Hit the Deck (musical)
Template:Short description Template:Italic title Hit the Deck is a musical with music by Vincent Youmans, lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin and book by Herbert Fields.<ref name="blogspot1927">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was based on the 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne.Template:Citation needed The title refers to a nautical slang term that means to prepare for action (general) or to drop to a prone position on the ground (as a defensive response to hostile fire). The musical is set in China and Newport, Rhode Island, and on a ship traveling between the two locations.
The original production was staged at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway, opening on April 25, 1927, and running for 352 performances.<ref name="blogspot1927"/> Charles King played Bilge and Louise Groody played Loulou. The show's co-producers were Youmans and Lew Fields, and Lew Fields co-directed with Alexander Leftwich. The production ran for 352 performances.<ref>Hit the Deck, IBDB database, accessed 16 March 2012</ref>
The first London production opened at the Hippodrome on July 3, 1927 and ran for 277 performances. It starred Stanley Holloway.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>"Hit the Deck", The Times, 4 November 1927, p. 7</ref> In The Manchester Guardian, Ivor Brown praised Holloway for a singing style "which coaxes the ear rather than clubbing the head."<ref>Brown, Ivor. "Hit the Deck", The Manchester Guardian, 4 November 1927, p. 15</ref>
Songs
- Act I
- Join the Navy – Loulou, Gobs and Girls
- What's a Kiss Among Friends? – Toddy, Charlotte, Alan and Girls
- Harbor of My Heart – Loulou and Bilge
- Shore Leave – Chorus
- Lucky Bird – Lavinia
- Looloo – Loulou and Boys
- Why, Oh Why? – Charlotte and Chorus
- Sometimes I'm Happy (Sometimes I'm Blue) – Loulou and Bilge
- Act II
- Hallelujah! – Lavinia and Chorus
- Hallelujah! (reprise) – Lavinia
- Looloo (reprise) – Loulou and Boys
- Utopia – Loulou and Bunny
Film adaptations
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Two films based on the musical were made. The first was in 1930 and starred Jack Oakie.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was remade in 1955 with a slightly different screenplay and differently named characters. It starred Jane Powell and Tony Martin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>