Let's Face It!

SAN FRANCISCO (19 August 1999) -- 42nd Street Moon, one of the country's first companies dedicated to concert presentations of "lost" musicals, presents LET'S FACE IT, Cole Porter's 1941 wartime hit which made a star of Danny Kaye. LET'S FACE IT!, directed by Roy Casstevens with music direction by Scrumbly Koldewyn, plays September 29 (press opening: October 1) through October 17 at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center. For tickets ($12-22), the public can call 415/861-8972.

In this toe-tapping musical version of THE CRADLE SNATCHERS, with book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, three bored wives decide to spice up their lives by hiring three young soldiers to step out with them, with hilarious results. Originally starring Eve Arden, Edith Meiser, and Vivian Vance, the show also introduced a young Danny Kaye, fresh from his success in LADY IN THE DARK the previous season. At its opening, Walter Winchell of the Mirror cheered, "so funny is the fun, so hilarious the hell-raising and so smart, snappy and snazzy are the show-stoppers ... a leader among the hits." The New York Times raved, "Everything about 'Let's Face It!' is bright and brisk and continuously enjoyable ... a wonderfully joyous musical show." The snappy score includes the songs "Let's Not Talk About Love," "A Lady Needs a Rest," "Ev'rything I Love," "You Irritate Me So," "A Little Rumba Numba," and "Ace in the Hole."

LET'S FACE IT! marked the first time that brother and sister team Herbert and Dorothy Fields worked together. Each had earned a name for themselves in the theatre -- Herbert had, by 1941, written a dozen musical plays including DEAREST ENEMY, A CONNECTICUT YANKEE, HIT THE DECK, FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN and DUBARRY WAS A LADY, and Dorothy had written lyrics for the hit revue BLACKBIRDS OF 1928 and STAR IN YOUR EYES (1939), and won an Academy Award for "The Way You Look Tonight," written with Jerome Kern. Starting with LET'S FACE IT!, the siblings teamed up with composers such as Irving Berlin and Cole Porter to create many wonderful works, such as SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS (1943), MEXICAN HAYRIDE (1944), UP IN CENTRAL PARK (1945), ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1946), ARMS AND THE GIRL (1950), BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA (1954), and REDHEAD (1959).

LET'S FACE IT audiences can enjoy the talents of a few familiar faces, including Bill Fahrner (seen as the Dauphin in GOODTIME CHARLEY, as Slick Fothergil in GIRL CRAZY, and both the stage production and the recording of SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS), Lesley Hamilton (who starred as Essie Whimple in REDHEAD, and as Chiquita on stage and on the recording of SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS), Lisa Peers (who appeared in GIRL CRAZY, FACE THE MUSIC, GOODTIME CHARLEY, and I'D LIKE TO HIDE IT), and Robin Steeves (most recently seen as Marie, the patient secretary in FIORELLO!). Fahrner's soldier cohorts will be played by Kirk Mills and Christian Cagigal. Joining them will be the talents of Karen Walsh, Jimmy Gartly, Sarah Jebian, Arwen Anderson, Richard Pardini, Lianne Marie Dobbs, Nick Hoffa, and Henry Sellenthin.