- I'd Rather Be Right
Infobox Musical
name=I'd Rather Be Right
subtitle=
caption=
music=Richard Rodgers
lyrics=Lorenz Hart
book=Moss Hart andGeorge S. Kaufman
basis=
productions=1937 Broadway
awards="I'd Rather Be Right" is a musical comedy by
Moss Hart andGeorge S. Kaufman , with lyrics byLorenz Hart and music byRichard Rodgers and produced bySam H. Harris . It opened on Broadway at theAlvin Theatre onNovember 2 ,1937 , transferred to theMusic Box Theatre , and ran for 290 performances.It starred
George M. Cohan as Franklin Roosevelt. The musical is prominently featured in the1942 Cohan biopic "Yankee Doodle Dandy ", where it serves as a narrative bookend. Cagney, as FDR, performs a vigorous dance number in connection with the piece called "Off the Record", not possible in real life for the wheelchair-bound President.The story is a Depression-era political satire set in
New York City , about Washington politics and political figures, such as President Franklin Roosevelt. The plot centers on Peggy Jones (Joy Hodges) and her boyfriend, who needs a raise in order for them to get married. The President steps in and solves their dilemma.H. G. Wells wrote enthusiastically about the musical, and Cohan's performance as Roosevelt, in an article "The Fall in America 1937", published in "Collier's " on 28 January1938 and reprinted in his "World Brain " (1938).Musical numbers
;Act I
*"A Homogeneous Cabinet"--Cabinet Members
* "Have You Met Miss Jones? "--Peggy Jones and Phil Barker
* "Take and Take and Take"--The Judge's Girl and Ensemble
* "Spring in Vienna"--Tony
* "A Little Bit of Constitutional Fun"--The Judge's Girl and Ensemble
* "Sweet Sixty-Five"--Peggy Jones and Phil Barker
* "We're Going to Balance the Budget"--The President of the United States and Company;Act II
* "American Couple"--Ensemble
* "Labor Is the Thing"--James B. Maxwell and Ensemble
* "I'd Rather Be Right"--Peggy Jones, Phil Barker, The Judge's Girl, The President of the United States and Ensemble
* "Off the Record"--The President of the United States
* "A Baby Bond"--The Secretary of the TreasuryExternal links
* [http://www.ibdb.com/Show.asp?id=4619 Internet Broadway Database listing]
* [http://www.rnh.com/theatricals/show.php?show_id=26 Background from R&H Theatricals]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758329,00.html Time Magazine review, November 15, 1937]
* [http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journalarticles.php?issn=17503159&v=1&i=1&d=10.1386/smt.1.1.7/1 Essay on I'd Rather be Right in Studies in Musical Theatre, January 2007]
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