Pardon My English - Production History

Production History

Producers Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley approached the Gershwins to create a showcase for the talents of English music hall star Jack Buchanan, and linked them with Fields and Ryskind, whose book required the actor to appear in dual roles, lower-class German thug Golo Schmidt and upper-crust British nobleman Michael Bramleigh. The sophisticated Buchanan had no problem portraying Bramleigh but was unable to capture the essence of Schmidt. The show opened in Philadelphia to critical pans.

Rather than proceed to Broadway, the creative team added characters and expanded the role of police commissioner Bauer, played by radio's "Baron Munchausen", Jack Pearl. The revised production opened in Newark on January 2, 1933, but it was obvious that Buchanan was still a major problem. He bought out his contract and the producers replaced him with dialect comedian George Givot.

The production opened on Broadway on January 20, 1933 at the Majestic Theatre and ran for 43 performances. The book was directed by John McGowan, the production was staged by producer Vinton Freedley, and the musical numbers were staged by George Hale. In addition to Givot and Pearl, the cast included Josephine Huston as Bauer's daughter Ilse and musical-comedy star Lyda Roberti (her speciality was a "polyglot of Polish, German, and near-Hungarian") as Gita Gobel. According to Ben Brantley, "By the time it hit Broadway it was a desperately stitched patchwork that ran for 33 performances before exiting into oblivion. It was, Ira Gershwin later wrote, 'a headache from start to finish.' " The critics unanimously condemned it.

In 1982, a producer discovered a number of the musical's manuscripts in the Warner Brothers warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey. The score was pieced together and performed at the Library of Congress in concert in 1987. Elektra Records released a studio cast album featuring John Cullum and William Katt in 1993.

New York City Center's Encores! presented a staged concert in 2004, with a revised book by David Ives. Directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Rob Ashford, it featured Brian d'Arcy James as Golo/Michael, Emily Skinner as Gita, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Frieda (originally Ilse), and Rob Bartlett as Bauer. 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco, California, presented a staged concert in November 2006.

The European premiere took place on November 29, 2009 at the Dresden State Operetta, Dresden, translated by Wolfgang Adenberg, directed by Holger Hauer and conducted by Ernst Theis.