I Married an Angel
Encyclopedia
I Married An Angel is a musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart
. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary
, entitled Angyalt Vettem Felesegul. The book was by Richard Rodgers
and Lorenz Hart
, with music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart. The story concerns a wealthy banker who, disillusioned with women, decides that the only mate for him would be an angel. An angel soon arrives, and he marries her, but finds out that her perfection and guilelessness is inconvenient.
banker, Count Willie Palaffi, is love-weary. He ends his engagement to Anna Murphy, swearing that the only girl he could marry would be an angel. A real angel soon flies into his life, and he marries her. It turns out, however, that she is free of the human failings that permit people to tolerate each other. In particular, she is unable to fib. Her honesty alienates Willie's high society acquaintances and his biggest customer and causes a run on the bank. His sister, Countess Palaffi, saves the day by teaching the angel about the real world. She also bribes taxi drivers to make Willie's creditors late, so that he has time to save his bank. Willie and his now Earthier angel live happily ever after.
on May 11, 1938 and closed on February 25, 1939 after 338 performances, followed by an extensive tour. It was directed by newcomer Joshua Logan
, with choreography by George Balanchine
, scenic design by Jo Mielziner
, and costume design by John Hambleton. The cast included Dennis King
as Willi, Vera Zorina
as Angel, Vivienne Segal
as Peggy and Walter Slezak
as Harry, Charles Walters
as Peter and Audrey Christie as Anna.
Two productions were mounted in 1964: one at Valley Forge Music Fair starring Don Ameche
, Margaret Whiting
and Taina Elg
, and a second at the Royal Poinciana Plaza Playhouse starring Elaine Stritch
, Clifford David
and Taina Elg,
The musical was presented by Musicals Tonight!, New York City, as a staged concert in 2000.
starring Jeanette MacDonald
and Nelson Eddy
. A 1952 radio production starred Gordon MacRae
and Lucille Norman
was also produced.
Act 2
Note: The following earlier Rodgers and Hart songs were also included in the score: "Women Are Women", "Men of Milwaukee" and "Othello". Balanchine choreographed a piece referred to as the "Snow Ballet".
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary
Janos Vaszary
János Vaszary was a Hungarian painter. He was born in Kaposvár, Hungary. His masters included Bertalan Székely at the School of Decorative Art. He went on with his studies in Munich and at the Académie Julian in Paris. He was particularly influenced by Jules Bastien-Lepage and Puvis de...
, entitled Angyalt Vettem Felesegul. The book was by Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, with music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart. The story concerns a wealthy banker who, disillusioned with women, decides that the only mate for him would be an angel. An angel soon arrives, and he marries her, but finds out that her perfection and guilelessness is inconvenient.
Synopsis
A wealthy BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
banker, Count Willie Palaffi, is love-weary. He ends his engagement to Anna Murphy, swearing that the only girl he could marry would be an angel. A real angel soon flies into his life, and he marries her. It turns out, however, that she is free of the human failings that permit people to tolerate each other. In particular, she is unable to fib. Her honesty alienates Willie's high society acquaintances and his biggest customer and causes a run on the bank. His sister, Countess Palaffi, saves the day by teaching the angel about the real world. She also bribes taxi drivers to make Willie's creditors late, so that he has time to save his bank. Willie and his now Earthier angel live happily ever after.
Productions
I Married An Angel opened at the Shubert TheatreShubert Theatre (Broadway)
The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
on May 11, 1938 and closed on February 25, 1939 after 338 performances, followed by an extensive tour. It was directed by newcomer Joshua Logan
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American stage and film director and writer.-Early years:Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old his father committed suicide...
, with choreography by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
, scenic design by Jo Mielziner
Jo Mielziner
Joseph "Jo" Mielziner was an American theatrical scenic, and lighting designer born in Paris, France. He is "the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Broadway", and worked on both stage plays and musicals.-Career:He was the son of artist Leo Mielziner, Sr...
, and costume design by John Hambleton. The cast included Dennis King
Dennis King (actor)
Dennis King was an English actor and singer.Born in Coventry as Dennis Pratt, King had a stage career in both drama and musicals. He emigrated to the USA in 1921 and went on to a successful career on the Broadway stage. He appeared in two musical films and played non-singing roles in two other...
as Willi, Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
as Angel, Vivienne Segal
Vivienne Segal
Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American actress and singer.Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"...
as Peggy and Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
as Harry, Charles Walters
Charles Walters
Charles Walters was a Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies in from the 1940s to the 1960s....
as Peter and Audrey Christie as Anna.
Two productions were mounted in 1964: one at Valley Forge Music Fair starring Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
, Margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting was a singer of American popular music and country music who first made her reputation during the 1940s and 1950s.-Youth:...
and Taina Elg
Taina Elg
Taina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
, and a second at the Royal Poinciana Plaza Playhouse starring Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
, Clifford David
Clifford David
Clifford David is an American actor born in Toledo, Ohio on June 30, 1938. He is recognized for his many Broadway, film and television performances.-Career:...
and Taina Elg,
The musical was presented by Musicals Tonight!, New York City, as a staged concert in 2000.
Film and radio
In 1942, MGM made the musical into a musical filmI Married an Angel (film)
I Married an Angel is an a 1942 American motion picture based on the 1938 musical comedy of the same name by Rodgers and Hart. The film was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, who were then a popular onscreen couple...
starring Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
and Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
. A 1952 radio production starred Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
and Lucille Norman
Lucille Norman
Lucille Norman was an American singer and film actress of the 1940s and 1950s.Norman was born Lucille Pharaby Boileau in Lincoln, Nebraska, and had entered into a career as a singer by the mid-1930s. She performed as a singer for movie soundtracks, and in 1942 she had her first film role, an...
was also produced.
Songs
Act 1- Did You Ever Get Stung? – Count Willy Palarffi, Countess Peggy Palarffi and Peter Mueller
- I Married an Angel – Willy
- The Modiste – Willy, Angel, Modiste, 1st Venduse and 2nd Vendeuse
- I'll Tell the Man in the Street – Peggy and Harry Mischka Szigetti
- How to Win Friends and Influence People – Anna Murphy, Peter and Ensemble
- Finale – Company
Act 2
- Spring Is Here – Willy and Peggy
- Angel Without Wings – Angel, Femme de Chambre, Clarinda, Philomena, Rosalina, Seronella, Arabella and Florabella
- A Twinkle in Your Eye – Peggy
- I'll Tell the Man in the Street (Reprise) – Harry
- At the Roxy Music Hall – Anna
- Finale – Company
Note: The following earlier Rodgers and Hart songs were also included in the score: "Women Are Women", "Men of Milwaukee" and "Othello". Balanchine choreographed a piece referred to as the "Snow Ballet".
External links
- Overview of musical
- I Married An Angel at rnh
- 1942 film version at Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy: A Tribute