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Music
and Lyrics by: Cole Porter
Book By: Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay and
Russel Crouse
Synopsis:
Before this show
starts our hero and heroine, Billy Crocker and Hope Harcourt, meet at a
party one hot summer night in the early 1930's. Hope is a pretty girl,
with an overbearing mother who wants her daughter to marry an English
Lord. Billy is a young man just beginning his career on Wall Street. A
leisurely drive through Central Park and a chaste kiss put the finishing
touches on an evening that speaks of promise. Somehow, Hope slips away
without giving her name and address to Billy.
The story begins at the New York sailing of the Ocean Greyhound
AMERICA bound for England. Everything takes place aboard the ship.
It is customary for members of the press to take photographs of the
passengers for the 'Society' sections of newspapers before a ship sets
sail. Of particular interest to the ship's reporters is Reno Sweeney,
famed Evangelist-turned-Nightclub singer, with her four beautiful Angels
- backup singers. Unfortunately she appears to be the only celebrity on
board. Other passengers photographed include Elisha Whitney (Wall Street
executive and Billy Crocker's boss), Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (a rich English
Gentleman), Miss Hope Harcourt (American debutante and Evelyn's fiancé,
Mrs. Wadsworth Harcourt (Hope's mother), Bishop Henry Dobson (a
minister), and Ching and Ling (two of Bishop Dobson's Chinese converts).
Billy Crocker comes aboard to drop off his boss' passport. On board he
runs into Reno, who is an old friend. Billy, as it turns out, is the
same young man who drove around Central Park with Hope Harcourt, and who
has been searching for her unsuccessfully ever since. Reno greets Billy
warmly, and she tells him how she gets a "kick" whenever they meet -
You're the Top. Then the deck stewards begin to call, "All
ashore that's going ashore," and Billy starts for the gangplank. He is
just stepping on it when a girl appears: the splendid girl with whom he
rode around Central Park. "Are you sailing?" she asks. "You bet I'm
sailing" is his reply. And the ship sets sail -
Bon Voyage.
There is another
celebrity sailing, but he is very much under wraps. "Moonface Martin," a
onetime ship's gambler and "Public Enemy 13," is hiding out on board
disguised as a Minister. This "thirteen" has brought him a succession of
bad luck, and he is determined to move up to the 11 or 12 spot. Billy wins
Moonface's friendship by inadvertently identifying Bishop Henry Dobson as
Moonface to the FBI. The innocent Bishop ends up in the ship's brig.
Moonface shows his gratitude by giving Billy a ticket and passport,
intended for his friend Snake Eyes, for the trip. Snake Eyes, number "one"
on the "wanted" list, had been warned against sailing. His companion,
Bonnie, does set sail and spends time with Moonface.
The first evening Billy finds out that Hope is engaged to Sir Evelyn. The
British gentleman's lack of romance and upset stomach give Billy an
opportunity to be alone with Hope all night -
It's Delovely. When he gets back to the room he and Moon are
sharing the next morning, Billy realizes that his boss, Whitney, is their
neighbor. Moon steals Whitney's glasses, so Whitney will not recognize
Billy on board. Moon finds out that the authorities are searching the ship
for Billy, who they think is the real Snake Eyes. In order to warn his new
friend that he is in danger, Moonface admits to Billy that he is not a
real clergyman and reveals his true identity. When Billy responds to Moon
that he will not turn him in, Moon tells Billy that the ship's crew thinks
Billy is actually Snake Eyes. Billy refuses to hide for the rest of the
trip because he wants to see Hope. Bonnie disguises Billy in a sailor's
uniform -
Heaven Hop. Moon, Reno and her Angels recognize Billy as a
sailor. He explains his predicament to Reno, and she is willing to
distract Sir Evelyn; she thinks he is attractive -
I Get A Kick Out Of You. Moonface also joins in Reno's efforts
to help Billy win Hope away from the pleasant but lame-brained English
Baronet to whom she is engaged -
Friendship. Billy has just a few days to win Hope (whose
mother is all for Sir Evelyn), the ship's officers are searching the ship
for a man who is the occupant of the "number one" gangster's cabin, and
Billy has to resort to varied disguises that include dressing as a woman,
a chef and a man with a beard. The ship's Purser finally catches up with
Snake Eyes and Moonface, but Billy is spared from going to the ship's
jail. All of the passengers except Hope consider Billy posing as Snake
Eyes a celebrity, and want him to mingle among them freely-
Anything Goes.
The passengers on board celebrate the new celebrity they discovered in
Public Enemy No. One, and Bonnie encourages the imposter's
acceptance in
Let's Step Out. Sir Evelyn begins to fall in love with Reno.
He speaks romantically to her, and she sings to him
Let's Misbehave. Hope gets progressively more disgusted with
Billy's lie. The Captain instructs Moonface, still undercover as a
minister, to perform a service to reform Snake Eyes. Under Hope's pressure
Billy finally confesses he is an imposter, Moonface admits who he really
is, and the two end up in the ship's brig -
Blow, Gabriel, Blow.
Billy is obsessed with Hope while in jail. Moonface tries to calm him down
with
Be Like The Bluebird. The two Chinese converts traveling with
the real Bishop Dobson are also thrown into the brig, for gambling. When
Hope finally visits Billy there, she tells him of her mother's plans to
have the Captain marry her and Sir Evelyn within hours. The young couple
love each other -
All Through The Night. Billy must prevent this wedding from
happening. He and Moonface trick the converts to exchange clothes with
them, and are released from jail in the converts' places. Billy arrives on
deck in time to prevent the marriage ceremony, by embarrassing Sir Evelyn,
with Reno's help. Reno reminisces in
Take Me Back To Manhattan. Hope and Billy end up together, as
do Reno and Sir Evelyn, Bonnie and Moonface, and Mrs. Harcourt and Mr.
Whitney. The only one who is the least bit disappointed is Moonface, who
is no longer wanted by the F.B.I.
Licensing Agent:
Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc.
560 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10022
(212) 688-9191
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