Panama Hattie

Original Stage Production

A Musical Comedy in Two Acts
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Herbert Fields and B. G. De Sylva

 

Tryouts began October 3, 1940 at the Shubert Theatre, New Haven
October 8, 1940 at the Shubert Theatre, Boston

 

Opened October 30, 1940 at the 46th Street Theatre, NYC
Closed January 3, 1942; Ran for 501 performances
Produced by B. G. De Sylva
Staged by Edgar MacGregor
Choreography by Robert Alton
Costumes and Set Designs by Raoul Pene du Bois
Vocal Arrangements by Lyn Murray
Orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett, Hans Spialek, Don Walker
Musical Direction by Gene Salzer

Synopsis

Hattie Maloney, a brassy nightclub singer in Panama, tries to fit into the upper-crust world of her fiance, Nick Bullett, an officer in the armed forces, and the divorced father of an 8-year-old child.  Hattie insists that he send for the girl before they are married, and spends most of Act I trying to get the child's endorsement of her as a prospective stepmother.  In Act II, she wins over Nick's boss, Whitney Randolph, by foiling a plot to blow up the canal.

Cast

Ethel Merman (Hattie Maloney), Arthur Treacher (Vivian Budd), Betty Hutton (Florrie), James Dunn (Nick Bullett), Phyllis Brooks (Leila Tree), Joan Carroll (Geraldine Bullett), Rags Ragland (Woozy Hogan), Pat Harrington (Skat Briggs), Frank Hyers (Windy Deegan), Conchita (Mrs. Gonzales), Eppy Pearson (Mac), Nadine Gae (Chiquita), Linda Griffith (Fruit Peddler), Roger Gerry (Tim), Raymond blaine (Tom), Ted Daniels (Ted), Lipman Duckat [Larry Douglas] (Ty), Elaine Shepard (Mildred Turner), Ann Graham (Kitty Belle Randolph), Al Downing (Pete), Hal Conklin (First Stranger), Frank De Ross (Second Stranger), Jack Donahue (Mike), and James Kelso (Whitney Randolph)

Musical Numbers

Act One

• Overture - Orchestra
• "A Stroll on the Plaza Sant' Ana" - Ensemble [alternate title: "Opening Act I, Scene 1"]
• "Join It Right Away" - Woozy, Skat, Windy, Ensemble
• "Visit Panama" - Hattie, Ensemble
• "My Mother Would Love You" - Hattie, Nick
• "I've Still Got My Health" - Hattie, Ensemble
• "Fresh as a Daisy" - Florrie, Skat, Windy
• "Welcome to Jerry" - Ensemble [probably dropped during the Broadway production]
• "Let's Be Buddies" - Hattie, Geraldine
• "They Ain't Done Right By Our Nell" - Florrie, Budd [dropped within a week of the Broadway opening]
• "I'm Throwing a Ball Tonight" - Hattie, Ensemble

Act Two

• Entr'acte - Orchestra
• "We Detest a Fiesta" - Ensemble
• "Who Would Have Dreamed?" - (Janis Carter), Ty
• "Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" - Hattie
• "All I've Got to Get Now is My Man" - Florrie, Ensemble
• "You Said It" - Hattie, Budd, Woozy, Skat, Windy
• "God Bless the Woman"- Woozy, Skat, Windy

Cut Songs

• "Here's to Panama Hattie" [dropped during rehearsals; intended for Nick]
• "Americans All Drink Coffee" [unused; intended for Budd]

Original Cast Recordings

"Let's Be Buddies" / "Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" - Ethel Merman [A-side with Joan Carroll]

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Decca 23199]

"My Mother Would Love You" / "I've Still Got My Health" - Ethel Merman

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Decca 23200]

 

These four recordings also comprised the following album:

• 78 RPM [2 discs], 1940 [Decca DA-203]
  
  
  
   

12 Songs from Call Me Madam
with Selections from Panama Hattie
- Ethel Merman

 

• Compact Disc, 1992 [MCA Classics MCAD-10521, includes the four songs above]
  
   

Contemporaneous Recordings

"Fresh as a Daisy" - Kay Kyser and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Columbia 35790]

"Let's Be Buddies" - Connie Boswell with the Harry Sosnik Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Decca 3478] Charted on December 28, 1940; peaked at #25

"Let's Be Buddies" - Les Brown

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Okeh 5937]

"Let's Be Buddies" - Eddie Duchin

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Columbia 35780]

"Let's Be Buddies" - Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Bluebird B-10923]

"Let's Be Buddies" / "Fresh as a Daisy" - Leo Reisman and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Victor 26797]

"Let's Be Buddies" / "My Mother Would Love You" - Ruby Newman and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Decca 3489]

"Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" / "My Mother Would Love You" - Leo Reisman and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Victor 27200]

"Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" - Mitchell Ayres and His Fashions in Music

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Bluebird B-10940]

"Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" - Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Columbia 35789]

"My Mother Would Love You" - Dick Jurgens and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Okeh 5871]

"My Mother Would Love You" - Freddy Martin and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Bluebird B-10921]

"Visit Panama" - Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1940 [Victor 27259]

Note: The original London production of Panama Hattie opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on November 4, 1943 and ran for 308 performances.

Go to the Film Version of Panama Hattie
Go to the Television Adaptation of Panama Hattie

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