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Pardon My English

Full-Length Musical, Comedy  /  3w, 4m

George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Herbert Fields, Morrie Ryskind

Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin / Book by Herbert Fields and Morrie Ryskind

This recently rediscovered farce satirizing the Prohibition era in prewar Dresden features a long-lost score from the Gershwin brothers.

Pardon My English

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Pardon My English

Details

Summary
Pardon My English is a farce satirizing the Prohibition era, set in prewar Dresden. To promote consumption of beer and wine, the German government bans the sale of all non-alcoholic beverages. In protest, the thuggish Golo Schmidt opens a speakeasy serving forbidden drinks like cream soda and ginger ale. The Police Commissioner is determined to shut down the illegal operation. After Golo is knocked unconscious in a car accident, he awakens to believe he is Michael Bramleigh, a wealthy Englishman — Golo's polar opposite. As he is recognized by friends variously as himself or his English alter ego, comedic misadventures follow. The tuneful score by George and Ira Gershwin includes "Isn't It A Pity?," "Luckiest Man in the World," and the title song.
History
Pardon My English opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on January 20, 1933, and played for 43 performances, starring English music-hall star Jack Buchanan in the dual role of Golo and Michael. The show was considered lost for decades, but when performance materials were found in a New Jersey warehouse in 1982, it was reconstructed and a studio recording was made in 1993.
Keywords
Performing Groups
In order to promote the sale of beer and wine, the German government bans the sale of all non-alcoholic beverages. In retaliation, Golo Schmidt opens Club 21, a speakeasy where patrons can imbibe such forbidden drinks as cream soda and ginger ale. Police Commissioner Bauer makes it his mission to shut down the illegal operation.

Golo decides to disrupt a birthday celebration for Bauer, but while en route to the party he is struck by a car and knocked unconscious. When he awakens in Bauer's home, he believes he is Michael Bramleigh, a wealthy, sophisticated member of British society. He eventually falls in love with Bauer's daughter Ilse and proposes marriage.

A birdhouse falls on Bramleigh, and his memory returns. Golo once again, he has no memory of his relationship with Ilse and returns to Club 21 and his sweetheart Gita Gobel. Hearing Bauer's daughter is about to marry, he plans to kidnap the bride and hold her for ransom. At the wedding, Golo locates Ilse, who naturally thinks he's her fiance Michael, and the two escape to an inn in Schandau.

Golo, inexplicably thinking he's Michael once again, returns to Bauer's house and apologizes for missing the wedding. The two plot to find Ilse and save her from her kidnapper. Recognized as Golo by some and Michael by others, the hero becomes involved in a series of comic misadventures.

Principals
(3 female; 4 male)

Gita
Frieda Bauer
Magda

Golo / Michael Bramleigh (played by the same actor)
Police Commissioner Bauer
Sergeant Schultz
Dickie Carter

Supporting

Dr. Steiner
Mr. Preston
Mrs. Preston
Katz
Innkeeper

Ensemble

Psychoanalysts & Nurses
The Dresden Mounted Northwest
German Waiters & Waitresses
Golo's German Bootlegging Gang
Party & Wedding Guests

  • Time Period 1930s
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Music

Music Samples

Act I

Overture – Orchestra
1. “Fatherland, Mother of the Band” – Ensemble
2. “I’ve Got To Be There” – Golo & Chorus
3. “The Lorelei” – Gita & Chorus
4. “In Three-Quarter Time” – Golo, Bauer, Schultz, Police & Chorus
5. “Dancing In The Streets” – Townspeople
6. “So What?” – Frieda & Bauer
7. “Isn’t It a Pity?” – Michael & Frieda
8. “Freud, Jung, and Adler” – Psychoanalysts & Nurses
8a. “He’s Oversexed” – Psychoanalysts
9. “Watch Your Head” – Michael, Frieda, Nurses & Doctors
10. “Pardon My English” – Golo & Gita
11. “Hail The Happy Couple” – Wedding Guests
12. “My Cousin In Milwaukee” – Gita & Boys
13. “Dresden Northwest Mounted” – Bauer & Police
14. “Tonight” – Golo & Frieda

Act II

15. Entr’acte – Orchestra
16. Act Two Opening: “No Tickee, No Washee” – Bauer, Magda & Crowd
17. “Luckiest Man in the World” – Carter & Magda
18. “Where You Go, I Go” – Bauer & Gita
18a. Scene Change – Orchestra
19. Reprise: “I’ve Got To Be There” – Golo
20. Reprise: “Isn’t It A Pity?” – Frieda
21. Reprise: Tonight – Michael & Frieda
22. Act Two Finaletto – Bauer, Schultz, Gita, Michael & Chorus
23. Finale: “He’s Not Himself” – Company
24. Bows & Exit – Orchestra

Full Orchestration

Reed 1 (Oboe & English Horn)
Reed 2 (Clarinet, Alto Saxophone & Baritone Saxophone)
Reed 3 (Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet & Alto Saxophone)
Reed 4 (Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet & Tenor Saxophone)
Horn 1
Horn 2
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Trombone
Percussion 1 & 2
Piano
Violin 1-A
Violin 1-B
Violin 2
Viola 1
Viola 2
Cello
Bass

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Easy
  • Vocal DemandsDifficult
  • Orchestra Size Large
  • Chorus Size Small

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!
17 Libretto-Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
1 Reed 1
1 Reed 2
1 Reed 3
1 Reed 4
1 Horn 1
1 Horn 2
1 Trumpet 1
1 Trumpet 2
1 Trombone
2 Percussion 1&2
1 Piano
1 Violin A
1 Violin B
1 Violin 2
1 Viola 1
1 Viola 2
1 Cello
1 Bass
17 Libretto-Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
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Authors

George Gershwin

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn on September 26, 1898, and began his musical training when he was 13. At 16, he quit high school to work as a "song plugger" for a music publisher, and soon he was writing songs himself. "Swanee," as introduced by Al Jolson, brought George ...

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Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin, the first songwriter to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, was born in New York City on December 6, 1896. In 1917 The Evening Sun published his first song (“You May Throw All The Rice You Desire But Please, Friends, Throw No Shoes”). Four years later, Ira enjoyed hi ...

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Herbert Fields

Herbert Fields

Herbert Fields (1897-1958) was a celebrated librettist and screenwriter. The brother and sister team of Herbert and Dorothy Fields was part of a vibrant New York theatrical family that also included their brother, Joseph, a prolific librettist and playwright, and their father ...

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Morrie Ryskind

Morrie Ryskind

Morrie Ryskind, the librettist of Louisiana Purchase, was born in New York City in 1895 and graduated from the Columbia University School of Journalism. His principal collaborator in the theater was George S. Kaufman, with whom he wrote the Marx Brothers musical Animal Cracke ...

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