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George Gershwin

A Dangerous Maid

A Dangerous Maid is a musical with a book by Charles William Bell, music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin (writing under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis"). The script is based on Bell's

Plot#

Elsie Crofton, age eighteen, is a former chorus girl. She has given up the stage to elope with wealthy, spoiled, but good-hearted Harry Hammond, the son of a government contractor. Harry’s parents, Phillip and Eleanor, his sister Margery and her fiancé Fred Blakely consider Elsie dangerous to their social position and oppose the marriage. They arrange for Harry to go to a family construction site, to interrupt the honeymoon, and send Elsie to stay at their summer home, where their family friends Alfie and Anne Westford are also staying. The family plans to destroy the marriage by placing Elsie in a compromising position with the willing and eager Fred. Anne also reveals her prejudices against Elsie. Elsie soon grasps the situation and decides to take action. She flirts with all the men, which dismays her visiting husband, but she gains the sympathies of Phillip, Fred and Alfie. Eleanor, Margery and Anne are furious, but Elsie reveals their scheme, and everybody reconciles.

Song list#

;Surviving songs from A Dangerous Maid *Just to Know You are Mine – Elsie *Some Rain Must Fall – Elsie *The Simple Life – Elsie and Fred Blakely *Dancing Shoes – Elsie and Fred *Boy Wanted – Chorus Girls *The Sirens – Chorus Girls *Anything for You – Fred and Margery ;Songs from Elsie ;Act 1 *A Regular Guy – Parker and Girls *One Day in May – Girls *Hearts in Tune – Harry Hammond and Elsie *Elsie – Elsie *My Crinoline Girl – Harry, Elsie, Girls and Four Crinoline Girl Dancers ;Act 2 *I’d Like to Walk with a Pal Like You – Elsie and Fred *Two Lips Are Roses – Fred, Girls and Four Crinoline Girl Dancers *Baby Bunting – Margery Hammond and Fred *Honeymoon Home – Harry, Elsie and Girls *Sand Flowers – Elsie and Girls ;Act 3 *The Firefly – Elsie, Bunny and Girls *Symphonic Poem – Alfie Westford (music by Gene Salzer) *Everybody’s Strutting Now – Fred, Margery and Girls *Thunderstorm Jazz – Anne Westford, Alfie, Margery, Fred, Girls and Four Goblins *Clouds of Love – Elsie

Productions#

A Dangerous Maid debuted in Atlantic City on March 21, 1921, with the production designed by the Robert Law Studios and staged by Edgar MacGregor, with help from Eddie Leonard and Julian Alfred and musical direction by Harold Vicars. The show featured Juliette Day as Elsie, Creighton Hale as Harry, Frederic Burt as Philip, Amelia Bingham as Eleanor, Juanita Fletcher as Margery, Vinton Freedley as Fred, Arthur Shaw as Alfie, and Ada Meade as Anne. After Atlantic City, the show toured through Wilmington, Delaware, Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, receiving warm reviews. During the tour, Vivienne Segal replaced Juliette Day and MacGregor renamed the show Elsie. When the tour closed, MacGregor announced the show would be revised before any Broadway run.

In Season 2 of the television series Boardwalk Empire, Episode 3 takes its name from this musical, as a character rehearses for a role in A Dangerous Maid.

References#

*Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin: his life and work. University of California Press, 2006

Composer
George Gershwin