Kern's 'Roberta' with Alfred Drake

Jerome Kern's Roberta is not one of his best-known musicals, but it has been the subject of at least three recordings and two film versions.

This present LP, dating from 1944, was the first recording, and in common with all versions since the original show save the most recent, it is much altered from what was seen on Broadway in 1933.

Alfred Drake

My own interest in it flows from two sources: the presence of the great Alfred Drake and Kern's underrated score.

Roberta was legendarily troubled in its gestation, with Kern himself replaced as director during tryouts. The story is that its eventual commercial success relied on the popularity of one song, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." That strikes me as unlikely, but regardless, the show achieved enough renown that it was made into a film in 1935. Only four of its songs survived in that version, with two added - "I Won't Dance" and "Lovely to Look At." The latter, written for the film, is included on the LP at hand.

Perhaps reflecting the influence of librettist and lyricist Otto Harbach, an operetta veteran, the score for Roberta comes across on this record as a way station between operetta and musicals. Drake, who had a background in operetta, switches between the two approaches depending on the song. For "You're Devastating" and "The Touch of Your Hand" he adopts a "legit" voice. For "Don't Ask Me Not to Sing," he is more conversational. Either way, he is admirable.

Kathryn Meisle

Drake's confusion may be because he is singing songs associated with three characters. "Don't Ask Me Not to Sing," for example, was introduced by Bob Hope, fresh from vaudeville. Hope interpolated a number of musical impressions (e.g., Bing Crosby), missing here. "You're Devastating," in contrast, was the big song for Ray Middleton, a baritone with operatic experience.

Two other members of the Decca cast had backgrounds in opera or operetta - contralto Kathryn Meisle handles "Yesterdays," the song associated with the title character. Meisle had stretches with the San Francisco and Chicago Operas and at the Met.

Kitty Carlisle

Soprano Kitty Carlisle duets with Drake in "The Touch of Your Hand," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Lovely to Look At." She had been on Broadway in operettas and musicals, and in a few films (notably A Night at the Opera). She later was a panelist on the U.S. television show To Tell the Truth for 22 years.

The other singer in this performance is Paula Lawrence, who was on Broadway in One Touch of Venus when this was recorded. She had a long career and was much on television in later years.

Paula Lawrence

At the time of the recording, Drake himself was either nearing the end of his run in Oklahoma! or was preparing for Sing Out, Sweet Land, which opened at the end of the year.

I've expressed my admiration for Drake several times on this blog, featuring him in the Sing Out, Sweet Land original cast LP, a rare set of Brigadoon songs made for a small label, a promo record for a televised version of The Yeoman of the Guard and the original recording of Kurt Weill's last work, Down in the Valley. Those transfers can be found via this link.

I mentioned my belief that the score is underrated. It's not because of my fondness for "Yesterdays," beloved of every cabaret singer who ever cracked a note. Nor is it because of the score's big hit, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." I had my fill of that tune at a young age due to the hit rendition by the Platters' histrionic lead singer, Tony Williams. It's due to the other songs, notably "The Touch of Your Hand" and "You're Devastating," which to my ears are two of Kern's finest melodies.

The LP does not provide a credit for the orchestrations. They are not the original charts, which were by Robert Russell Bennett, although they are good. Harry Sosnik leads the band, and Jeff Alexander the well-drilled chorus. This version of Roberta was first issued on 78s (cover below). My transfer is from the 1949 LP.