Miss Liberty
| Miss Liberty | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover | |
| Music | Irving Berlin |
| Lyrics | Irving Berlin |
| Book | Robert E. Sherwood |
| Basis | The Statue of Liberty |
| Productions | 1949Broadway |
Miss Libertyis a 1949Broadway musicalwith abookbyRobert E. Sherwoodand music and lyrics byIrving Berlin.It is based on the sculpting of theStatue of Liberty(Liberty Enlightening the World) in 1886. The score includes the song "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor", a musical setting ofEmma Lazarus's sonnet "The New Colossus"(1883), which was placed at the base of the monument in 1903.
Plot[edit]
In 1885,New York HeraldpublisherJames Gordon Bennettassigns novice reporter Horace Miller to find the woman who served asFrédéric Auguste Bartholdi's model for theStatue of Liberty.In the artist'sParisstudio, Miller sees a photograph of Monique DuPont and mistakenly believes she was the one. Bennett arranges for her and her grandmother to accompany Horace back toNew York City,where she becomes a media darling. When rival publisherJoseph Pulitzerdiscovers it was Bartholdi's mother who actually posed for him, he exposes Monique as a fraud in hisNew York World.She faces deportation until a sympathetic Pulitzer comes to her rescue, paving the way for her to plan a future with Horace, who jilts his American girlfriend Maisie Doll in favor of the French beauty.
Background and productions[edit]
DuringWorld War II,Robert Sherwood was deeply moved when he saw what the Statue of Liberty meant to American GIs who were being shipped overseas, and he wanted to write a story about this symbol of freedom. While crossing theAtlanticon theQueen Marywith 15,000 recruits, the playwright had been "deeply moved" and "greatly impressed by the emotion that sight of the statue generated among these soldiers." Upon meeting Irving Berlin in England, he invited him to compose the score, and Berlin suggestedMoss Hartbecome part of the creative team as a co-producer and director. The book and score were completed in May 1949 and a cast of fifty-five began rehearsals. The musical opened inPhiladelphiaon June 13 and, despite mostly negative reviews, the four-week-long run was a sellout, resulting in a profit of $175,000.[1]
With an advance sale of $500,000,[1]theBroadwayproduction opened at theImperial Theatreon July 15, 1949 and closed on April 8, 1950, following 308 performances. Directed by Moss Hart and choreographed byJerome Robbins,the cast includedEddie Albertas Horace Miller,Allyn McLerieas Monique DuPont,Mary McCartyas Maisie Doll,Philip Bourneufas Joseph Pulitzer, andCharles Dingleas James Gordon Bennett, withMaria KarnilovaandTommy Rallamong the supporting players.Oliver Smithdesigned the sets.Ward Morehouseof theNew York Sunthought it was a "sharp disappointment,"Richard Watts, Jr.of theNew York Postfelt it was "only pretty fair," and theVarietycritic, citing an "overly-plotty book, undistinguished score, insufficient comedy and merely adequate performances," described it as "something of a clinker."[1]Despite the poor reviews, many of its songs become popular hits, and 98 singles and three albums of the show's tunes were released. Weekly profits ranged from $5,000 to $9,000, although a six-week tour lost about $25,000.[1]
42nd Street Moon inSan Franciscoproduced the musical in November 2005.[2]
Songs[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^abcdAlonso, Harriet Hyman,Robert E. Sherwood: The Playwright in Peace and War.University of Massachusetts Press2007.ISBN1-55849-619-X,p. 293-296
- ^"Irving Berlin'sMiss Libertyis an Old Fashioned Winsome Musical ".talkinbroadway, retrieved December 19, 2009.
External links[edit]
- Miss Libertyat theInternet Broadway Database
- Miss Libertyplot and production information at guidetomusicaltheatre
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