Le monde des musicals

Musical (1939)

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Musique: Richard Rodgers •
Paroles: Lorenz M. Hart •
Livret: George Milton •
Production à la création:

Richard Rodgers et Lorenz Hart s’amusent avec Too Many Girls, un musical à l’ancienne avec un livret de George Marion Jr., et une mise en scène de George Abbott. L’histoire familière était parsemée de moments comiques, de personnages colorés, d’une partition animée et des personnages principaux attachants, et le cadre de l’université a fait penser au succès de Good News () (1927) et l’intrigue était un peu une réminiscence de Girl Crazy ().
Le musical a reçu des critiques enthousiastes et s'est joué à Broadway pendant sept mois; il s'est ensuite joué à Chicago pendant deux mois; et seulement six mois après la fermeture de Broadway la version du film était dans les cinémas.

L’intrigue de Too Many Girls est merveilleusement stupide, mais rappelons-nous qu'elle date de 1939 et que ce sont encore les années innocentes en Amérique, même si une guerre fait rage en Europe. Le musical suit les aventures de Connie Casey (Cynthia Myers), une riche héritière américaine "pleine d’entrain" qui vient de rentrer d’une série d’aventures sulfureuse en Europe. Connie décide de retourner à l’université. Elle choisit l’Alma matter de son père, le Pottawatomie College au Nouveau-Mexique. Mais, Harvey Casey (Don Cima) veut être sûr que Connie ne sombre pas dans le "mal", alors il engage quatre footballeurs professionnels comme gardes du corps. Les joueurs de football sont le beau et romantique Clint Kelly (Joshua Powell), l'argentin fou des femmes Manuelito (Kieran Chavez), le second couteau Al Terwilliger (Matthew Hutchens) et le petit comique Jojo Jordan (Christian Cagigal). Connie ne sait pas que ces hommes sont des gardes du corps.

Les joueurs apprennent que le collège est en difficulté financière et ils décident d'abandonner leurs salaires au collège. Ils découvrent également que le collège n’a pas gagné un match de football dans leur histoire de 75 ans. Ils se joignent à l’équipe. Soudain (cela ne pouvait arriver que dans une comédie musicale des années '30), l’équipe devient l’équipe numéro 1 en Amérique. Pendant ce temps, Clint tombe amoureux de Connie et vice versa. Vers la fin du musical, Connie découvre que Clint est payé par son père, et elle exige que les quatre joueurs l’accompagnent à New York la nuit avant le dernier grand match. Vont-ils partir? Clint sera pardonné? Aurons-nous une fin heureuse?? Bien sûr – nous sommes en 1939.

Millionaire Harvey Casey (Harry Shannon) is looking for a bodyguard to keep his beautiful, but ill-tempered and unruly daughter Connie (Lucille Ball), out of trouble. At a quaint little restaurant called the Hunted Stag he offers the job to one of the waiters, Clint Kelly (Richard Carlson), a football hero at Princeton working there during his summer break. He turns down the job at first, because he wants to finish college - but all that changes when he sees Connie. She’s just arrived back in the States from Europe and her father is alarmed to see that his usually frigid daughter has turned into a sweet-tempered, charming young lady. He's even more alarmed when she announces she’s decided what college she wants to attend: his alma mater, Pottawatomie, a small college on the Mexican border he had attended before earning his millions. He suspects there's a man involved and actually he's right. Connie wants to go to Pottawatomie to be near her new boyfriend, a writer named Beverly Waverly (Douglas Walton).
This changes the situation a bit. Now if Clint becomes Connie's bodyguard he will get to finish school - at Pottawatomie - and now that he has seen the body he'll be guarding - he delightedly accepts the job offer. Connie's not to know anything about it. She's to be watched from afar and he must see to it that she doesn't get into trouble. A few of Clint’s fellow football star pals (having seen Connie) also want to get in on the act and volunteer their services, offering day and night service. Though she doesn’t know it, Connie now has four bodyguards; Clint, Jojo Jordan (Eddie Bracken), Al Terwilliger (Harold LeRoy) and Argentine football star, Manuelito Lynch (Desi Arnaz).

As the fall semester nears, Connie and the four bodyguards are off to Pottawatomie. We find out early on that Pottawatomie is not your typical university. Extracurricular activities and the opposite sex are on everyone’s mind much more than their studies, and the most peculiar thing of all: the girls at Pottawatomie wear beanies on their heads to show if she does or doesn’t “neck”. If they’re wearing their beanie, they don’t. The boys get along great at their new college, which has ten girls to every one guy. They’re all very content.

So, as Manuelito, Jojo and Al make new friends among the co-eds, Clint gets to know Connie, on a friendship basis since she doesn't know he’s actually her bodyguard. When the boys took on the job they had to agree to an “Anti-Romantic Clause”, “wherein the guardians of the body agree to maintain a strictly hands-off policy” when it comes to Connie. As he and Connie get better acquainted, living up to the clause gets harder and harder for Clint, and it doesn’t take long for Connie to get over old Beverly Waverly and turn her affections to Clint.

Meanwhile, Manuelito, tired of watching Pottawatomie’s football team (the worst in the country) lose, gives in to the urge to help them out. He and the boys had decided not to play so as to remain as low profile as possible in order to do their job, but he just couldn't resist. Soon the others can’t help themselves either and they get in on the act too. Now that four of the best players in college football are on the team, Pottawatomie starts winning game after game and becomes the best in the country.

While all this is going on, Clint and Connie have fallen in love, so he can see no other solution than to send Mr. Casey his resignation. Now that he’s in love, he can’t very well keep up the charade any longer. He wants to come clean to Connie about everything so they can move on from there. But Connie also has a message for her father - she sends him a telegram telling all about this wonderful man she’s met named Clint Kelly. Unfortunately she gets a response to her telegram before Clint gets a chance to tell her the truth. The telegram she receives tells all about Clint and the others. She’s hurt but hides these feelings by going back to being her old ill-tempered self and seeking vengeance instead. She insists they leave Pottawatomie that very night, despite the fact that they have the biggest football game of the season to play in the next day, but she doesn’t care about that. All she knows is that she wants to “leave Pottawatomie with its faintly humiliating memories at once”. It’s part of their job to return Connie home safely so they’re obligated to go back with her.

Word spreads like wildfire, when the rest of Pottawatomie (many of whom stand to lose money if they don’t win) hears their four football stars are running out on them the night before the big game, the boys have to suffer their wrath. The people form a mob to keep them at Pottawatomie. Clint, Al, Jojo and Manuelito try to make a run for it but there’s too many after them. Manuelito is caught. The other three get away but the school is surrounded by desert so they end up running through the cacti all night. When Connie sees the mob after them she finally sees the error of her ways. It was her own antics that caused her to need a bodyguard in the first place. She still loves Clint and spends the whole night looking for him.

The next day the football game goes on as scheduled. Manuelito’s in and Connie’s ex-boyfriend, Beverly Waverly, delivers the other three to the field just before the game. (In their wanders through the desert they ended up at his place). The crowd’s enthusiasm goes through the roof. Connie apologizes (for the first time in her life) and they make up before the game. She gives him her blessing to play and they have their best game ever. Pottawatomie wins by a landslide. Afterwards everyone celebrates by having a big fiesta with Manuelito leading the conga line and playing his drum. The whole crowd dance to the music and the celebration goes far into the night. Clint and Connie are reunited, and Jojo, Al and Manuelito make female friends of their own as well.

Acte I
“Heroes in the Fall” (James Wilkinson, Squad)
“Tempt Me Not” (Desi Arnaz, Richard Kollmar, Co-eds; danced by Hal LeRoy and Mildred Law)
“My Prince” (Marcy Wescott)
“Pottawatomie” (Clyde Fillmore, Hans Robert)
“Pottawatomie” (reprise) (Ensemble, Male Quartette);“’Cause We Got Cake” (Mary Jane Walsh; danced by Specialty Girls, Co-eds, Students)
“Love Never Went to College” (Marcy Wescott, Richard Kollmar)
“Spic and Spanish” (aka “All Dressed Up Spic and Spanish”) (Diosa Costello, Company; danced by Specialty Girls and Ensemble)
“I Like to Recognize the Tune” (Eddie Bracken, Marcy Wescott, Mary Jane Walsh, Richard Kollmar, Hal LeRoy)
“Look Out” (Mary Jane Walsh, Company; danced by Diosa Costello, Desi Arnaz, Company)

Acte II
“The Sweethearts of the Team” (Mary Jane Walsh, Co-eds)
“She Could Shake the Maracas” (Diosa Costello, Desi Arnaz)
“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (Marcy Wescott, Richard Kollmar)
“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (comic reprise) (Eddie Bracken)
“Spic and Spanish” (reprise) (Diosa Costello, Marcy Wescott, Mary Jane Walsh, Hal LeRoy, Richard Kollmar, Leila Ernst; danced by Dancing Co-eds and Students)
“Too Many Girls” (Desi Arnaz; danced by Specialty Girls and Co-eds)
“Give It Back to the In- dians” (Mary Jane Walsh; danced by Hal LeRoy, Students)

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Too Many Girls

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Too Many Girls