Of V We Sing
1942 Broadway musical revue
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Of V We Sing is a Broadway musical revue with lyrics by Alfred Hayes and a book by Mel Tolkin, Sam Locke, and Al Geto.[1][2] It premiered at the Elysee Theatre on February 11, 1942, and ran for 76 performances before closing on April 25 that year.[1][2] The show marked the Broadway debuts of both Betty Garrett and Phil Leeds.[3][4]
Production
The show was originally put on by the American Youth Theatre under the name V For Victory in September 1941 at the Malin Studio Theater.[5] By October, it was running under the name Of V We Sing.[1][6][7]
The Broadway production was directed by Perry Bruskin and produced by Alexander H. Cohen.[8]
A condensed version of the show, with a cast of ten people, played at the La Conga Club in New York City for two weeks in September 1942.[9][10][11] Four members of the original cast performed in this version: Eleanor Bagley, Lee Barrie, Connie Baxter, and Adele Jerome. New cast members were Kay Dowd, Ty Kearney, Ray Long, Marty Ritt, and Shelley Winters.[10]
Synopsis
The show consisted of two acts of songs and sketches.[1] Some of the show's content addressed World War II, while other parts touched on topics closer to home, like unions, Mother's Day, and the Brooklyn Dodgers.[12]
Act I
- "You Can't Fool the People"
- "News Story"
- "NBC Goes to Broadcast"
- "Sisters Under the Skin"
- "Rhumba"
- "One Way Passage"
- "Red, White and Blues"
- "Mother Love"
- "Brooklyn Cantata"
- "Take a Poem"
- "Victory Conga"
Act II
- "Priorities"
- "News Story (Again)"
- "Ivan the Terrible"
- "Queen Esther"
- "Hy'a Joe"
- "Gertie, the Stool Pigeon's Daughter"
- "You've Got to Appease with a Strip Tease"
- "Belinda Blue"
- "We Have a Date"
- "Juke Box"
- "Prologue to Finale"
- "Of V We Sing"
Broadway cast
- Eleanor Bagley
- Lee Barrie
- Connie Baxter
- Perry Bruskin
- Curt Conway
- Lou Cooper
- Diane Davis
- John Fleming
- Ann Garlan
- Betty Garrett
- Adele Jerome
- Phil Leeds
- Byron Milligan
- Daniel Nagrin
- Susanne Remos
- Robert Sharron
- Letty Stever
- Mary Titus
- John Wynn
- Buddy Yarus[1]