Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Book by Morrie Ryskind
Based on a story by B.G. DeSylva

Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Book by Morrie Ryskind
Based on a story by B.G. DeSylva

Overview

The plot machinations of this 1940 hit musical could have been ripped from today's headlines. Set in New Orleans, the musical lampoons Huey Long and his stronghold on Louisiana politics. When Senator Loganberry arrives in the Big Easy to investigate the dubious doings at the Louisiana Purchasing Company, it isn't long before he's set up for plenty of scandal himself. In his review of the recent Carnegie Hall concert - the first time the musical had been seen or heard since its original Broadway run - New York Times critic Lawrence Van Gelder posited, 'Does the South still produce corrupt Democratic politicians and businessmen? Are there still Republican senators eager to expose them to further their own Presidential ambitions? Is sex still a weapon in these wars?' Louisiana Purchase answers these questions with a gleeful wink of the eye and a score full of Berlin magic!

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Details

  • Genre: Period, Parody/Spoof
  • Time Period: 1940s/WWII
  • Cast Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle), Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle)
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for All Audiences

Authors

Irving Berlin

With a life that spanned more than 100 years and a catalogue that boasts over 1,000 songs, Irving Berlin (1888-1989) epitomized Jerome Kern’s famous maxim that “Irving Berlin has no place in American music – he is American music.” Berlin wrote scores to 13 Broadway musicals, ...

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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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B.G. DeSylva

B.G. DeSylva (1895-1950) was a composer, author and publisher, born in New York, NY, January 27, 1895, and died in Los Angeles, CA, July 11, 1950. Education: University of Southern California. DeSylva wrote songs for several Broadway musicals, including Ziegfeld Follies (1918 ...

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