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19-455: The revue was a successor to the creators' Face the Music and was Marilyn Miller 's last stage appearance before her death. It was also the first Broadway show to give an African-American star, Ethel Waters , equal billing with whites. Moss Hart said that he and Irving Berlin did not want to write the typical revue with "blackout sketches" and musical numbers, and they had the idea of doing

38-581: A hotel staff falling under the influence of Noël Coward ; and a fictional Supreme Court decision that says musicals cannot end with reprises, resulting in a new number, "Not for All the Rice in China" (satirizing Barbara Hutton's relationship with Alexis Mdivani ), as a finale. † Omitted from 1998 revival In James Kaplan’s biography of Berlin he writes “The show had a successful tryout at Philadelphia’s Forrest Theatre in early September, although opening night

57-407: A number of other revivals both in the U.S. and internationally. Face the Music (musical) Face the Music is a musical , the first collaboration between Moss Hart (book) and Irving Berlin (music and lyrics). Face the Music opened on Broadway in 1932, and has had several subsequent regional and New York stagings. The popular song " Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee " was introduced in

76-418: A staged concert from March 29 to April 1, 2007. Directed by John Rando with choreography by Randy Skinner , the cast featured Judy Kaye (Mrs. Myrtle Meshbesher), Lee Wilkof (Martin van Buren Meshbesher), Walter Bobbie (Hal Reisman), Eddie Korbich as (Joe Malarky), Jeffry Denman (Pat Mason), and Meredith Patterson (Kit Baker). 'Face the Music' was scheduled for a UK Professional Stage Premiere at

95-415: A topical revue "right off the front pages of the newspapers." Berlin deferred his own fees as composer, lyricist, and theater owner, keeping the cost of the show to a "restrained" $ 96,000. Each of the 21 scenes was preceded by a related newspaper headline, and the sketches poked fun at a wide variety of subjects, including the marital woes of Barbara Hutton , Gandhi , and British royalty. The weather report

114-591: A wicked send-up of Helen Morgan weepers..."Investigation," a 12-minute opera-comique finale that reprises and restates old themes, introduces new ones, wraps up the plot, and brings in a Threepenny Opera-style deus ex machina to usher in the happy ending. According to the Curtain Up reviewer, commenting on the 2007 Encores! concert, this musical had an "influence on backstage musicals like The Producers, The Drowsy Chaperone and Curtains." Let%27s Have Another Cup of Coffee " Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee "

133-467: Is a song by Irving Berlin appearing in the musical comedy Face the Music , which opened in 1932. On opening night it was sung by J. Harold Murray and Katherine Carrington. The song, set in a self-service restaurant modeled on the Horn & Hardart Automat , is sung in the play by a group of once-wealthy citizens who were awaiting better times, as mirrored in the song's opening lyrics: Just around

152-451: Is guffawing burlesque." An unnamed reviewer, quoted in the Brown biography Moss Hart , wrote "It's a worthy successor to Of Thee I Sing [but] it doesn't entirely measure up to it. It resorts to slapstick instead of satire. It becomes merely burlesque. All of which doesn't mean that Face the Music isn't a howl. It most emphatically is." The reviewer for "theatermania.com", in reviewing

171-588: The 44th Street Theatre (demolished in 1945). The cast featured Mary Boland (Mrs. Meshbesher), J. Harold Murray (Pat Mason, Jr.), Margot Adams (Miss Eisenheimer), Charles Lawrence (Martin van Buren Meshbesher), Robert Emmett Keane (Hal Reisman), Katherine Carrington (Kit Baker), Thomas Arace (Detective), and The Albertina Rasch Dancers. The 42nd St. Moon (San Francisco) production ran from March 26 - April 13, 1997. The Musicals Tonight! (New York City) production ran in June 2002. Encores! (New York City) presented

190-591: The Adelphi Theatre . In 1934, Dorothy Stone took over the roles played by Miller. The Drama Department presented the revue at the off-Broadway Greenwich House Theater from June 2, 1998, through June 14, 1998. Directed by Christopher Ashley with musical staging by Kathleen Marshall , the cast included Kevin Chamberlin , Judy Kuhn , Howard McGillin , Paula Newsome, Mary Beth Peil and B. D. Wong . Reviews were extremely positive. The show has had

209-577: The Music Box Theatre on September 30, 1933, and became a hit, running for 400 performances, which was rare during the Great Depression . It was staged by Hassard Short with choreography by Charles Weidman . The musical starred Helen Broderick , Marilyn Miller , Clifton Webb and Ethel Waters , and featured José Limón as the lead dancer. The London-based version of the show, retitled Stop Press , opened on February 21, 1935, at

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228-413: The "Musicals Tonight!" 2002 production, noted that "1932 audiences didn’t go to musicals for ingenious statire; they wanted sumptuous productions, brilliant choreography, delightful performers, and great songs." The score "boasts two classics ("Soft Lights and Sweet Music" and "Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee") and much more that's lilting, clever, or otherwise intriguing. One real discovery is "Torch Song,"

247-654: The Playbill Face the Music opened in Philadelphia on February 3, 1932, for 2 weeks in its pre-Broadway tryout. The musical premiered on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on February 17, 1932, and closed on July 9, 1932, after 165 performances. Staging was by Hassard Short , direction by George S. Kaufman and choreography by Albertina Rasch . It had a return engagement from January 31, 1933, to February 25, 1933, for 31 performances at

266-548: The Rose and Crown Theatre from 9 June to 3 July 2015. Directed by Brendan Matthew, choreography by Sally Brooks and musical direction by Aaron Clingham. Brooks Atkinson , reviewing the original 1932 production for The New York Times , called the musical a "bountiful merry-go-round" of songs and "gibes", writing that it is "bold satire", but has familiar musical comedy numbers, such as the "stunning mirror dance... expressionistic Times Square ballet...and "Dear Old Crinoline Days which

285-584: The final title. Producer Hal Reisman desperately seeks backers for his Broadway show. Because of the Great Depression , once-rich investors are "Lunching at the Automat". Kit Baker, a former musical-comedy star and her boyfriend Pat Mason are now out of work and poor ("Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee"). In his search, Reisman meets crooked policemen who need to get rid of their illegal money before they are found out. The corrupt police chief Martin van Buren Meshbesher and his eccentric wife Myrtle become investors in

304-599: The musical by J. Harold Murray . The musical was written as a political satire, specifically spoofing political and police corruption that the Seabury Commission was investigating. It also satirized show business, showing the far-fetched economies, such as seeing 4 films with a room and bath for 10¢. The musical did not ignore the Depression but rather found humor in it. There were many titles considered, among them Nickels and Dimes , but Berlin came up with

323-416: The show, expecting it to be a failure. In the show-within-the-show, Rodney St. Clair sings "My Beautiful Rhinestone Girl". However, when risqué material is added the show is raided and the government tries to close it. The flop becomes a hit because of the publicity. *Added during touring versions of the show, following the original Broadway production ^Performed in the original production but not listed in

342-450: Was marred by an ugly incident all too in tune with the times: the stars Clifton Webb, Marilyn Miller, and Helen Broderick refused to take a bow with Ethel Waters. To his everlasting credit, Berlin told the three that of course he would respect their feelings – only in that case there needn’t be any bows at all. “They took their bows with Waters at the next show.” Irving Berlin: New York Genius, on page 147 The revue opened on Broadway at

361-563: Was turned into a song ("Heat Wave"). Other notable scenes include President and Mrs. Hoover leaving the White House , with the President giving his cabinet a Bronx cheer ; " Supper Time ", an African-American woman's lament for her lynched husband; John D. Rockefeller refusing to accept Radio City Music Hall as a birthday gift; commercials interrupting the singing during a Metropolitan Opera broadcast ( P.D.Q. Bach later did this);

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