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Leave It To Me!

Full-Length Musical, Comedy  /  8w, 8m

Book by Bella and Sam Spewack / Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

This satirical musical comedy follows the antics of a reluctant American ambassador to Stalinist Russia just before the beginning of World War II.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    8w, 8m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Leave It To Me!

Details

Summary
Leave It To Me! follows the antics of a reluctant American ambassador to Stalinist Russia just before the beginning of World War II. The show features such memorable Cole Porter numbers as “Get Out Of Town” and “My Heart Belongs To Daddy.”
History
Leave  It To Me! opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on November 9, 1938, starring William Gaxton, Victor Moore, Sophie Tucker and - in her Broadway debut - Mary Martin. The production ran for 291 performances.
Bathtub manufacturer Alonzo P. Goodhue, socially and politically the best horseshoe pitcher in Topeka, Kansas, is appointed U.S. Ambassador to Russia, largely through the manueverings of his ambitious wife. An envious J. H. Brody, publisher of the Paris and Chicago World-Tribune, orders his best correspondent, Buckley Thomas, to see that Goodhue is disgraced and recalled. As it turns out, the unassuming Goodhue is himself anxious to be shipped home, and so he and Thomas join forces. Goodhue delivers an antagonistic speech, kicks the German Ambassador in the belly, and atttempts to assassinate a Prince — and in each case he is proclaimed a hero. Finally, Thomas, realizing that only good deeds go unrewarded, has Goodhue deliver an optimistic speech expressing hope for a unified world. Goodhue is promptly recalled. Other characters include Colette, Thomas' old flame, and Dolly, an incorrigible flirt.

Principals
(3 female; 2 male)

Mrs. Goodhue, a middle-aged woman
Colette, a young and pretty newspaper woman
Dolly Winslow, a young attractive night club singer

Buckley Joyce Thomas, a fast-talking newspaperman
Alonzo P. Goodhue, a short middle-aged man

Supporting Singer/Dancers

Mrs. Goodhue's Daughters: five girls, from age 16 up; specialty dancers
Secretaries to Mr. Goodhue: all young men; specialty dancers

Others

First Secretary, a young girl
Second Secretary, a young girl
First Reporter, a young man
Second Reporter, a young man
J. H. Brody, a tall, middle-aged distinguished poop
Jerry Grainger, a young diplomat
Prince Alexander Tomofsky, a middle-aged man; should be Russian, must be able to speak English
French Conductor, a middle-aged man with accent
Reporter, a young man
Photographer, a middle-aged man
Chauffeur, a young American chauffeur
Kostya, a Russian interpreter and must be able to speak Russian and good English
Military Attache, a young man
Naval Attache, a young man
Secretaries, two young men
Decorators, two young men
Peasant, a heavy set middle-aged Russian and must be able to speak English
Sosanoff, a worker, a Russian Communistic type, and must be able to speak good English
Waiters, two young men
German Ambassador, a large, heavy-set man with German accent
French Ambassador, a distinguished looking man about forty-five, wearing a Van dyke, and with accent
Litvian Minister, a large heavy-set man, middle-aged and with accent
Italian Ambassador, a rather distinguished looking man of thirty-five and with accent
British Ambassador, an elderly looking Englishman
Mackenzie, a young looking Englishman
Graustein, a middle-aged Russian with accent and must be able to speak good English
Folkin, another Russian about the same as Graustein. Doesn't have to speak lines
Secretary to Foreign Minister, a young man, no speaking lines
Foreign Minister, a tall, very distinguished middle-aged Russian and must be able to speak good English
Stalin, to be made up as an exact replica
Yogi Ambassador

  • Time Period 1910s/WWI
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)

Music

Act I

"How Do You Spell Ambassador?" - Reporters
"We Drink to You, J.H. Hardy" - Buckley Joyce Thomas & Guests
"Vite, Vite, Vite" - Porters & Girls
"I'm Taking the Steps to Russia" - Mrs. Goodhue, Daughters, Secretaries & Les Girls
"Get Out of Town" - Colette
"When It's All Said and Done" - Buckley Joyce Thomas, Dolly Winslow & Les Girls
"Comrade Alonzo" - Ensemble

Act II

"From Now On" - Buckley Joyce Thomas & Colette
"I Want to Go Home" - Alonzo P. Goodhue
"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" - Dolly Winslow
"Tomorrow" - Mrs. Goodhue & Ensemble
"Far, Far Away" - Buckley Joyce Thomas & Colette
"From the U.S.A. to the U.S.S.R." - Alonzo P. Goodhue, Mrs. Goodhue & Daughters

Full Orchestration:
Piano
  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Moderate
  • Vocal DemandsDifficult
  • Orchestra Size Piano Only
  • Chorus Size Large

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

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43 Libretto
43 Piano-Conductor

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Authors

Bella Spewack

Bella Spewack (1899-1990) and Samuel Spewack (1899-1971) met while working as journalists and married in 1922. Bella’s youth was chronicled in Streets: A Memoir of the Lower East Side (1995, Feminist Press). Their first play, Solitaire Man, premiered in 1926. Clear All Wires ...

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Samuel Spewack

Samuel Spewack (1899-1971) and Bella Spewack (1899-1990) met while working as journalists and married in 1922. Bella’s youth was chronicled in Streets: A Memoir of the Lower East Side (1995, Feminist Press). Their first play, Solitaire Man, premiered in 1926. Clear All Wires ...

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Cole Porter

Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana in 1891 and died in Hollywood 73 years later. In between, he wrote some of the most memorable songs ever heard on stage or screen, among them “Night and Day,” “Begin the Beguine,” “You’re The Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Love For Sal ...

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