Ship Without a Sail by Gary Marmorstein

Author:Gary Marmorstein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

In Boston, as late as the day before the first tryout, Dick and Larry decided to excavate “There’s a Small Hotel” for On Your Toes. Although Larry still didn’t like the melody, he knew it would fit in the first act. “It was kind of cute yesterday when we played ‘Small Hotel’ for Ray,” Rodgers wrote to Dorothy. “He started to cry and ran off the stage. It was pretty un-goy-like.” 17

Bolger’s emotional reaction notwithstanding, there had been some ugliness involved in getting the music done. Wiman had agreed to the boys’ request to hire Hans Spialek, “the bouncing Czech,” to orchestrate the songs. Spialek, in turn, farmed out some of the work to two young men, Conrad Salinger and David Raksin. On one of the orchestrations, Raksin came across a chord change that made no harmonic sense to him, so he reversed the chords. Rodgers, hearing his song played back, was so incensed that he had Raksin fired. 18 Raksin wasted no time going to Los Angeles, finding employment at Universal Pictures, and helping Charlie Chaplin with the score for Modern Times, including the song “Smile.” (Salinger would go west shortly after that and, along with Roger Edens, create the sound of the MGM musical.)

Nothing in the Boston opening quite worked. The audience didn’t know what to make of Geva as a man-eating ballerina, and Gwen Rickard’s changes for the second act just lay there, flat-footed and limp. Larry had intended to ride home so he could wake up at the Beresford, however late in the day, but it was evident the show had to be revamped, so he took a room at the Ritz-Carlton, where Dick was staying, and stayed up till 4 A.M. discussing fixes with Dick, Wiman, and Worthington. 19

When the fixes failed, too, Rodgers wired Abbott in Palm Beach. IT’S YOUR SHOW, said the telegram, AND IT’S YOUR OBLIGATION TO COME AND PROTECT IT. 20

Abbott flew to Boston, saw the show without taking a single note, and met backstage with the others. When Rodgers suggested that they all repair to the hotel to discuss the problems, Abbott waved that away and said, “Let’s get some girls and go dancing.” 21

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