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Babes in Arms (Guare Version)

Rodgers & Hart's Babes in Arms is the quintessential "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!" musical, boasting one of the greatest scores ever written for the stage.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Comedy
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: 1930s
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Orchestra Size: Large

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, College Theatre / Student, Church / Religious Groups
In this 1978 John Guare adaptation of the classic Rodgers and Hart musical, Valentine and his teenage friends find themselves unsupervised while their folks hit the vaudeville summer circuit. The local sheriff, regarding the kids as indolent loafers, threatens to send them to a work farm. But the determined kids talk the sheriff into a two-week reprieve — just enough time to produce their own show and prove their mettle. The old-fashioned virtues of this early musical comedy are peppered with socio-political issues and a sophisticated jocularity, maintaining the show's delights more than eight decades after its creation.

The 1959 adaptation by George Oppenheimer is also available. 
REVIEWS:

"BABES IN ARMS is almost too enjoyable for a theatergoer's good!"

Ben Brantley The New York Times

"Pace, humor and presence that belies its age...there hasn't been a musical written in this decade with anywhere near as many first class numbers."

The Day

"A score that is altogether superb...fresh, youthful, and utterly captivating."

The New York Times

"It is cheering to rediscover the authentic joys of this 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical. An exhilarating hymn to youth... Hart's acerbic wit perfectly counterpoints Rodgers' innate romanticism, and his lyrics are a triumph of ingenious wordplay."

Michael Billington The Guardian

"A pleasant outing featuring one of Broadway's most memorable scores."

— Jonas Schwartz

Jonas Schwartz Theatermania

"The show is charming, the numbers sizzle, what more can you ask?"

The Cincinnati Enquirer
Premiere Production: Babes in Arms opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on April 14, 1937, starring Ray Heatherton, Wynn Murray, Alfred Drake, Mitzi Green and the Nicholas Brothers. The show later transferred to the Majestic Theatre, playing a total of 289 performances.

Characters

  • Casting: 9M, 5F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle), Roles for Children, Roles for Teens
  • Chorus Size: Large

VAL LaMAR - our hero
BILLIE SMITH - our heroine
MARSHALL BLACKSTONE - Val's best friend
DOLORES REYNOLDS - the Sheriff's daughter
GUS FIELDING - a forceful friend of the Sheriff's daughter
BABY ROSE - a former Hollywood child star
IRVING de QUINCY - half of an Afro-American dance team
IVOR de QUINCY - his little brother, the other half of the dance team
PETER - who believes in Communism
LEE CALHOUN - the son of a rich Southern Colonel
BEAUREGARD CALHOUN - his little brother
THE GANG - Boys and Girls of the Ensemble
DAN LaMAR - Val's dad, a vaudevillian
MAIZIE LaMAR - Val's mom, a vaudevillian
NAT BLACKSTONE - Marshall's dad, a vaudevillian
EMMA BLACKSTONE - Marshall's mom, a vaudevillian
SHERIFF REYNOLDS - Dolores' father
RENE FLAMBEAU - a French aviator
PHIL McCABE - a radio announcer
BOOKER VANDERPOOL
PINKIE
SAM REYNOLDS
LINCOLN VANDERPOOL
DR. SNYDER

Available Material

Name Price
Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

1 x Libretto/Vocal Book
1 x Piano Conductor Score

$24.00
Pre-Production Pack Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

1 x Libretto/Vocal Book
1 x Piano Conductor Score

$75.00
Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

20 x Libretto/Vocal Books
2 x Piano Conductor Scores

$550.00 +$135.00/pm
Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

1 x Piano Conductor Score
1 x Piano I
1 x Piano II
1 x Reed I (Flute and Piccolo)
1 x Reed II (Oboe and English Horn)
1 x Reed III (Alto Sax and Clarinet)
1 x Reed IV (Alto Sax, Flute, Clarinet)
1 x Reed V (Tenor Sax and Clarinet)
1 x Reed VI (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassett Horn [Opt.])
1 x Trumpet I
1 x Trumpet II
1 x Trumpet III
1 x Trombone
1 x Drums/Percussion (1 Player)
1 x Violin I (Divisi)
1 x Violin II (Divisi)
1 x Cello (Divisi)
1 x Bass

$350.00 +$135.00/pm
Lib/Vocal Book 10 Pack Shipped with (or after) Rehearsal Material. This is optional.

10 x Libretto/Vocal Books

$50.00 +$50.00/pm

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