Something for the Boys

Something for the Boys
Music	Cole Porter
Lyrics	Cole Porter
Book	Herbert Fields Dorothy Fields
Productions	1943 Broadway 1944 WestEnd

Something for the Boys is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical.

Out of town tryouts began on December 18, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts.

The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on January 7, 1943 and closed on January 8, 1944 after 422 performances. It starred Ethel Merman (Blossom Hart), Bill Johnson (Rocky Fulton), Betty Garrett (Mary-Frances), Paula Laurence (Chiquita Hart), and Allen Jenkins (Harry Hart). The director was Hassard Short, choreographer Jack Cole, costumes were by Billy Livingston and the set design was by Howard Bay. A national tour starred Joan Blondell who would go on to marry producer Mike Todd.

The musical premiered in the West End at the Coliseum Theatre on March 30, 1944 and closed on May 20, 1944. It starred Evelyn Dall (Blossom), Daphne Barker (Chiquita), Bobby Wright (Harry), Leigh Stafford (Rocky) and Jack Billings (Laddie).

The most recent production of the show opened its curtains in Winona Lake, Indiana in May 2013 and was performed on the Rodeheaver Auditorium stage.

Three cousins inherit a Texas ranch that is next to a military base. Blossom Hart is a worker in the war department, Chiquita Hart is a night club dancer/singer, and Harry Hart is a carnival pitchman. Although none of the cousins know each other, they join together to convert the ranch into a boarding house for soldiers' wives. However, Lieutenant Colonel Grubbs thinks the activities at the house are suspicious and he tries to close it down. Meanwhile, Blossom and Rocky Fulton, a bandleader in the Army band, begin a romance, much to the displeasure of his fiance, Melanie.

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