Editing High Button Shoes

{{Short description|Musical}}
{{Infobox Musical
|name= High Button Shoes
|subtitle=
|image= High Button Shoes 1947 Broadway.jpg
|caption= 1947 Original Broadway Production Poster
|music= [[Jule Styne]] 
|lyrics= [[Sammy Cahn]] 
|book= [[Stephen Longstreet]]<br>[[George Abbott]] 
|basis= Novel by [[Stephen Longstreet]]<br>''[[The Sisters Liked Them Handsome]]'' 
|productions= 1947 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]<br>1948 [[West End theatre|West End]]<br>1956 Television<br>1982 [[Goodspeed Opera House]]<br>2007 Goodspeed Opera House
<!-- Please do not include production-specific (acting, directing, etc.) awards -->
|awards= 
}}

'''''High Button Shoes''''' is a  1947 [[musical theater|musical]] with music by [[Jule Styne]], lyrics by [[Sammy Cahn]] and book by [[George Abbott]] and [[Stephen Longstreet]]. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel ''The Sisters Liked Them Handsome'' by [[Stephen Longstreet]].  The story concerns the comic entanglements of the Longstreet family with two con men in [[Atlantic City]].

The musical opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1947 (running for 727 performances), and in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1948, and has had several regional revivals as well as being televised in 1956.

==History==
Many involved with ''High Button Shoes'' were Broadway first-timers or relatively unknown, except for the director, [[George Abbott]].  The creative team, composer [[Jule Styne]], lyricist [[Sammy Cahn]] and writer [[Stephen Longstreet]] had worked in Hollywood, as had the producers Monte Proser and Joseph Kipness (who had also produced several short-lived Broadway shows) and actors [[Phil Silvers]], who was known for his on-screen con-man persona, and [[Nanette Fabray]]. The designers [[Oliver Smith (designer)|Oliver Smith]] and [[Miles White]] and choreographer [[Jerome Robbins]] were all Broadway veterans.  Rumors circulated that the book by Longstreet was "hopeless" and that Abbott and Silvers were "heavily rewriting" it.  The [[Shuberts Organization|Shuberts]], involved because the show was to play in one of their theaters, approved an increase in Abbott's percentage to include author's royalties.<ref>Mordden, Ethan (1999). ''Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s''. Oxford University Press US. {{ISBN|0-19-512851-6}}, pp. 205, 221</ref>  Historian [[Ken Mandelbaum]] agrees that the show's book was originally by Longstreet but that it was extensively rewritten by Abbott.<ref>Mandelbaum, Ken. [http://www.broadway.com/buzz/10795/cds-papa-wont-you-dance-with-me/ "CDs: Papa, Won't You Dance with Me?"] broadway.com, March 30, 2005, retrieved June 7, 2010</ref>

==Synopsis==
In [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]] in 1913, the Longstreet family, consisting of Mama, Papa, Mama's younger sister Fran, and her college boyfriend Oggle, is affected when a con man, Harrison Floy, and his shill, Mr. Pontdue, come to town. The duos' dubious intentions are made clear as Floy pitches "snake-oil" schemes ("He Tried to Make a Dollar") including selling fake watches and diamond mines, and the shill Mr. Pontdue asks for ''two.'' They are chased by the police, and the phony scheme is repeated. After they cheat the Longstreets in a phony land deal, Floy and Pontdue try to escape to [[Atlantic City]], New Jersey with their ill-gotten profits and also take Fran (who has become romantically involved with Floy) with them. 
[[File:High Button Shoes 1948.JPG|thumb|Scene from the Broadway play in 1948]]
As the con men Floy and Pontdue are pursued to the Atlantic City beach while carrying a satchel full of stolen money, the people on the beach dance around them ("The Bathing Beauty Ballet"). They tangle with a large number of people—including bathing beauties, lifeguards, other criminals, identical twins—and one gorilla. The climax occurs when the [[Keystone Cops]] arrive, and Floy loses everything when he bets on the wrong football team. But after his being captured we learn that Pontdue has bet on not a football team, but a filly named "Princeton." Floy gives the conned citizens their money back, but before he leaves tries to get the audience to buy one more item of "great worth..."

==Dance elements==
The highlight of the original production was a long (7- to 10-minute) ensemble dance number ("The Bathing Beauty Ballet", to the song "On a Sunday by the Sea") at the beginning of the second act. Choreographer Robbins staged this number in the manner of a [[Mack Sennett]] silent slapstick film. It uses the music of "On A Sunday By the Sea", Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, and Offenbach's ''can-can'' from ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]''.  "This number was so basic to the show that deleting it would render the evening incoherent. It was a major evocation of a period, a tribute to silent-film comedy."<ref>Mordden, p. 210</ref>  [[Amanda Vaill]], in her biography of Robbins, describes this dance number: "The actors careen across the stage, in and out of a row of boardwalk bathhouses, slamming doors, falling, rolling, leaping to their feet, colliding with one another, in a masterpiece of intricately plotted chaos that bears all the marks of the developing Robbins style: wit, character, drama, and precision."<ref>{{cite book| last=Vaill| first=Amanda| date=6 May 2008| title=Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins| publisher=Random House, Inc.| isbn=978-0-7679-0421-6| page=[https://archive.org/details/somewherelifeofj00vail/page/143 143]| url=https://archive.org/details/somewherelifeofj00vail/page/143| url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Songs==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Act I
* He Tried to Make a Dollar – Singers 
* Can't You Just See Yourself in Love with Me? – Hubert Ogglethorpe and Fran
* There's Nothing Like a Model T  – Harrison Floy and Company
* Next to Texas, I Love You – Hubert Ogglethorpe and Fran
* Security – Sara Longstreet, Fran and Singing Girls 
* Bird Watcher's Song – Sara Longstreet and Singing Girls
* Get Away for a Day in the Country – Henry Longstreet, Stevie Longstreet and Singers
* Papa, Wont You Dance with Me? – Sara Longstreet, Henry Longstreet, Girls and Boys
{{col-break}}

;Act II
* On a Sunday by the Sea – Singers	
* You're My Girl – Hubert Ogglethorpe and Fran
* I Still Get Jealous – Sara Longstreet and Henry Longstreet
* You're My Boy – Harrison Floy and Mr. Pontdue
* Nobody Ever Died for Dear Old Rutgers – Harrison Floy, Hubert Ogglethorpe and Singing Boys
* He Tried to Make a Dollar (Reprise) – Entire Company
{{col-end}}

==Productions==
''High Button Shoes'' opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[New Century Theatre]] October 9, 1947, it transferred to the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]] December 22, 1947, then to [[The Broadway Theatre]] October 18, 1948, before closing July 2, 1949, after 727 performances.  The cast starred Silvers as Harrison Floy and Fabray as Sara Longstreet (who was replaced by [[Joan Roberts]] in June 1948), and featured [[Joey Faye]] as Mr. Pontdue and Jack McCauley as Henry (Papa) Longstreet.  The direction was by Abbott, choreography by Jerome Robbins, scenic design by Oliver Smith, costume design by Miles White, and lighting design by Peggy Clark. Robbins won the [[Tony Award]] for choreography.

The U.S. national tour ran in parallel with the Broadway shows, with [[Eddie Foy Jr.]] as Harrison Floy, [[Audrey Meadows]] as Sara "Mama" Longstreet and [[Jack Whiting (actor)|Jack Whiting]] as Henry "Papa" Longstreet. It opened at the [[Boston Opera House]] April 26, 1948,<ref name"HBSBoston1948">{{cite book |author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title = High Button Shoes |date = April 26, 1948 |medium = Theatre program/playbill |location = Boston, MA |publisher = Boston Opera House |page = 1 |others = Eddie Foy, Jr., Audrey Meadows, Jack Whiting |url = https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153912429921 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210914111109/https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153912429921 |archive-date = September 14, 2021}}</ref> played at least 16 cities in the Midwest and Great Plains, including Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis, as well as Los Angeles on August 15, 1949,<ref name"HBSLA1949">{{cite book |author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title = High Button Shoes |date = August 15, 1949 |medium = Theatre program/playbill |location = Los Angeles, CA |publisher = Philharmonic Auditorium |page = 2 |others = Eddie Foy, Jr., Audrey Meadows, Jack Whiting |url = https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333596725342 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210914153725/https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333596725342
 |archive-date = September 14, 2021}}</ref> and closed December 31, 1949, in Kansas City.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

A London production opened at the [[Hippodrome, London|Hippodrome]] December 22, 1948, and ran for 291 performances. Two unknowns, [[Audrey Hepburn]] and [[Alma Cogan]], were among the chorus girls.

A television adaptation was broadcast live November 24, 1956, on [[NBC]] with Nanette Fabray and Joey Faye repeating their original roles, [[Hal March]] as Harrison Floy and [[Don Ameche]] as Papa Longstreet.<ref name="Hischak2009">{{cite book |last = Hischak |first = Thomas |title = The Oxford Companion to the American Musical |date = 2009 |page = 340 |edition = 3rd |type = softcover |location = Oxford |publisher = Oxford University Press |isbn = 978-0195335330}}</ref>

The musical was revived at the [[Goodspeed Opera House]], [[East Haddam, Connecticut]] July 1982 through September 11, 1982.<ref>Shepard, Richard F. [http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?_r=1&res=9900EFDE1239F934A15754C0A964948260&oref=slogin  "Stage: Goodspeed Offers 'High Button Shoes'"], ''The New York Times'', July 27, 1982</ref>  [[Goodspeed Musicals]] revived the work again, July 13 through September 22, 2007.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Jones| first=Kenneth|
 url=http://www.playbill.com/article/high-button-shoes-opens-aug-8-at-goodspeed-new-styne-cahn-song-added-com-142866| title=High Button Shoes Opens Aug. 8 at Goodspeed; "New" Styne-Cahn Song Added| journal=[[Playbill]]| date=August 8, 2007| access-date=January 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>Gold, Sylvaine [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/26theaterct.html?scp=1&sq=High+Button+Shoes&st=nyt "Review:'High Button Shoes'"]''The New York Times'', August 26, 2007</ref>

More recently, the musical was revived again at the New York City Center on May 8–12, 2019.<ref name="NYCC2019">{{cite web |title= High Button Shoes |date= May 2019 |publisher= New York City Center |url= https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2018-2019/High-Button-Shoes/ |website= www.nycitycenter.org |access-date= February 13, 2022 }}</ref>

== Principal casts ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Character
!Broadway<br>(1947)
!Tour<br>(1948)
!London<br>(1948)
!Television<br>(1956)
!Goodspeed Opera House<br>(1982)
!Goodspeed Opera House<br>(2007)
!Encores!<br>(2019)
|-
! Harrison Floy
| align=center|[[Phil Silvers]]
| align=center|[[Eddie Foy Jr.]]
| align=center|[[Lew Parker]]
| align=center|[[Hal March]]
| align=center|Ray DeMattis
| align=center|[[Stephen Bienskie]]
| align=center|[[Michael Urie]]
|-
! Mr. Pontdue
| align=center|[[Joey Faye]]
| align=center|Marty Barrett
| align=center|[[Tommy Godfrey]]
| align=center|[[Joey Faye]]
| align=center|John Remme
| align=center|[[Ken Jennings (actor)|Ken Jennings]]
| align=center|[[Kevin Chamberlin]]
|-
! Mama Sara Longstreet
| align=center|[[Nanette Fabray]]
| align=center|[[Audrey Meadows]]
| align=center|Kay Kimber
| align=center|[[Nanette Fabray]]
| align=center|[[Joy Franz]]
| align=center|Jennifer Allen
| align=center|[[Betsy Wolfe]]
|-
! Papa Henry Longstreet
| align=center|Jack McCauley
| align=center|[[Jack Whiting (actor)|Jack Whiting]]
| align=center|[[Sid James]]
| align=center|[[Don Ameche]]
| align=center|Joe Warfield
| align=center|William Parry
| align=center|[[Chester Gregory]]
|-
! Fran
| align=center|Lois Lee
| align=center|[[Ellen Hanley]]
| align=center|Hermene French
| rowspan="2" align=center|???
| align=center|Lora Jeanne Martens
| align=center|Russell Arden Koplin
| align=center|Carla Duren
|-
! Hubert Ogglethorpe
| align=center|Mark Dawson
| align=center|[[Harry Fleer]]
| align=center|Jack Cooper
| align=center|J. Keith Ryan
| align=center|Brian Hissong
| align=center|Marc Koeck
|}

==Response==
[[Brooks Atkinson]], theatre critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', wrote that it was a "very happy musical show in a very cheerful tradition." He particularly praised Phil Silvers' performance as "an uproarious comic. He has the speed, the drollery and the shell-game style of a honky-tonk buffoon." He commented that the story was a "sentimentally amusing fable" and that the songs were "simple in style and very pleasant to hear."<ref>{{cite news| last=Atkinson| first=Brooks| title=The New Play in Review| work=The New York Times| date=October 10, 1947| page=32| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0DEFDF1431E13BBC4852DFB667838C659EDE|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{ibdb show|id=4383}}
*[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_h/high_button_shoes.htm Plot synopsis and other information at guidetomusicaltheatre.com]
*[https://rickontheater.blogspot.com/2019/05/high-button-shoes-encores.html ''High Button Shoes'' (Encores!)] at rickontheater.blogspot.com
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821519 Internet Movie Database High Button Shoes television show]
*[http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=509401 broadway.com Ken Mandelbaum, "CDs: Papa, Won't You Dance with Me?" 3/30/2005]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051105100619/http://www.playbill.com/features/article/92656.html playbill article, ON THE RECORD, May 1, 2005]

{{Jule Styne}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1947 musicals]]
[[Category:Broadway musicals]]
[[Category:Musicals based on novels]]
[[Category:Musicals by Jule Styne]]
[[Category:Musicals choreographed by Jerome Robbins]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1913]]
[[Category:Musicals set in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Musicals set in Atlantic City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Musicals set in the 1910s]]