| Take a Chance | |
|---|---|
 Original Broadway program | |
| Music | Nacio Herb Brown Richard A. Whiting Vincent Youmans |
| Lyrics | B. G. De Sylva |
| Book | B. G. De Sylva and Laurence Schwab |
| Productions | 1932 Broadway |
Take a Chance (1932) is a musical with lyrics by B. G. De Sylva and music by Nacio Herb Brown and Richard A. Whiting, with additional songs by Vincent Youmans, and book by De Sylva and Laurence Schwab.
Take a Chance started as a musical titled Humpty Dumpty written by DeSylva and Schwab, which flopped immediately during out-of town tryouts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it had opened on September 26, 1932. The musical was extensively rewritten, and composer Vincent Youmans was brought in to contribute to the score. After further tryouts in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware, and Newark, New Jersey, the musical was renamed, and the book, music, and cast had changed, leaving only Ethel Merman. [1] Composer Richard Whiting subsequently left the production. [2] [3]
The musical opened on Broadway at the Apollo Theatre on November 26, 1932 and closed on July 1, 1933 after 243 performances. Directed by Edgar MacGregor with choreography by Bobby Connolly, the show starred Ethel Merman as Wanda Brill and featured Jack Haley as Duke Stanley, Jack Whiting as Kenneth Raleigh, June Knight as Toni Ray, and Sid Silvers as Louie Webb. Merman's vocal arrangements were by Roger Edens. Merman introduced the popular hit Eadie Was a Lady.
Two small-time gamblers, Duke Stanley and Louie Webb, leave their carnival circuit to seek greater fortunes in the legitimate theater. Their friend Toni Ray wants to be a singer and her Harvard-educated boyfriend, Kenneth Raleigh, also wants to enter show business. They meet a no-nonsense nightclub singer, Wanda Brill. Wanda performs a risque number in a New Orleans club in a red dress and black boa ("Eadie Was a Lady").
In 1933, the show was made into a film with almost no resemblance to the original show, except for the song "Eadie Was a Lady" and "Should I Be Sweet". It is remembered chiefly as the film in which "It's Only a Paper Moon," written by Harold Arlen, E. Y. Harburg, and Billy Rose, appeared for the first time under that name. Lillian Roth played Merman's role in the film.
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theater, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." She performed on Broadway in Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, and Hello, Dolly!
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1929.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1925.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1926.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1924.
George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva 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 Records.
Vincent Millie Youmans was an American Broadway composer and producer.
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Take a Chance is a 1933 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Monte Brice and Laurence Schwab and written by Monte Brice, Buddy G. DeSylva, Laurence Schwab, Sid Silvers and Richard A. Whiting. It is based on the musical of the same name. The film stars James Dunn, June Knight, Lillian Roth, Cliff Edwards, Lilian Bond, Dorothy Lee and Lona Andre. The film was released on October 27, 1933, by Paramount Pictures.