Du Barry Was a Lady

{{Short description|1939 Broadway musical}} {{Infobox Musical | name = Du Barry Was a Lady | subtitle = | image = Du Barry was a Lady Playbill .jpg | caption = 1939 original Broadway production playbill cover | music = [[Cole Porter]] | lyrics = Cole Porter | book = [[Herbert Fields]] and [[Buddy DeSylva]] | basis = | productions = 1939 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] <br> 1942 [[West End Theatre|West End]] <br> 1993 and 2001 London staged concert <br>1996 [[Encores!]]  | awards = }}

'''''Du Barry Was a Lady''''' is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by [[Cole Porter]], and the book by [[Herbert Fields]] and [[Buddy DeSylva]].<ref name=lady>[http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/dubarry.html "'Du Barry Was a Lady'"] sondheimguide.com, accessed February 15, 2010</ref> The musical starred [[Bert Lahr]], [[Ethel Merman]] and [[Betty Grable]], and the song "Friendship" was one of the highlights. The musical was made into the 1943 [[Technicolor]] film ''[[Du Barry Was a Lady (film)|Du Barry Was a Lady]]'', starring [[Red Skelton]], [[Lucille Ball]], [[Gene Kelly]], and [[Tommy Dorsey]] 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 (drugs)|Mickey Finn]]. While trying to do so, Louis inadvertently drinks the Mickey Finn, falls asleep, and dreams he is King [[Louis XV]] of France, and that May is [[Madame du Barry]].

In his dream, Charley becomes the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]] (later [[Louis XVI]]) and Harry becomes the captain of the guard, with Ann as Du Barry's [[lady-in-waiting]], 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 realizes 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=== [[File:DuBarry Was a Lady Bert Lahr 1939.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bert Lahr]] in the original Broadway production of ''Du Barry Was a Lady'' (1939)]] The musical opened on Broadway at the [[46th Street Theatre]] 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]] and [[Ted Royal]]. The cast featured [[Bert Lahr]] as Louis Blore, [[Ethel Merman]] as May Daly, [[Betty Grable]] as Alice Barton, [[Benny Baker]] as Charley, [[Ronald Graham (actor)|Ronald Graham]] as Alex Barton and [[Charles Walters]] as Harry Norton. [[Gypsy Rose Lee]] and Frances Williams later played the part of May Daly.<ref name=lady/><ref>[[Stanley Green (historian)|Green, Stanley]] and Green, Kay. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KDKFHniTy1YC&dq=%22Bert+Lahr%22+%22DuBarry+Was+a+Lady+%22&pg=PA109 "Du Barry Was a Lady"] ''Broadway Musicals, Show By Show'' (5 ed.), Hal Leonard Corporation, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7935-7750-0}}, p. 109</ref>

===West End=== The show opened in the [[West End theatre|West End]] at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]]<ref>The name of the theatre changes with the sex of the monarch, called His Majesty's Theatre in 1942</ref> on 22 October 1942 and ran for 178 performances.<ref>[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/london_shows_chronology/1942.htm London Shows Chronology, 1942"] guidetomusicaltheatre.com, accessed January 12, 2011</ref> It was directed by [[Richard Bird (actor)|Richard Bird]]. The cast featured [[Arthur Riscoe]] as Louis Blore, [[Frances Day]] as May Daly, [[Frances Marsden]] 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 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]] as May Daly with [[Barry Cryer]] as Louis in 1993 and Desmond Barrit in 2001.<ref>[http://www.qsulis.demon.co.uk/Website_Louise_Gold/Dubarry_Was_A_Lady_1993.htm "''Du Barry Was A Lady'' (1993 Production)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211115814/http://www.qsulis.demon.co.uk/Website_Louise_Gold/Dubarry_Was_A_Lady_1993.htm |date=2009-12-11 }}, qsulis.demon.co.uk, accessed February 15, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.qsulis.demon.co.uk/Website_Louise_Gold/Dubarry_Was_A_Lady_2001.htm "''Du Barry Was A Lady'' (2001 Production)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719113437/http://www.qsulis.demon.co.uk/Website_Louise_Gold/Dubarry_Was_A_Lady_2001.htm |date=2013-07-19 }} accessed February 15, 2010</ref> The May 1993 production was at the [[Barbican Centre]]. 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).<ref>Koenig, Rhoda.[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/dubarry-was-a-lady-her-majestys-theatre-london-617633.html "''Du Barry was a Lady'', Her Majesty's Theatre, London"]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}},''The Independent'', 22 November 2001</ref>

New York City Center [[Encores!]] presented a staged concert in February 1996 with [[Robert Morse]] (Louis) and [[Faith Prince]] (May).<ref>Brantley, Ben.[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/17/theater/theater-review-du-barry-was-no-lady-in-1939-or-even-today.html?pagewanted=1 "Theater Review: Du Barry Was No Lady, In 1939 or Even Today]''The New York Times'', February 17, 1996</ref> New York's Musicals Tonight! presented a production March–April, 2017.

The song "[[Give Him the Ooh-La-La (song)|Give Him the Ooh-La-La]]" was performed by [[Carol Burnett]] in one of her earlier TV appearances in 1956 as part of the [[Omnibus (U.S. TV series)|Omnibus]] program ''The American Musical Comedy''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Omnibus" (1956) {The American Musical Comedy (#5.1)}|website=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0664935/combined|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

The show later appeared on the [[BBC Radio]] with [[Louise Gold]] 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]] Company starring [[Bruce Vilanch]] in the Bert Lahr role, directed and choreographed by Zack Thomas Wilde.<ref>[http://blog.sfgate.com/artsandnot/2013/12/11/vilanch-takes-lahr-role-in-42nd-street-moons-next-cole-porter/] sfgate.com, 2013</ref><ref>[http://www.42ndstmoon.org/du-barry Du Barry] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142848/http://www.42ndstmoon.org/du-barry |date=2014-04-13 }} 42ndstmoon.org</ref>

== Casts == {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" border="1" |+ ! !Original Broadway (1939)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Du Barry Was a Lady (Original Broadway Production, 1939) {{!}} Ovrtur |url=https://ovrtur.com/production/2880324 |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=ovrtur.com}}</ref> !National Tour (1940)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Credits for Du Barry Was a Lady (National Tour, 1940) {{!}} Ovrtur |url=https://ovrtur.com/production/2901458/credits |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=ovrtur.com}}</ref> !Original London (1942)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Credits for Du Barry Was a Lady (London Production, 1942) {{!}} Ovrtur |url=https://ovrtur.com/production/2882922/credits |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=ovrtur.com}}</ref> !Encores! (1996)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Credits for Du Barry Was a Lady (Encores! Concert, 1996) {{!}} Ovrtur |url=https://ovrtur.com/production/2890848/credits |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=ovrtur.com}}</ref> |- |'''May Daly/Mme. La Comtesse du Barry''' |[[Ethel Merman]] |Frances Williams |[[Frances Day]] |[[Faith Prince]] |- |'''Louis Blore/His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France''' |colspan="2"|[[Bert Lahr]] |[[Arthur Riscoe]] |[[Robert Morse]] |- |'''Harry Norton/Capt. of the King's Guard''' |[[Charles Walters]] |David Shelley |Teddy Beaumont |[[Scott Waara]] |- |'''Alice Barton/Mme La Marquise Alisande De Vernay''' |[[Betty Grable]] |Ruth Bond |Frances Marsden |[[Liz Larsen]] |- |'''Vi Hennessey/Mme. La Duchesse De Villardell''' |[[Jean Moorhead|Jean Moorehead]] |Sunny Rice |[[Inga Andersen]] |Ruth Williamson |- |'''Bill Kelly/Le Duc De Choiseul''' |Walter Armin |Oscar Ragland | |[[Bruce Adler]] |- |'''Alex Barton/Alixe''' |colspan="2"|[[Ronald Graham (actor)|Ronald Graham]] |Bruce Trent |[[Burke Moses]] |- |'''Charley/His Royal Highness, Dauphin of France''' |colspan="2"|[[Benny Baker]] |Jackie Hunter |[[Michael McGrath (actor)|Michael McGrath]] |}

==Songs== In an early shared credit, the songwriting duo of [[Hugh Martin]] and [[Ralph Blane]] handled the vocal arrangements for the original Broadway production.

{{col-begin}} {{col-2}} ;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?]] – 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 {{col-break}} ;Act II *[[Give Him the Ooh-La-La (song)|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 (Cole Porter song)|Friendship]] – Mme. La Comtesse du Barry and His Most Royal Majesty, The King of France {{col-end}}

==Reception== [[Brooks Atkinson]] 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."<ref>Atkinson, Brooks. [https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/29/specials/porter-dubarry.html "Bert Lahr and Ethel Merman in 'DuBarry Was a Lady' With Cole Porter's Music"] ''The New York Times'', December 7, 1939</ref>

''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."<ref>(no author). [https://books.google.com/books?id=5EEEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Cole+Porter%22+DuBarry-Was-a-Lady&pg=PA59 "Old and New Stars Make 'Du Barry Was a Lady' Cole Porter's Latest Hit"] ''Life Magazine'', December 11, 1939, p. 59</ref>

==Film== {{Main|Du Barry Was a Lady (film)}}

The film was released by MGM on May 30, 1943. It was directed by [[Roy Del Ruth]]. It used very little of the original Cole Porter score.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|DuBarry Was a Lady}} *{{ibdb title |1024|Du Barry Was a Lady}} * {{IMDb title|qid=Q3842353|title=Du Barry Was a Lady}} (1943 film adaptation) *[https://randomshelf.blogspot.com/2007/06/dvd-review-lucille-ball-collection.html The Shelf: Review of Du Barry Was a Lady]

[[Category:1939 musicals]] [[Category:Broadway musicals]] [[Category:Musicals by Cole Porter]] [[Category:Musicals by Herbert Fields]] [[Category:West End musicals]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Louis XV]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Madame du Barry]]