Overview
Synopsis
One of the quintessential “Hey, let’s put on a show” musicals, which boasts one of the most beautiful scores ever written, by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, including such timeless standards as “The Lady is a Tramp”, “Where Or When”, “My Funny Valentine”, and “I Wish I were In Love Again”.
A group of teenagers are left to their own devices as their parents leave for the summer to hit the vaudeville circuit. However, problems arise when the local sheriff vows to send them to a work farm unless they prove their mettle. Within two weeks, the group pushes forward by doing what they do best: putting on a show. A wealthy Southern financier arises but only under the condition that the two black kids be removed from the show. The kids are outraged, but the show must go on, and -- in a triumphant tale of reconciliation, retribution, and romance -- it does! Over sixty years later, the themes in Babes in Arms still resonant
Show Information
- Music
- Richard Rodgers
- Lyrics
- Lorenz Hart
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1937
- Genres
- Settings
- Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- 1930s, seaport, rhode island
- Cast Size
- medium
- Orchestra Size
- Large
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- Mostly Male Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Note: This study guide is based on the original 1937 version, with book by Rodgers and Hart. It contains all the conventions of a musical comedy of that day, but is peppered with socio-political issues which are still relevant today.
A 1959 adaptation, which still uses Rodgers and Hart’s score, has an updated book by George Oppenheimer. In the updated version, the show is set in a summer-stock theatre, where young apprentices are determined to mount the musical review they’ve created. The
to read the context for Babes in Arms and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Tenor |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
|
|
|
Lead |
Female |
|
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Ensemble |
Either or Both |
Variety |
Songs
ACT I
- "Opening Act I" — Orchestra
- "Where or When" — Billie & Val
- "Babes in Arms" — Val, Marshall, Billie & The Gang
- "I Wish I Were in Love Again" — Gus & Dolores
- "Babes in Arms - Reprise" — Marshall, Sheriff & The Gang
- "Light On Our Feet" with dance (originally the racially insensitive "All Dark People Are Light On Their Feet") — The DeQuincy Bros.
- "Way Out West" with dance break — Baby Rose & Men's Quartet
- "My Funny Valentine" — Billie
- "Johnny One Note" — Baby Rose
- "Ballet - Johnny One Note" including: — Orchestra
- Section 1: Tango and Jazz Ballet
- Section 2: The Scene Moves Backstage
- Section 3: Move Back to Ballet
- Section 4: Finale - Act I
- Entr'acte — Orchestra
ACT II
- "Imagine" — Men's Quartet, Baby Rose, Peter, & Marshall
- "All At Once" — Val & Billie
- "Imagine - Reprise #1" — Peter & The Men's Quartet
- "Peter's Journey (Ballet)" — Orchestra
- "Imagine - Reprise #2" — The Men's Quartet & Peter
- "The Lady Is a Tramp" with encore — Billie
- "You Are So Fair" with 2 dances — Gus & Dolores with Orchestra
- "Reprise: The Lady is a Tramp" — Billie
- "Specialty #1 (Light On Our Feet) & Specialty #2 (Imagine)" — Orchestra
- "Finale Ultimo" — The Gang with Val & Billie
- "Bows (Johnny One-Note)" — Orchestra
- "Exit Music (Where or When)" — Orchestra
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A genre of music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by syncopated rhythms, complex chords, elements of improvisation, and distortions of pitch and timbre.
A production designed especially to show off the talents of a particular performer.
Videos
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Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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