''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a Broadway musical, with 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 ...

, and the 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

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...

."'Du Barry Was a Lady'"
sondheimguide.com, accessed February 15, 2010 The musical starred Bert Lahr,

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

and

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

, and the song "Friendship" was one of the highlights. The musical was made into a 1943

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film '' Du Barry Was a Lady'', starring

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 ...

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

and

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and his orchestra.

Plot

A washroom attendant, Louis Blore, has won a sweepstakes, and subsequently quits his job. He is in love with the nightclub singer May Daly, but she is in love with Alex Barton. Alex is the brother of her friend Alice, who is in love with Harry Norton. Meanwhile, Alex is unhappily married to Ann. Charley, Louis's replacement, suggests that Louis slip Alex a Mickey Finn. While trying to do so, Louis inadvertently drinks the Mickey Finn, falls asleep, and dreams he is King

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, and that May is

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last '' maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly bei ...

. In his dream, Charley becomes the Dauphin (later

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

) and Harry becomes the captain of the guard, with Ann as Du Barry's

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

, and Alex as a peasant who wrote a rude song about The King and Du Barry (the title song: ''Du Barry Was a Lady''). Eventually after various entanglements (including the Dauphin's shooting the King in the posterior with a bow and arrow), Louis wakes up and realises that Alex is the man for May. He uses the last of his winnings to pay for Alex's divorce from Ann, and (with Charley having just quit his job) goes back to being a washroom attendant.

Productions

1939 Broadway

The musical opened on Broadway at the

46th Street Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by He ...

on December 6, 1939, transferred to the Royale Theatre on October 21, 1940 and closed December 12, 1940, after 408 performances. It was directed by Edgar MacGregor, choreographed by Robert Alton, with the orchestrations of

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 ...

and

Ted Royal Ted Royal ewar'' (6 September 1904, Skedee, Oklahoma - 27 March (?) 1981) was an American orchestrator, conductor and composer for Broadway theatre. He was most active in the 1940s and 1950s, being associated with the very successful original pr ...

. The cast featured Bert Lahr as Louis Blore,

as May Daly,

as Alice Barton, Benny Baker as Charley, Ronald Graham as Alex Barton and

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasade ...

as Harry Norton.

Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted in ...

and

Frances Williams Frances Williams (1904 – 1978) was a composer and conductor, particularly known for her choral works. She was born in Waunfawr in Caernarvonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= ...

later played the part of May Daly.

West End

The show opened in the West End at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

on 22 October 1942 and ran for 178 performances. It was directed by Richard Bird. The cast featured Arthur Riscoe as Louis Blore,

Frances Day Frances Day (born Frances Victoria Schenk; December 16, 1907April 29, 1984) was an American actress and singer who achieved great popularity in the UK in the 1930s. Her career began as a nightclub cabaret singer in New York City and London. ...

as May Daly,

Frances Marsden This list contains former characters and cast members of the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Be ...

as Alice Barton, Jacky Hunter as Charley, Bruce Trent as Alex Barton and Teddy Beaumont as Harry Norton.

Later productions

The show has been produced in concert form several times in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The two London productions, in 1993 and 2001, were by the Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust and featured

Louise Gold Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End. Gold was raised ...

as May Daly with

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...

as Louis in 1993 and Desmond Barrit in 2001. The May 1993 production was at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

. The November 2001 concert was (like the original London production) at Her Majesty's Theatre, recorded for radio by the BBC (it was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 during Christmas 2002). New York City Center

Encores! Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & ...

presented a staged concert in February 1996 with

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production ...

(Louis) and Faith Prince (May). New York's Musicals Tonight! presented a production March–April, 2017. The song " Give Him the Ooh-La-La" was performed by

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

in one of her earlier TV appearances in 1956 as part of the Omnibus program ''The American Musical Comedy''. The show later appeared on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

with

and Desmond Barrit singing the lead roles. ''Du Barry Was a Lady'' received a fully staged production in May 2014 by San Francisco's

42nd Street Moon 42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern Californi ...

Company starring Bruce Vilanch in the Bert Lahr role, directed and choreographed by Zack Thomas Wilde.

Songs

In an early shared credit, the songwriting duo of Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane handled the vocal arrangements for the original Broadway production. ;Act I *Where's Louie? – Ensemble *Ev'ry Day's a Holiday – Harry Norton, Alice Barton and Ensemble *It Ain't Etiquette – His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France and Vi Hennessey *When Love Beckoned – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *Come On In – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and Ensemble *Dream Song – Four Internationals *Mesdames and Messieurs – Dames de la Coeur *Gavotte – Alice Barton and Ensemble *But in the Morning, No! – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France *

Do I Love You? "Do I Love You?" is a 1939 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical ''Du Barry Was a Lady'', where it was introduced by Ronald Graham and Ethel Merman. The song was included in the 1943 film adaptation of the musical, where it was ...

– Alex Barton and Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *Do I Love You (Reprise) – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and Zamore *Du Barry Was a Lady – Entire Company ;Act II * Give Him the Ooh-La-La – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry * Well, Did You Evah! – Alice Barton and Harry Norton *It Was Written in the Stars – Alex Barton and Ensemble *L'Apres Midi d'un Boeuf – Charley and Zamore *Katie Went to Haiti – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and Ensemble *Katie Went to Haiti (Reprise) – Alex Barton and Mme. La Comtesse du Barry *Friendship – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France

Reception

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 ...

wrote in ''The New York Times'': "Although Miss Merman is jaunty and Mr. Lahr is funny, they have a hard time keeping this show merry. The authors have struck a dead level of Broadway obscenity that does not yield much mirth. As the music-maker Mr. Porter has written a number of accomplished tunes in the modern idiom and one excellent romantic song, "Do I Love You?" but the lyrics are no more inspired than the book; they treat all humor as middling. The performers supply more pleasure than the authors and composer. Betty Grable and Charles Walters, who would also be featured in a free society, dance and sing with remarkable dash." ''Life'' praised the performers, especially Betty Grable "who can dance and sing like a May breeze" and Merman and Lahr "two musical comedy veterans...in top form."(no author).
"Old and New Stars Make 'Du Barry Was a Lady' Cole Porter's Latest Hit"
''Life Magazine'', December 11, 1939, p. 59

Film

The film was released by MGM on May 30, 1943. It was directed by

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...

. It used very little of the original Cole Porter score.

References

External links

* * (1943 film adaptation)
The Shelf: Review of Du Barry Was a Lady
{{Authority control 1939 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Cole Porter Musicals by Herbert Fields West End musicals Cultural depictions of Louis XV Cultural depictions of Madame du Barry