Jerome Kern The Cabaret Girl The Ohio Light Opera Michael Borowitz CONDUCTOR Steven Daigle ARTISTIC DIRECTOR The Cabaret Girl Music......................................Jerome Kern PROGRAM NOTES...........................MICHAEL MILLER Lyrics...P.G. Wodehouse, George Grossmith Jerome Kern was born in New York City into a pros- Conductor........................Michael Borowitz perous, middle class Jewish-American family on Stage Director.........................Steven Daigle January 27, 1885 (Mozart’s birthday). Encouraged as a young boy by his mother to take up music, he wrote The Ohio Light Opera his first stage show, The Melodious Menu, while a Steven Daigle, Artistic Director student at Newark High School. Upon his return from CAST: music study in Germany in 1903, Kern published his Marilynn................................Lindsay O’Neil first song, “At the Casino,” and went to work with Jim........................................Stefan Gordon music publisher Max Dreyfus at T.B. Harms, a company Gripps........................................Jacob Allen in which (thanks to an inheritance) he soon thereafter Gravvins.................................Anthony Buck became a partner. Lady Harrogate.........................Julie Wright Musical theatre on Broadway in those days was Lord Harrogate.......................Ben Robinson sustained primarily by imports of European operettas Effie...........................................Ashly Evans and musical comedies, generally British or Viennese. To Quibb........................................Paul Hopper make these shows more palatable to American audi- Ada...........................Sahara Glasener-Boles ences, the scores were typically embellished with one Lily...........................................Karla Hughes or two newly written American-style songs. Kern’s Harry Zona................................Jon Gerhard earliest contribution to Broadway came in 1904 with April........................................Natalie Easter two such interpolations for a British import called An March.....................................Kelly Dainton English Daisy. The next year he achieved his first hit Feloosi.........................................Gary Moss song, “How’d you like to spoon with me?” inserted Miss Simmons........................Tania Mandzy into the Broadway version of The Earl and the Girl. It Miss Witmore......................Amanda Dahlin was not until 1911 and the Broadway show La Belle Vicar.........................................Jarvis Wyche Paree (featuring the debut of Al Jolson) that Kern first Housekeeper..............................Holly White got billing as a principal composer. CHORUS: In 1914 he contributed six numbers to The Girl Chelsea Basler, Amanda Dahlin, Kelly Dain- from Utah, another British import. With one of these ton, Marten Dollinger, Robin Farnsley, Carissa songs, “They didn’t believe me,” Kern single-handedly, Kett, Amanda Kingston, Joe Lenehan, Shane and overnight, propelled American musical theater Kingston Magargal, Rhea Miller, Philip McLeod, firmly into the twentieth century, freeing it from the Erica Post, Rebecca Spence, Todd Strange, European bonds that had governed its development Allison Toth, Jarvis Wyche. since the early days of John Philip Sousa (El Capitan) and Reginald de Koven (Robin Hood). Kern wrote The Cabaret Girl at the suggestion Between 1915 and 1919, in a series of of London producer George Grossmith (the son of shows (Nobody Home, Very Good Eddie, Oh, the celebrated Gilbert and Sullivan interpreter of Boy! and Oh, Lady! Lady!!) written for the the same name) who, teaming with famed literary Princess Theatre on 39th Street, Kern defined figure P. G. Wodehouse, provided the book and and re-defined his concept of an American lyrics. The show opened at London’s Winter musical tradition in which the storyline revolves Garden Theater on September 18, 1922, following not around dukes and princesses in exotic in the footsteps of its highly successful production locales, but rather everyday folks and their of Sally. It is no coincidence that The Cabaret Girl’s personal and romantic entanglements. female lead is named Marilynn Morgan—Broad- Over the next decade or so, in shows like way’s original Sally was Marilyn Miller, who had just Sally (1920) and Sunny (1925), Kern increas- recently dropped the second “n” from her name. ingly added rhythmic and harmonic sophis- The show ran for 361 performances and show- tication to his melodic well. In 1927 he cases both the unparalleled wit and sentimentality collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II on of Wodehouse and the inexhaustible melodic Show Boat, which in its integration of music genius of Jerome Kern. and drama and deft positioning between the high-handedness of operetta and the frivolity of the song and dance musical comedies of earlier years, represents the first true American musical play. Kern continued to explore the bounds of musical theatre—both the operetta and musical comedy varieties—on shows like The Cat and the Fiddle (1931), Music in the Air (1932), Roberta (1933) and Very Warm for May (1939). But his most lasting contributions from the final years of his life were the new songs he wrote both for film versions of his own shows and for original films. At the time of his death, he had agreed to write the music for a new show called Annie Oakley (eventually retitled as Annie Get Your Gun) that Rodgers and Hammerstein were producing. Jerome Kern (1885-1945) ■ 3 ■ FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR much-deserved rebirth for an appreciative For more than 30 years The Ohio Light Opera audience. This CD set will hopefully give the has been dedicated to producing, promoting and operetta aficionado a taste of what makes this preserving the best of the traditional operetta company unique. repertoire. In any summer season, close to 20,000 The support of the College of Wooster, its patrons come to hear and see more than sixty community and nearly 500,000 patrons who performances of seven productions on the have championed the company's dedication to beautiful campus of The College of Wooster in operetta have given OLO a reputation that Ohio. These shows offer the operetta fan a little reaches internationally. In no small way, Albany of everything: a well-known and lesser-known Records has added to the company’s success. Gilbert and Sullivan, a Viennese operetta, a The company and the operetta art form are French operetta, an American operetta and a indebted to John Ostendorf and Albany for revival of a long-forgotten work that is given a their commitment. Steven Daigle FROM THE PRODUCER Every summer for more than a decade, I’ve work by OLO’s Steve Daigle and Michael Miller looked forward to my trip out “west,” to the and the generosity of the Kern estate, we at still-surprising Ohio Light Opera, and its season last have the chance to present one of Jerome of musical delights. We’ve recorded a host of Kern’s brilliant shows. It was a blast to work on. brilliant musicals, but thanks to the exhaustive John Ostendorf The Cabaret Girl: Act III finale: “Dancing Time is any old time for me!” ■ 4 ■ impossible.You’d better write. (Two The Cabaret Girl customers enter.) Are you being attended ACT I—Offices of Music Publishers Gripps to, madam? and Gravvins, London LADY HARROGATE OVERTURE & OPENING CD I, Track 1 Not very. Have you “Soft Caresses” by CHORUS Track 2 Ivan Othello? (Shopgirls reading music manuscripts.) EFFIE “Love song is ended, Let me see. I think we have one copy Fires which we tended left. (calls off) Miss Simmons? Have left not a single ember. LADY HARROGATE Love’s flowers once cherished One copy will be quite sufficient. Long since have perished EFFIE In snows of December. Will that be all you require, madam? Yet though it die, LADY HARROGATE Lady Harrogate (Julie Wright) Leaves echoes sighing ‘Remember!’” That will be all for today. Will you put HARROGATE Though Fate may sever, this on my account? Lady Harrogate. That’s pretty seldom. You don’t get old We’ll hear them forever, you and I.” EFFIE (looks down at her desk) Jim up in this merry village unless he can (A customer plays Chopin at the piano. Yes, m’lady. Lady Harrogate, there is a help it. Well, good morning. The girls hum along.) Ah... message come through on the tele- LADY HARROGATE Chopin at one, Chopin at two, phone for your ladyship from a Mr. Oh, my dear boy, I had nearly forgotten Chopin at half-past three! James Paradene. the tickets. Oh, can’t you give the man a rest? LORD HARROGATE HARROGATE We wish he would disappear, Oh, James! Oh, yes, for tonight. Miss, what’s a Nobody wants him here. LADY HARROGATE good show to go and see? I know Top We find that kind of tune too slow. Oh yes, my nephew. He was to have to Bottom by heart. We’ve seen Roman We’re tired of Nevin, met us here by appointment at noon. Candles and Round in Bogey... Debussy, and Chauminade. EFFIE EFFIE Well, he is detained, but asks me to And for a change we want that lively, We have the best seats for everything. Rough, Irving Berlin stuff inform your ladyship that he will be here at twelve-thirty, unless you direct That has got some zip and go! SONG Track 4 him elsewhere. (They dance and laugh; a phone rings.) EFFIE, SHOPGIRLS LADY HARROGATE Just now the season’s at its height Oh, no. We have some other shopping DIALOGUE Track 3 With new productions every night. to do and will return. Please ask him to EFFIE (a secetary, answers) Each theatre’s crammed from stall to pit wait for us here. Yes? This is Gripps and Gravvins. Who For every show’s a hit, EFFIE do you want? Mr. Gravvins? I’ll see. Who And you can get a proper view, Oh, certainly, m’lady. Mr Paradene is a is that speaking? Sir Edward Who? Sir No matter where you sit. great friend of Mr. Gripps and often Edward Elgar? Well... Have you an You want the best seats. comes here when he is in town. appointment? No? Sorry. I’m afraid quite We have ‘em.