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I'd Rather Be Right | |
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Music | Richard Rodgers |
Lyrics | Lorenz Hart |
Book | Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman |
Productions | 1937 Broadway 2011 Revival |
I'd Rather Be Right is a 1937 musical with a book by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. The story is a Depression-era political satire set in New York City about Washington politics and political figures such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The plot centers on Peggy Jones (Joy Hodges) and her boyfriend Phil (Austin Marshall), who needs a raise in order for them to get married. The President steps in and solves their dilemma.
I'd Rather Be Right premiered on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on November 2, 1937, produced by Sam H. Harris. [1] It transferred to the Music Box Theatre, and ran for 290 performances. It starred George M. Cohan as Franklin D. Roosevelt. In such pieces as "Off the Record", Cohan, as FDR, danced—not possible in real life for the President.
H. G. Wells wrote enthusiastically about the musical, and Cohan's performance as Roosevelt, in an article "The Fall in America 1937", published in Collier's on January 28, 1938, and reprinted in his World Brain (1938).
The musical is prominently featured in the 1942 Cohan biopic Yankee Doodle Dandy , in which it serves as a narrative bookend. James Cagney, playing Cohan, after meeting FDR in the Oval Office, performs a joyous tap dance as he walks back down the stairs of the White House. In the film, we also see Cagney as Cohan performing "Off the Record" during the show's run. Because the film was made during World War II, the film also anachronistically added some morale-boosting lyrics at the end of the song.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American politician who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was a member of the Democratic Party and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. His initial two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth saw him shift his focus to America's involvement in World War II.
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical Of Thee I Sing in 1932, and won again in 1937 for the play You Can't Take It with You. He also won the Tony Award for Best Director in 1951 for the musical Guys and Dolls.
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music.
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