ...

on April 8, 1954, transferred to 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 ...

on October 2, 1954 and closed on November 27, 1954 after 270 performances. It was produced by Robert Fryer and Lawrence Carr, staged by Marshall Jamison and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Helen Tamiris Helen Tamiris (born Helen Becker; April 24, 1905 – August 4, 1966) was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher. Biography Tamiris was born in New York City on April 23, 1902. She adopted Tamiris, her stage name, from a fragment ...

. The cast featured

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awa ...

as Lottie Gibson,

Wilbur Evans Wilbur Whilt "Wib" Evans (August 5, 1905 - May 31, 1987) was an American actor and singer who performed on the radio, in opera, on Broadway in films and early live television. Biography Evans was born in Philadelphia, the son of Walter Percy and ...

as Dennis Emery,

Anne Francine Anne Hollingshead Francine (August 8, 1917 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress and cabaret singer. Biography Francine was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Philadelphia socialite parents Albert and Emilie Francine. She was raised on ...

as Flora Busch, Richard France as Mickey Powers, Carol Leigh as Baby Betsy Busch, Mae Barnes as Ruby Monk, and Cameron Prud'Homme as Carl Gibson. The orchestrations were by

Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwi ...

, sets and lighting 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 by Irene Sharaff. A staged concert was presented by "Musicals Tonight" in New York City in June–July 1999.''By The Sea''
musicalstonight.org, accessed August 10, 2009

Synopsis

In 1907, Lottie Gibson is a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer, who also owns a theatrical boarding house in

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

; that is, "by the sea". Her clientele are show people. On one of her vaudeville tours she falls in love with a Shakespearean actor, Dennis Emery. When he is to appear in Brighton, Lottie gets him to stay at her boarding house, where his divorced wife—and stage mother—Flora Busch and daughter "Baby Betsy" (although Baby is 17) are also residents. Baby Betsy is infatuated with Mickey Powers, a singing waiter. Mickey thinks that Baby is really as young as her mother forces her to dress, and so, although he has feelings for her, thinks that she is too young. To add to her troubles, Lottie discovers that her father, Carl Gibson, has taken her money to invest in a Midway attraction. Since she wants to lend the money to Dennis, Lottie decides to try to win the prize for making a parachute jump. Although she wins the prize, the money is not enough. But happily, another prize has been awarded to a man who had been shot out of a cannon, who is revealed as her father, and Lottie has all the money for Dennis. Lottie performs her specialty act, "Lottie Gibson Specialty" as an obnoxious child who refuses to share her parents with a baby brother. She ruefully complains about the awful assortment of men who had been in her life ("I’d Rather Wake Up by Myself"). Jealous Baby Betsy tries to break up the romance between her father and Lottie. Lottie declares that she will give up Dennis, not wanting to come between father and daughter. But, she gives Baby Betsy one of her dresses, and Baby turns into a more appropriate teen-ager. Lottie succeeds in winning over the affections of the young lady, and they go off to the midway where they find Mickey and Dennis, with a happy romantic ending.

Songs

;Act I * Mona from Arizona - Quartet * The Sea Song - Lottie, Boarders, Neighbors * Old Enough to Love - Mickey Powers * Coney Island Boat - Lottie, Half-Note, Visitors * Alone Too Long - Dennis Emery * Happy Habit - Ruby Monk * Good Time Charlie - Mickey Powers, Lenny, Sidney, Cora Belmont, Molly Belmont and Lillian Belmont * I'd Rather Wake Up by Myself - Lottie * Hooray for George the Third - Diabolo, Visitors ;Act II * Hang Up - Ruby, Boarders, Neighbors * More Love Than Your Love - Dennis Emery * Lottie Gibson Specialty - Lottie * Throw the Anchor Away - Burt Mayer, Dancer and Cora Belmont *Finale - Company

Critical response

The critics praised Booth's performance. "Everyone has long since lost his heart to Miss Booth," wrote

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 ...

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 ...

''.

Walter Kerr Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, genera ...

praised her "ease and self-assurance". "She is so radiantly confident that the marquee outside glows brighter for having her in the neighborhood." In reviewing the 1999 concert, Martin Denton (NYTheatre.com) commented: "...although it finds none of its illustrious authors at his or her best, it is nevertheless a sturdy and pleasant entertainment."

Recording

cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

of the original production was released by Capitol Records in 1954.Green Stanley. ''Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre'' (1980), Da Capo Press, , p. 478

References

External links

*
By the Beautiful Sea plot summary & character descriptions''By the Beautiful Sea''
at the Music Theatre International website {{DEFAULTSORT:By The Beautiful Sea 1954 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Herbert Fields Musicals by Arthur Schwartz