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Roberta

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  3w, 5m

Alice D.G. Miller, Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach

Adapted from Alice Duer Millers Novel Gowns By Roberta / Music by Jerome Kern / Book and Lyrics by Otto Harbach

This playful romantic comedy, set in the glamorous world of Parisian fashion, features some of Jerome Kern’s most enduring hits, including "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and "Let's Begin."

Roberta

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Roberta

Details

Summary
Set in the glamorous world of Parisian fashion, Roberta features some of Jerome Kern’s most enduring hits, including "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "The Touch of Your Hand," and "Let's Begin."
History
Roberta opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 18, 1933, starring Tamara Drasin, Bob Hope, George Murphy, Lyda Roberti, Fred MacMurray, Fay Templeton, Ray Middleton and Sydney Greenstreet. The show played for 295 performances.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
John Kent is a star football player, who finds his talents are more appreciated on the gridiron than on the dance floor of the Alpha Beta Phi Fraternity House of Haverhill College. His fiancée Sophie Teale is irked at his clumsiness and embarrassing lack of ballroom charm. They quarrel and Sophie leaves for Paris with her mother. John becomes heir to Roberta’s, an exclusive dress shop in Paris. He and Stephanie, a Russian exiled princess who is the dress designer of the establishment, together put on a stunning fashion show accompanied by an onstage band. John is jealous of Ladislaw, the doorman at Roberta’s, who seems to be very intimate with Stephanie. Later he finds that Ladislaw is only her cousin and is delighted.

Principals
(3 female; 5 male)

Aunt Minnie (trade name “Roberta”)
Stephanie, assistant to Roberta
Scharwenka (Mme. Nunez) The star customer

John Kent, the fullback
Billy, the hoofer
Huckleberry Haines, the crooner
Lord Henry Delves, friend of Roberta
Ladislaw, the doorman

Supporting

Babe Face, the flapper
“Gin" Blossom, the freshman
Sophie Teale, the debutante
Mrs. Teale, her mother
Marie, the stylist
Mme. Anna Grandet
Sidonie, the presser
Luella La Verne, the model
M. Leroux, the solicitor
“The Collegians,” a jazz band
Angela, the assistant

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

Music

Act I

1. "Let's Begin" - Billy & Ensemble
2. Incidental - Orchestra
3. Madrigal: "Alpha, Beta, Pi" - Huck, Billy, John & Ensemble
4. Madrigal Exit - Orchestra
5. Refrain: "You're Devastating" - Orchestra
6. "You're Devastating" - Huck & John
6a. Finaletto Prologue ("Let's Begin") - Billy & Ensemble
6b. "You're Devastating" (Reprise) - Stephanie
7. "Yesterdays" - Minnie
7a. Devastating Underscore - Orchestra
8. "Something Had To Happen" - Scharwenka with Huck & John
9. Rhapsody in Prose - Orchestra
9a. "You're Devastating" (2nd Reprise) - Stephanie
10. Touch of Your Hand Intro - Orchestra
11. "The Touch of Your Hand" - Stephanie and Ladislaw
12. Opening Scene 3 - Orchestra
13. Opening Scene 4 - Orchestra
14. "The Touch of Your Hand" (Reprise) - Sidonie
14a. Scene Change - Orchestra
15. Fashion Show - Orchestra
16. "I'll Be Hard To Handle" - Scharwenka
17. Yesterday's Dance - Orchestra
18. Finale Act I ("She'll Be Hard To Handle") - Scharwenka & Huck

Act II

19. Entr'acte - Orchestra
20. Opening Act II - Orchestra
21. "Hot Spot (Hold 'Em High)" - Scharwenka
22. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - Stephanie
23. "Let's Begin" (Reprise) - Huck & Stephanie
24. End of Scene 2 - Orchestra
25. Armful Incidental - Orchestra
26. "Something Had To Happen" (Reprise) - Scharwenka & John
27. "Let's Begin" (Reprise) - Huck, John, Lord Henry & Scharwenka
28. Opening Party Scene - Orchestra
29. "Don't Ask Me Not To Sing" - Huck & Ensemble
30. "The Touch of Your Hand" (Reprise) - Stephanie & Ladislaw
31. Change of Scene - Orchestra
32. Wardrobe Scene, Part 1 - Orchestra
33. Wardrobe Scene, Part 2 - Orchestra
34. Finale: "Hard To Handle"/"You're Devastating" - Company

Full Orchestration

Violin A
Violin B
Violin C
Violin 2
Viola
Cello
Bass

Flute
Oboe & English Horn
Clarinet
Bassoon

Trumpet 1 & 2
Trombone

Percussion

Piano 1 (doubles Celeste)
Piano 2

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Moderate
  • Vocal DemandsDifficult
  • Orchestra Size Medium
  • Chorus Size Large

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!
35 Libretto-Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
1 Flute
1 Oboe & English Horn
1 Clarinet
1 Bassoon
2 Trumpet 1&2
1 Trombone
1 Percussion
1 Piano 1
1 Piano 2
1 Violin A
1 Violin B
1 Violin C
1 Violin 2
1 Viola
1 Cello
1 Bass
35 Libretto-Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
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Authors

Author

Alice D.G. Miller

Jerome Kern

Jerome Kern

Jerome Kern (1885-1945) composed his first complete show, The Red Petticoat, in 1912. Between 1915 and 1919, he composed a series of intimate chamber musicals, mostly in collaboration with Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, known as the Princess Theatre shows. These works — Very ...

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Author

Otto Harbach

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