Let's Face It!

<h2 id="plot">Plot</h2>
<p>Three suspicious wives, Maggie Watson, Nancy Collister and Cornelia Pigeon, invite three <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">Army</a> inductees to Maggie's summer house in <a href="/facts/Southampton_(town),_New_York/2PMWdzqL">Southampton</a> on <a href="/facts/Long_Island/u42NF647">Long Island</a> in order to make their husbands jealous. Jerry Walker is engaged to Winnie Potter, and, because he needs the money, agrees to the plot. The wives' philandering husbands leave on yet another camping trip.  Winnie, hearing of Jerry's involvement, brings in two friends (who are actually girlfriends of the other two soldiers) to pretend to be interested in the older men. The husbands actually do go fishing.  Winnie and her friends crash Maggie's party and the husbands unexpectedly return home.
</p>
<h2 id="song-list">Song list</h2>

<table><tbody><tr><td>Act I<ul><li>"Milk, Milk, Milk" – Ensemble</li><li>"A Lady Needs a Rest" – Maggie, Nancy, Cornelia</li><li>"Jerry, My Soldier Boy" – Winnie</li><li>"Let's Face It" – The Royal Guards</li><li>"Farming" – Jerry, Frankie, Eddie, Muriel, Jean, Ensemble</li><li>"Ev'rything I Love" – Jerry and Winnie</li><li>"<a href="/facts/Ace_in_the_Hole_(Cole_Porter_song)/QkX3FdwU">Ace in the Hole</a>" – Winnie, Muriel, Jean, Ensemble</li><li>"You Irritate Me So" – Jean and Eddie</li><li>"Baby Games" – Jerry, Maggie, Frankie, Cornelia, Nancy, Eddie</li><li>"A Fairy Tale" – Jerry</li><li>"Rub Your Lamp" – Winnie</li></ul></td><td>Act II<ul><li>"I've Got Some Unfinished Business with You" – Winnie, Jean, Muriel, Dorothy, Gloria, Julian,  Judge Pigeon</li><li>"Let's Not Talk About Love" – Jerry</li><li>"Let's Talk About Love" – Maggie</li><li>"A Little Rumba Numba" – The Royal Guards, Madge, Mary, Billy</li><li>"I Hate You, Darling" – Nancy, George, Jerry, Maggie</li><li>"Melody in Four F" – Jerry</li><li>"Get Yourself a Girl" – The Royal Guards</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>"A Fairy Tale" and "Melody in Four F" were written by <a href="/facts/Sylvia_Fine/2lWX87p4">Sylvia Fine</a> and Max Liebman. Both were dropped later in the run, and "Melody in Four F" was replaced by "It Ain't Etiquette" from <i><a href="/facts/Du_Barry_Was_a_Lady/eJssjqo7">Du Barry Was a Lady</a></i>.
</p>
<h2 id="productions">Productions</h2>
<p>The original production was directed by Edgar MacGregor and choreographed by <a href="/facts/Charles_Walters/spPWvQuh">Charles Walters</a>. After a tryout at the <a href="/facts/Colonial_Theatre_(Boston,_Massachusetts)/kYpg6fBU">Colonial Theatre</a> in <a href="/facts/Boston/exjfn6xf">Boston</a>, the musical opened on <a href="/facts/Broadway_theatre/6USkK8x9">Broadway</a> at the <a href="/facts/Imperial_Theatre_(Broadway)/zw6qu3lT">Imperial Theatre</a> on October 29, 1941, and closed on March 20, 1943, after 547 performances. The cast included <a href="/facts/Danny_Kaye/dDyKPglX">Danny Kaye</a> as Jerry Walker, <a href="/facts/Eve_Arden/bALfUy60">Eve Arden</a> as Maggie Watson, <a href="/facts/Edith_Meiser/YnH3m419">Edith Meiser</a> as Cornelia Abigail Pigeon, <a href="/facts/Vivian_Vance/zyhS2hol">Vivian Vance</a> as Nancy Collister, Benny Baker, Mary Jane Walsh as Winnie Potter, and <a href="/facts/Nanette_Fabray/zUeNSKtL">Nanette Fabray</a>. The cast also featured a then unknown <a href="/facts/Carol_Channing/K6W8mAjU">Carol Channing</a> as Eve Arden's understudy. Danny Kaye had made his successful debut earlier in the year in <i><a href="/facts/Lady_in_the_Dark/kUfhTRqj">Lady in the Dark</a></i>, and Porter allowed the actor's wife, Sylvia Fine, to add two comedy numbers into the score for him to sing. Later in the run, <a href="/facts/Carol_Goodner/YM87z9QB">Carol Goodner</a> replaced Eve Arden and <a href="/facts/Jos%C3%A9_Ferrer/BlzC8pwy">José Ferrer</a> replaced Kaye.
</p><p>Tryouts in the UK began on June 23, 1942, at the Palace Theatre in <a href="/facts/Manchester/2Do01QHs">Manchester</a>, England. The <a href="/facts/West_End_theatre/dWqroVfz">West End</a> production opened on November 19, 1942, at the <a href="/facts/Hippodrome,_London/c9UCE6jG">Hippodrome Theatre</a> and ran for 348 performances. It was directed by Bobby Howell and choreographed by Joan Davis. The cast included <a href="/facts/Bobby_Howes/ytmFl89a">Bobby Howes</a> as Jerry Walker and <a href="/facts/Pat_Kirkwood_(actress)/hRuQ05bn">Pat Kirkwood</a> as Winnie Potter.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a>
</p><p>An Australian production played from November 1943 to January 1944 at <a href="/facts/Her_Majesty%27s_Theatre,_Melbourne/YKvkU9Mx">His Majesty's Theatre</a> in Melbourne.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
</p><p>42nd Street Moon in <a href="/facts/San_Francisco/cb9l7hbC">San Francisco</a>, California, presented a staged concert version of the show in October 1999.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>  Musicals Tonight!, New York City, presented a staged concert version in May 2006.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="film-and-television-versions">Film and television versions</h2>
<p>A <a href="/facts/Let%27s_Face_It_(film)/ksd1qN7I">1943 screen adaptation</a> featured <a href="/facts/Bob_Hope/TUGb7Mgb">Bob Hope</a> and <a href="/facts/Betty_Hutton/dt9k3bU9">Betty Hutton</a>. Although the plot remained the same, most of the Porter score was replaced by songs by other composers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
</p><p>A made-for-television live broadcast of the show was presented on the <a href="/facts/NBC/zyfTYCvW">NBC</a> television network on November 21, 1954 on <i><a href="/facts/The_Colgate_Comedy_Hour/NbWQaAwb">The Colgate Comedy Hour</a></i>, with <a href="/facts/Bert_Lahr/QaURv2Ah">Bert Lahr</a> as Frankie Burns / Aunt Pamela Burns, <a href="/facts/Vivian_Blaine/VhKdwMmx">Vivian Blaine</a> as Winnie Potter, <a href="/facts/Gene_Nelson/Pln6yfyq">Gene Nelson</a> as Jerry Walker, and <a href="/facts/Betty_Furness/TkuKNsp0">Betty Furness</a> as Maggie Watson.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="response">Response</h2>
<p><a href="/facts/Stephen_Citron/wT5ConDy">Stephen Citron</a> wrote in 2005: "No one ever has ever called <i>Let's Face It</i> a great musical. Nor did anyone expect it to be the smash hit that it was, least of all its producer. Freedley was not deceived into complacency when in <i>The New Yorker</i> Wolcott Gibbs called it 'brilliant foolishness', or <i>Life Magazine</i> dubbed it the season's 'smash' and declared, 'Porter has come out of his slump.'  He knew it was the stars, especially Danny Kaye's brilliant double-talk routines, and the wartime escape atmosphere that filled the theatre nightly."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a>
</p>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/1123"><i>Let's Face It!</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Broadway_Database/BwBDHXna">Internet Broadway Database</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/letsface.html"><i>Let's Face It</i> at sondheimguide.com</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6T-7jLRKCA"><i>Let's Face It</i> film clip</a> on <a href="/facts/YouTube_video_(identifier)/db276jst">YouTube</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>London Production at Sondheimguide.com <a href="http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/letsfaceuk.html" target="_blank">http://www.sondheimguide.com/porter/letsfaceuk.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"AMUSEMENTS". The Age. No. 27641. Victoria, Australia. 22 November 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia. <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206362233" target="_blank">http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206362233</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"LET'S FACE IT". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 380. Victoria, Australia. 10 January 1944. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia. <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11803098" target="_blank">http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11803098</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>'Let's Face It' listing Archived 2003-01-07 at the Wayback Machine 42ndstmoon.org, retrieved January 19, 2010 <a href="http://42ndstmoon.org/Schedule/letsfaceit.html" target="_blank">http://42ndstmoon.org/Schedule/letsfaceit.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Connema, Richard.Review talkinbroadway.com, retrieved January 19, 2010 <a href="http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/sanfran/s33.html" target="_blank">http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/sanfran/s33.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Listing Archived 2010-10-22 at the Wayback Machine musicalstonight.org, retrieved January 19, 2010 <a href="http://www.musicalstonight.org/ARCHletsfaceit.html" target="_blank">http://www.musicalstonight.org/ARCHletsfaceit.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Internet Movie Database listing, Let's Face It, 1943 imdb.com, accessed August 25, 2009 <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036105/" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036105/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>Internet Movie Database listing, Let's Face It, 1954 imdb.com, accessed August 25, 2009 <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0812113/" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0812113/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>Citron, Stephen. Noel & Cole: the Sophisticates. Hal Leonard Corporation (2005). ISBN 0-634-09302-9, p. 189 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Let's Face It! open-in-new

Let's Face It!