Silk Stockings: Difference between revisions

*Silk Stockings*
Silk Stockings
	Original Cast Recording
Music	Cole Porter
Lyrics	Cole Porter
Book	George S. Kaufman ; Leueen MacGrath ; Abe Burrows
Basis	Melchior Lengyel's story Ninotchka ; 1939 film Ninotchka
Productions	1955 Broadway

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 00:00, 8 April 2024

Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story Ninotchka and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired.^[1] It ran on Broadway in 1955.^[2] This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.

Production history

Background

During the "severely troubled tryout" George S. Kaufman and his wife Leueen MacGrath were replaced by Abe Burrows. (According to Cecil Michener Smith and Glenn Litton, Kaufman became angry and quit.^[3]) Burrows re-wrote most of the book. The producer Cy Feuer took over the direction from Kaufman.^[4] The three leads had not performed in a Broadway musical comedy: Hildegard Knef was a German film and stage actress, Don Ameche never had sung on stage, and Gretchen Wyler was making her Broadway debut. "All three triumphed."^[3]

Productions

Following tryouts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit, the production opened Broadway on February 24, 1955 at the Imperial Theatre and closed on April 14, 1956 after 478 performances.^[5]

Directed by Cy Feuer and choreographed by Eugene Loring, the cast included Hildegard Knef (Ninotchka), Don Ameche (Steve Canfield), Gretchen Wyler (Janice Dayton), George Tobias, David Opatoshu, Julie Newmar, and Onna White.^[5] Jan Sherwood replaced Knef as Ninotchka and portrayed the role for the show's first national tour. Scenic and lighting designs were by Jo Mielziner and costumes were by Lucinda Ballard. The tour played the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, California starting in April 1956,^[6] as well as Los Angeles.^[7]

The score "played a large part in keeping Silk Stockings running on Broadway for 478 performances and in helping to recoup the immense production expenses for the show (brought in at a cost of $370,000, Silk Stockings was considered one of Broadway's most expensive musicals for its time)...The big hit...was clearly 'All of You'."^[8]

An original cast recording was released by RCA Victor.

The Lost Musicals staged reading of the musical was held in September 2005 in New York City.^[9]

Hildegard Knef (original German spelling) gave a vivid backstage account of the casting, rehearsals, tryouts and Broadway opening of Silk Stockings in her autobiography The Gift Horse: Report on a Life (McGraw Hill, 1971) pages 281 through 342.

Synopsis

The musical involves special envoy Nina Yaschenko, who is dispatched from the Soviet Union to rescue three foolish commissars from the pleasures of Paris. Romanced by theatrical agent Steven Canfield, she eventually comes to recognize the virtues of capitalist indulgence. Other characters include Peter Boroff, Russia's greatest composer, who is being wooed by Janice Dayton, America's swimming sweetheart, to write the score for her first non-aquatic picture, a musical adaptation of War and Peace.

Song list

Act I

"Too Bad" - Ivanov, Brankov, Bibinski, and Hotel Staff
"Paris Loves Lovers" - Steve Canfield and Ninotchka
"Stereophonic Sound" - Janice Dayton
"It's a Chemical Reaction, That's All" - Ninotchka
"All of You" - Steve
"Satin and Silk" - Janice
"Without Love" - Ninotchka
"All of You" (Reprise) - Steve

Act II

"Hail, Bibinski" - Ivanov, Brankov, Bibinski, and Ensemble
"As On Through the Seasons We Sail" - Steve Canfield and Ninotchka
"Josephine" - Janice
"Siberia" - Ivanov, Brankov, Bibinski
"Silk Stockings" - Steve Canfield
"The Red Blues" - Ninotchka and Ensemble
"Too Bad" (Reprise) - Full Company

Film

The film Silk Stockings, based on the stage musical, was released in 1957.

References

^ "Ninotchka". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved August 18, 2016.
^ "Silk Stockings". The Broadway Musical Home. New York City. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Michener Smith, Cecil and Litton, Glenn. "Chapter:The Book Musical Refined" Musical Comedy in America, Psychology Press, 1981, ISBN 0-87830-564-5, p. 220
^ Suskin, Steven. "Cole Porter, 'Silk Stockings'"Show Tunes: the Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers (4 ed.), Oxford University Press US, 2010, ISBN 0-19-531407-7, p. 116
^ ^a ^b "'Silk Stockings' production, plot and song list" sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011
^ "'Silk Stockings' National Tour, 1956" broadwayworld.com, accessed January 10, 2011
^ "Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, 1956, 'Silk Stockings'" Archived 2009-10-21 at the Wayback Machine broadwayla.org, accessed January 10, 2011
^ Schwartz, Charles. "'Silk Stockings'" Cole Porter: a Biography, Da Capo Press, 1979, ISBN 0-306-80097-7, p. 254
^ Dale, Michael. "'Silk Stockings': Cole Porter Fights The Cold War" offbroadway.broadwayworld.com, September 15, 2005

External links

Silk Stockings at the Internet Broadway Database

[Ninotchka-1] "Ninotchka". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved August 18, 2016.

[2] "Silk Stockings". The Broadway Musical Home. New York City. Retrieved August 19, 2016.

[Cecil-3] Michener Smith, Cecil and Litton, Glenn. "Chapter:The Book Musical Refined" Musical Comedy in America, Psychology Press, 1981, ISBN 0-87830-564-5, p. 220

[4] Suskin, Steven. "Cole Porter, 'Silk Stockings'"Show Tunes: the Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers (4 ed.), Oxford University Press US, 2010, ISBN 0-19-531407-7, p. 116

[cole-5] "'Silk Stockings' production, plot and song list" sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011

[6] "'Silk Stockings' National Tour, 1956" broadwayworld.com, accessed January 10, 2011

[7] "Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, 1956, 'Silk Stockings'" Archived 2009-10-21 at the Wayback Machine broadwayla.org, accessed January 10, 2011

[8] Schwartz, Charles. "'Silk Stockings'" Cole Porter: a Biography, Da Capo Press, 1979, ISBN 0-306-80097-7, p. 254

[9] Dale, Michael. "'Silk Stockings': Cole Porter Fights The Cold War" offbroadway.broadwayworld.com, September 15, 2005

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Musical}}
-{{About|the 1955 musical|the 1957 film adaptation|Silk Stockings (film)|other uses|Silk Stockings (disambiguation)}}
+{{About|the 1955 musical|the 1957 film adaptation|Silk Stockings (1957 film)|other uses|Silk Stockings (disambiguation)}}
 {{Infobox Musical
 |name= Silk Stockings
@@ Line 7: / Line 8: @@
 |caption= Original Cast Recording
 |music= [[Cole Porter]]
-|lyrics= [[Cole Porter]]
+|lyrics= Cole Porter
 |book= [[George S. Kaufman]] <br> [[Leueen MacGrath]] <br> [[Abe Burrows]]
 |basis= [[Melchior Lengyel]]'s story ''Ninotchka'' <br>1939 film ''[[Ninotchka]]''
@@ Line 14: / Line 15: @@
 |awards=
 }}
-'''''Silk Stockings''''' is a [[musical theatre|musical]] with a book by [[George S. Kaufman]], [[Leueen MacGrath]], and [[Abe Burrows]] and music and lyrics by [[Cole Porter]]. The musical is loosely based on the [[Melchior Lengyel]] story ''Ninotchka'' and the [[Ninotchka|1939 film adaptation]] it inspired.<ref name="Ninotchka">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/347/Ninotchka/full-credits.html|title=Ninotchka|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|accessdate=August 18, 2016}}</ref> It ran on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/silk-stockings.htm|title=Silk Stockings|work=The Broadway Musical Home|location=[[New York City]]|accessdate=August 19, 2016}}</ref> This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.
+'''''Silk Stockings''''' is a [[musical theatre|musical]] with a book by [[George S. Kaufman]], [[Leueen MacGrath]], and [[Abe Burrows]] and music and lyrics by [[Cole Porter]]. The musical is loosely based on the [[Melchior Lengyel]] story ''Ninotchka'' and the [[Ninotchka|1939 film adaptation]] it inspired.<ref name="Ninotchka">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/347/Ninotchka/full-credits.html|title=Ninotchka|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|access-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref> It ran on Broadway in 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/silk-stockings.htm|title=Silk Stockings|work=The Broadway Musical Home|location=[[New York City]]|access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref> This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.
 ==Production history==
 ===Background===
-During the "severely troubled tryout" George S. Kaufman and his wife Leueen MacGrath were replaced by Abe Burrows. (According to Cecil Michener Smith and Glenn Litton, Kaufman became angry and quit.<ref name=Cecil> Michener Smith, Cecil and Litton, Glenn.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=vIt6mArgiG8C&pg=PA220&dq=%22Cole+Porter%22+%22Silk+Stockings%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Cole%20Porter%22%20%22Silk%20Stockings%22&f=false "Chapter:The Book Musical Refined"] ''Musical Comedy in America'', Psychology Press, 1981, {{ISBN|0-87830-564-5}}, p. 220</ref>) Burrows re-wrote most of the book. The producer [[Cy Feuer]] took over the direction from Kaufman.<ref>Suskin, Steven. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_3mOZv6OaUIC&pg=PA116&dq=%22Cole+Porter%22+%22Silk+Stockings%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Silk%20Stockings%22&f=false "Cole Porter, 'Silk Stockings'"]''Show Tunes: the Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers'' (4 ed.), Oxford University Press US, 2010, {{ISBN|0-19-531407-7}}, p. 116</ref> The three leads had not previously performed in a Broadway musical comedy: [[Hildegard Knef]] was a German film and stage actress, [[Don Ameche]] had never sung, and [[Gretchen Wyler]] was making her Broadway debut. "All three triumphed."<ref name=Cecil/>
+During the "severely troubled tryout" George S. Kaufman and his wife Leueen MacGrath were replaced by Abe Burrows. (According to Cecil Michener Smith and Glenn Litton, Kaufman became angry and quit.<ref name=Cecil>Michener Smith, Cecil and Litton, Glenn.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=vIt6mArgiG8C&dq=%22Cole+Porter%22+%22Silk+Stockings%22&pg=PA220 "Chapter:The Book Musical Refined"] ''Musical Comedy in America'', Psychology Press, 1981, {{ISBN|0-87830-564-5}}, p. 220</ref>) Burrows re-wrote most of the book. The producer [[Cy Feuer]] took over the direction from Kaufman.<ref>Suskin, Steven. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_3mOZv6OaUIC&q=%22Silk+Stockings%22&pg=PA116 "Cole Porter, 'Silk Stockings'"]''Show Tunes: the Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers'' (4 ed.), Oxford University Press US, 2010, {{ISBN|0-19-531407-7}}, p. 116</ref> The three leads had not performed in a Broadway musical comedy: [[Hildegard Knef]] was a German film and stage actress, [[Don Ameche]] never had sung on stage, and [[Gretchen Wyler]] was making her Broadway debut. "All three triumphed."<ref name=Cecil/>
 ===Productions===
-Following tryouts in [[Philadelphia]], [[Boston]], and [[Detroit]], the production opened Broadway on February 24, 1955 at the [[Imperial Theatre (Broadway)|Imperial Theatre]], and closed on April 14, 1956 after 478 performances.<ref name=cole>[http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/silk.html "'Silk Stockings' production, plot and song list"] sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011</ref>
+Following tryouts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit, the production opened Broadway on February 24, 1955 at the [[Imperial Theatre (Broadway)|Imperial Theatre]] and closed on April 14, 1956 after 478 performances.<ref name=cole>[http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/silk.html "'Silk Stockings' production, plot and song list"] sondheimguide.com, accessed January 10, 2011</ref>
-Directed by Cy Feuer and [[choreographed]] by [[Eugene Loring]], the cast included Hildegard Knef (Ninotchka), [[Don Ameche]] (Steve Canfield), [[Gretchen Wyler]] (Janice Dayton), [[George Tobias]], [[David Opatoshu]], [[Julie Newmar]], and [[Onna White]].<ref name=cole/> [[Jan Sherwood]] eventually replaced Knef as Ninotchka and also portrayed the role for the show's first national tour. Scenic and lighting designs were by [[Jo Mielziner]] and costumes were by [[Lucinda Ballard]].  The tour played the [[Curran Theatre]], [[San Francisco]], California starting in April 1956,<ref>[http://broadwayworld.com/bwidb/productions/Silk_Stockings_7166/ "'Silk Stockings' National Tour, 1956"] broadwayworld.com, accessed January 10, 2011</ref>as well as Los Angeles.<ref> [http://www.broadwayla.org/info/civic.light.asp "Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, 1956, 'Silk Stockings'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021085602/http://www.broadwayla.org/info/civic.light.asp |date=2009-10-21 }} broadwayla.org, accessed January 10, 2011</ref>
+Directed by Cy Feuer and choreographed by [[Eugene Loring]], the cast included Hildegard Knef (Ninotchka), [[Don Ameche]] (Steve Canfield), [[Gretchen Wyler]] (Janice Dayton), [[George Tobias]], [[David Opatoshu]], [[Julie Newmar]], and [[Onna White]].<ref name=cole/> [[Jan Sherwood]] replaced Knef as Ninotchka and portrayed the role for the show's first national tour. Scenic and lighting designs were by [[Jo Mielziner]] and costumes were by [[Lucinda Ballard]].  The tour played the [[Curran Theatre]] in San Francisco, California starting in April 1956,<ref>[http://broadwayworld.com/bwidb/productions/Silk_Stockings_7166/ "'Silk Stockings' National Tour, 1956"] broadwayworld.com, accessed January 10, 2011</ref> as well as Los Angeles.<ref>[http://www.broadwayla.org/info/civic.light.asp "Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, 1956, 'Silk Stockings'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021085602/http://www.broadwayla.org/info/civic.light.asp |date=2009-10-21 }} broadwayla.org, accessed January 10, 2011</ref>
-The score "played a large part in keeping ''Silk Stockings'' running on Broadway for 478 performances and in helping to recoup the immense production expenses for the show (brought in at a cost of $370,000, ''Silk Stockings'' was considered one of Broadway's most expensive musicals for its time)...The big hit...was clearly 'All of You'."<ref>Schwartz, Charles. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RloVVG_FzkAC&pg=PA254&dq=Cole+Porter+%22Silk+Stockings%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Cole%20Porter%20%22Silk%20Stockings%22&f=false "'Silk Stockings'"] ''Cole Porter: a Biography'', Da Capo Press, 1979, {{ISBN|0-306-80097-7}}, p. 254</ref>
+The score "played a large part in keeping ''Silk Stockings'' running on Broadway for 478 performances and in helping to recoup the immense production expenses for the show (brought in at a cost of $370,000, ''Silk Stockings'' was considered one of Broadway's most expensive musicals for its time)...The big hit...was clearly 'All of You'."<ref>Schwartz, Charles. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RloVVG_FzkAC&dq=Cole+Porter+%22Silk+Stockings%22&pg=PA254 "'Silk Stockings'"] ''Cole Porter: a Biography'', Da Capo Press, 1979, {{ISBN|0-306-80097-7}}, p. 254</ref>
-An [[cast album|original cast recording]] was released by [[RCA Victor]].
+An original cast recording was released by [[RCA Victor]].
 The Lost Musicals staged reading of the musical was held in September 2005 in New York City.<ref>Dale, Michael.  [http://offbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/Silk_Stockings_Cole_Porter_Fights_The_Cold_War_20050915 "'Silk Stockings': Cole Porter Fights The Cold War"] offbroadway.broadwayworld.com, September 15, 2005</ref>
@@ Line 33: / Line 34: @@
 Hildegard Knef (original German spelling) gave a vivid backstage account of the casting, rehearsals, tryouts and Broadway opening of ''Silk Stockings'' in her autobiography ''The Gift Horse: Report on a Life'' (McGraw Hill, 1971) pages 281 through 342.
-==Plot overview==
+==Synopsis==
-The musical involves [[special envoy]] Nina Yaschenko, who is dispatched from the [[Soviet Union]] to rescue three foolish [[commissar]]s from the pleasures of [[Paris]]. Romanced by theatrical agent Steven Canfield, she eventually comes to recognize the virtues of [[capitalism|capitalist]] indulgence. Other characters include Peter Boroff, Russia's greatest composer, who is being wooed by Janice Dayton, [[United States|America]]'s [[human swimming|swimming]] sweetheart, to write the score for her first non-aquatic picture, a musical adaptation of ''[[War and Peace]]''.
+The musical involves special envoy Nina Yaschenko, who is dispatched from the [[Soviet Union]] to rescue three foolish commissars from the pleasures of Paris. Romanced by theatrical agent Steven Canfield, she eventually comes to recognize the virtues of [[capitalism|capitalist]] indulgence. Other characters include Peter Boroff, Russia's greatest composer, who is being wooed by Janice Dayton, America's swimming sweetheart, to write the score for her first non-aquatic picture, a musical adaptation of ''[[War and Peace]]''.
 ==Song list==
@@ Line 50: / Line 51: @@
 {{col-break}}
 ;Act II
-* "Hail, Bibinski"
+* "Hail, Bibinski" - Ivanov, Brankov, Bibinski, and Ensemble
-* "As On Through the Seasons We Sail"
+* "As On Through the Seasons We Sail" - Steve Canfield and Ninotchka
 * "Josephine" - Janice
-* "Siberia"
+* "Siberia" - Ivanov, Brankov, Bibinski
-* "Silk Stockings"
+* "Silk Stockings" - Steve Canfield
-* "The Red Blues"
+* "The Red Blues" - Ninotchka and Ensemble
-* "Too Bad" (Reprise)
+* "Too Bad" (Reprise) - Full Company
 {{col-end}}
 ==Film==
-A film ''[[Silk Stockings (film)|Silk Stockings]]'' based on the stage musical was released in 1957.
+The film ''[[Silk Stockings (1957 film)|Silk Stockings]]'', based on the stage musical, was released in 1957.
 ==References==
@@ Line 68: / Line 69: @@
 *{{ibdb title | id=2504|title=Silk Stockings}}
+{{Ninotchka}}
+{{George Kaufman}}
 {{Cole Porter}}
 {{Abe Burrows}}
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Musicals by Cole Porter]]
@@ Line 75: / Line 79: @@
 [[Category:Broadway musicals]]
 [[Category:Musicals based on films]]
+[[Category:Musicals set in Paris]]

v t e George S. Kaufman
Plays and musicals	Some One in the House (1918) Dulcy (1921) To the Ladies (1922) The '49ers (1922) Merton of the Movies (1922) Helen of Troy, New York (1923) The Deep Tangled Wildwood (1923) Beggar on Horseback (1924) Be Yourself (1924) Minick (1924) The Butter and Egg Man (1925) The Cocoanuts (1925) The Good Fellow (1926) The Royal Family (1927) Animal Crackers (1928) June Moon (1929) The Channel Road (1929) Once in a Lifetime (1930) The Band Wagon (1931) Of Thee I Sing (1931) Dinner at Eight (1932) Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933) The Dark Tower (1933) Merrily We Roll Along (1934) First Lady (1935) Stage Door (1936) You Can't Take It with You (1936) I'd Rather Be Right (1937) The Fabulous Invalid (1938) The American Way (1939) The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939) George Washington Slept Here (1940) The Land Is Bright (1941) The Late George Apley (1944) Seven Lively Arts (1944) Hollywood Pinafore (1945) Bravo! (1948) The Small Hours (1951) Fancy Meeting You Again (1952) The Solid Gold Cadillac (1953) Silk Stockings (1955)
Musicals based on his plays	Sherry! (1967) Merrily We Roll Along (1981)
Films	Someone Must Pay (1919) Someone in the House (1920) Dulcy (1923) To the Ladies (1923) Merton of the Movies (1924) Welcome Home (1925) Beggar on Horseback (1925) The Butter and Egg Man (1928) The Cocoanuts (1929) Not So Dumb (1930) Animal Crackers (1930) The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) June Moon (1931) The Expert (1932) The Tenderfoot (1932) Make Me a Star (1932) Once in a Lifetime (1932) Dinner at Eight (1933) Roman Scandals (1933) The Man with Two Faces (1934) You Can't Take It with You (1938) The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
Films as a director	The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)