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Theater and Dance Presents 'Babes in Arms' Apr. 24-26

Story posted April 20, 2008

Babes_Reh1.jpg
Rehearsal by Alex Cornell du Houx.

The Bowdoin College Department of Theater and Dance will present Babes in Arms with book, lyrics and music by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 24, 25 and 26, 2008, at 8 p.m. in Pickard Theater.

The performances are free and open to the public. General admission tickets are available at the David Saul Smith Union information desk, at 207-725-3375, and at the door.

This production of Babes in Arms is based on the original 1937 theatrical musical. Set in rural Long Island during the Great Depression, the fanciful story involves a group of teenagers whose vaudevillian parents have gone off on a tour, leaving the kids behind to fend for themselves. They decide to put on their own show to avoid being sent to the work farm by the local sheriff, originating the phrase, "I've got a barn, let's put on a show."

The show features some of the greatest songs in the popular American songbook, including "My Funny Valentine," "The Lady Is A Tramp," "Where or When," and "Johnny One-Note." But few people know their context because for many years the original show was not available.

In 1939, a movie of Babes in Arms was made starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, but for some inexplicable reason most of the songs were cut and the plot completely changed.

Babes_Reh2.jpg
Rehearsal photo by Alex Cornell du Houx.

In 1959, the stage version was re-written and re-orchestrated by George Oppenheimer. Much of the original work was again thrown out. This was the only version available for decades.

In 1998 the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music recovered the Hans Spewak orchestrations, removed some racial references offensive by modern standards, and presented the script that Rodgers and Hart had planned. It was the first 1937 Broadway version of Babes in Arms seen after an absence of 60 years.

The City Center Encore Series in New York took it one step farther and hired playwright John Guare as a script consultant, presenting the show for five performances in 1999 and earning a rave review from Ben Brantley and The New York Times. It received the blessing of the authors' estate.

It is this original "Guare version" of the 1937 show that will be presented at Bowdoin College.

The show is directed by Associate Professor of Theater Davis Robinson, with a live orchestra under the musical direction of Delmar Small, choreography by Raymond Dumont, set design by Judy Gailen, costumes by Julie McMurry, puppets by Libby Marcus and lighting design by Nicole Sirois.

Babes In Arms is produced with assistance from the Alice Cooper Morse Fund for the Performing Arts and the Friends of Bowdoin Fund.

A reception sponsored by the Association of Bowdoin Friends will be held in Drake Lobby on Thursday, April 24, after the performance.

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