Lady in the Dark
| Lady in the Dark | |
|---|---|
| Music | Kurt Weill |
| Lyrics | Ira Gershwin |
| Book | Moss Hart |
| Productions | 1941 Broadway 1944 Film 1954 Television movie 1981 Nottingham, UK 1997 London concert |
Lady in the Dark is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis. The musical ran on Broadway in 1941, in the United Kingdom in 1981, and was also made into a 1944 film and a live 1954 television special.
The musical's theme of psychoanalysis is said to be based on Hart's own experiences with psychoanalyst Gregory Zilboorg. Except for the final song, all the music in the play is heard in three extended dream sequences: the Glamour Dream, the Wedding Dream, and the Circus Dream which, to some extent, become three small operettas integrated into a straight play. The final song, "My Ship", functions as a leitmotif for Liza's insecurity: as each dream commences, a snippet of the tune is heard, as it is a haunting melody which Liza recognizes but cannot name, or sing with words, until her anxiety is resolved.
The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) on January 23, 1941 and closed on May 30, 1942 after 467 performances. Direction was by Hart, produced by Sam H. Harris, with musical staging by Hassard Short, who also was the production designer, and choreography by Albertina Rasch. The original cast included Gertrude Lawrence, Danny Kaye, Bert Lytell, Victor Mature, Margaret Dale, Davis Cunningham and Macdonald Carey.
Kaye's performance as fashion photographer Russell Paxton, and particularly his consistently showstopping performance of the patter song "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" in which he dashes through the names of 50 Russian composers in 39 seconds, made him a star. The musical went on an eight city tour for 160 performances, and also played on the West Coast, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, for 56 performances. The show then ran at The Broadway Theatre from February 27 through May 15, 1943, for 83 performances. Gertrude Lawrence reprised her role as Liza Elliott in all venues.
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