 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "I Married an Angel" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| I Married an Angel | |
|---|---|
 Original 1938 poster | |
| Music | Richard Rodgers |
| Lyrics | Lorenz Hart |
| Basis | Angyalt Vettem Felesegul, a Hungarian play byJános Vaszary |
| Productions | 1938Broadway 1942Film version |
I Married an Angel is a 1938 musical comedy byRodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwrightJános Vaszary, entitledAngyalt Vettem Felesegul. The book was byRichard Rodgers andLorenz Hart, with music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart. The story concerns a wealthy banker who, disillusioned with women, decides that the only mate for him would be an angel. An angel soon arrives, and he marries her, but finds out that her perfection and guilelessness are inconvenient.
A wealthyBudapest banker, Count Willie Palaffi, is love-weary. He ends his engagement to Anna Murphy, swearing that the only girl he could marry would be an angel. A real angel soon flies into his life, and he marries her. It turns out, however, that she is free of the human failings that permit people to tolerate each other. In particular, she is unable to fib. Her honesty alienates Willie'shigh society acquaintances and his biggest customer and causes arun on his bank. His sister, Countess Palaffi, saves the day by teaching the angel about the real world. She also bribes taxi drivers to make Willie's creditors late, so that he has time to save his bank. Willie and his now Earthier angel live happily ever after.
I Married an Angel opened at theShubert Theatre on May 11, 1938 and closed on February 25, 1939 after 338 performances, followed by an extensive tour. It was directed by newcomerJoshua Logan, with choreography byGeorge Balanchine, scenic design byJo Mielziner, and costume design by John Hambleton. The cast includedDennis King as Willi,Vera Zorina as Angel,Vivienne Segal as Peggy,Walter Slezak as Harry,Charles Walters as Peter and Audrey Christie as Anna.[1]
Two productions were mounted in 1964: one at Valley Forge Music Fair starringDon Ameche,Margaret Whiting andTaina Elg, and a second at the Royal Poinciana Plaza Playhouse starringElaine Stritch,Clifford David and Taina Elg. In 1977, the musical was produced at the Berskshire Theatre Festival starringPhyllis Newman,Terence Monk andValerie Mahaffey. New York staged readings were presented by the New Amsterdam Theatre Company (1986) with Phyllis Newman,Kurt Peterson, andKaren Ziemba; and by the Rodgers & Hart Rediscovered concert series (1995) withJason Graae,Kim Criswell,Victoria Clark andMarin Mazzie. The musical was also presented as a staged reading by San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon theatre company in 1995 and again in 2000[2] and by Musicals Tonight!, New York City, as a staged concert in 2000.[3]It was staged by New York City Center's "Encores!" in March 2019.
In 1942,MGM made the musical intoa musical film starringJeanette MacDonald andNelson Eddy, but as was invariably the case with film adaptations of Rodgers & Hart, the story is entirely different, and the songs are mostly not from the play. A 1952 radio production starredGordon MacRae andLucille Norman was also produced.
Note: The following earlier Rodgers and Hart songs were also included in the score: "Women Are Women", "Men of Milwaukee" and "Othello".
