Something for the Boys

Original Broadway Production

A Musical Comedy in Two Acts
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields
Working Title: Jenny, Get Your Gun

Tryouts began December 18, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre, Boston

Opened January 7, 1943 at the Alvin Theatre, NYC
Closed January 8, 1944
Ran for 422 performances
Produced by Michael Todd
Staged and lighted by Hassard Short
Book directed by Herbert Fields
Choreographed by Jack Cole, Lew Kessler
Costumes by Billy Livingston
Set Design by Howard Bay
Orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett, Ted Royal, Hans Spialek, Don Walker
Musical Direction and Vocal Arrangements by William Parson

Synopsis

A defense worker (Blossom), a carnival pitchman (Harry), and a burlesque queen (Chiquita) inherit equal shares of a Texas ranch near Kelly Field.  They successfully transform it into a boarding house for soldiers' wives, but Lt. Col. Grubbs, convinced that they're running a different sort of house, tries to put them out of business.  Eventually, Blossom, aided by a carborundum-coated tooth filling that allows her to hear radio signals, manages to clear the family name.  Other characters include bandleader Sgt. Rocky Fulton (Blossom's love-interest), Rocky's snobbish fiance Melanie, squatter Tobias Twitch, and two of Rocky's admirers: Mary-Frances and Betty-Jean.

Cast

Ethel Merman (Blossom Hart)
Paula Laurence (Chiquita Hart)
Bill Johnson (Rocky Fulton)
Betty Garrett (Mary-Frances)
Betty Bruce (Betty-Jean)
Allen Jenkins (Harry Hart)

Jed Prouty (Roger Calhoun), William Lynn (Tobias Twitch), Stuart Langley (Sgt. Laddie Green), Jack Hartley (Lt. Col. Grubbs), Remi Martel (Sgt. Carter), Frances Mercer (Melanie Walker), Walter Rinner (Burke), Anita Alverez (Micheala), The Barnes Twins (Lois, Lucille), Bill Callahan (Corp. Burns), and Madeleine Clive (Mrs. Grubbs)

Scenes

Prologue

Set 1: Chiquita's Dressing Room in the Picadilly Club, Kansas City
Set 2: 6th Ave. at 50th St., New York City
Set 3: An Assembly Line in a Defense Plant, Newark

Act One

Scene 1: Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Texas
Scene 2: Near the P.X. at Kelly Field
Scene 3: Patio of the Old Hart Estate, near San Antonio
Scene 4: A Crossroads
Scene 5: Patio of the New Hart Estate

Act Two

Scene 1: The Patio
Scene 2: The Terrace of Col. Grubbs' Home on the Post
Scene 3: The Crossroads
Scene 4: The Cadet Club at the Texas Hotel, San Antonio
Scene 5: Corridor of the Texas Hotel
Scene 6: An Army Plane
Scene 7: The Cadet Club at the Texas Hotel, San Antonio

Musical Numbers

Act One

• Overture - Orchestra
• "Announcement of Inheritance" - Calhoun, Chiquita, Harry, Blossom [alternate title: "Prologue"]
• "See That You're Born in Texas" - Ensemble
• "When My Baby Goes to Town" - Rocky, Ensemble
• "Something for the Boys" - Blossom, Ensemble
• "When We're Home on the Range" - Blossom, Chiquita, Harry
• "Could It Be You?" - Rocky, Ensemble
• "Hey, Good-Lookin'" - Blossom, Rocky
• "He's a Right Guy" - Blossom
• "Carborundum" [instrumental; lyrics not used; alternate titles: "Assembly Line" and "Opening Act I, Scene 5"]
• "The Leader of a Big-Time Band" - Blossom

Act Two

• Entr'acte - Orchestra and Male Chorus
• "I'm in Love With a Soldier Boy" - Mary-Francis
• "There's a Happy Land in the Sky" - Blossom, Chiquita, Harry, Twitch, Rocky
• "By the Mississinewah" - Blossom, Chiquita
• Square Dance [instrumental; also includes a vocal reprise of "See That You're Born in Texas"]
• Specialty Dance [instrumental; includes themes from "See That You're Born in Texas" and "When My Baby Goes to Town"; performed by Betty-Jean]

Cut Songs

• "Riddle-Diddle Me This" [dropped during the Boston tryout; sung by Blossom and Harry in Act Two]
• "So Long, San Antonio" [dropped during the Boston tryout; replaced by "I'm in Love With a Soldier Boy"; music used later in "So Long" for the unproduced film Mississippi Belle]
• "Washington, D. C." [dropped during rehearsals; sung by Rocky and Melanie]
• "Oh, How I Could Go For You" [unused]
• "Texas Will Make You a Man" [unused]
• "Well, I Just Wouldn't Know" [unused]
• "Wouldn't It Be Crazy?" [unused]

The London production of Something for the Boys opened on March 30, 1944 at the Coliseum, and closed on May 20, 1944.  It was produced by Bernard Delfont and starred Evelyn Dall (as Blossom), Daphne Barker (as Chiquita), Bobby Wright (as Harry), Leigh Stafford (as Rocky) and Jack Billings (as Laddie).

Original Cast Recordings

"Something for the Boys" / "By the Mississinewah" - Paula Lawrence [B-side by Betty Garrett and Paula Lawrence]

• 78 RPM, 1943 [Decca 23363]

Something for the Boys

Orchestra Directed by William Parson, with David Broekman
Originally Produced for Records by David R. Gooch
Cast: Ethel Merman (Blossom), Bill Johnson (Rocky), Betty Bruce (Chiquita), Allen Jenkins (Harry), except as noted.

Note: This release is a combination of two sets of recordings - a Treasury broadcast and a special shortwave-radio broadcast to Armed Forces in Europe.   [Courtesy of David Cunard, AEI Records]

Selections

• Overture - Orchestra
• "See That You're Born in Texas" - Ensemble
• "When My Baby Goes to Town" - Rocky
• "Something for the Boys" - Blossom and Boys
• "Could It Be You?" - Rocky and Boys
• "Hey, Good-Lookin'" - Blossom, Harry, Rocky
• "He's a Right Guy" - Blossom
• "I'm in Love With a Soldier Boy" - Mary-Frances (Ethel Merman)
• "There's a Happy Land in the Sky" - Blossom, Harry, Rocky
• "He's a Right Guy" (Reprise) - Blossom
• "Could It Be You?" (Waltz Reprise) - Rocky and Ensemble
• "By the Mississinewah" - Blossom and Chiquita
• Finale ("I'm in Love With a Soldier Boy") - Blossom and Ensemble
• Finale Ultimo - The Company

Note: Some of these radio broadcast recordings appeared on the following release

Something for the Boys

Orchestra and Chorus conducted by David Broekman

Selections

• Overture - Orchestra
• "Something for the Boys" (Opening) - Chorus
• "See That You're Born in Texas" - Chorus
• "Something for the Boys" - Chiquita (Paula Lawrence) and Chorus
• "Could It Be You?" - Rocky (Bill Johnson) and Chorus
• "Hey, Good-Lookin'" - Blossom (Ethel Merman) and Rocky (Bill Johnson)
• "He's a Right Guy" - Blossom (Ethel Merman)
• "The Leader of a Big-Time Band" - Chorus
• "By the Mississinewah" - Blossom (Betty Garrett) and Chiquita (Paula Lawrence)
• "Something for the Boys" (Reprise) - Blossom (Ethel Merman) and Chorus