'' Poor Little Ritz Girl '' is a musical comedy in two acts, with book by George Campbell and

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber. He also produced shows on his own and starred in ...

. The show had some songs with lyrics by Alex Gerber and music by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

and other songs with lyrics by

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", " Bewitched, B ...

and music by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

. The show was produced by

at the Central Theatre. It opened on July 28, 1920.Mantle, Burns, Editor, "The Best Plays of 1920–1921", Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 359. The production was staged by

Ned Wayburn Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer. Career Wayburn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Elbert Delos Weyburn and Harriet Landon Beach. Ned Wayburn spent much of ...

, who also did the lighting design. It was choreographed by David Bennett, scenic design by H. Robert Law, and costume design by Cora MacGeachy, Anna Spencer and Marie Cook. The musical director was Pierce de Reeder. It ran for 93 performances, closing on October 16, 1920. The cast headlined Charles Purcell and

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

, and included

Eugenie Blair Eugenie A. Blair (1864 – May 13, 1922) was an American stage actress best remembered for originating the role of Marthy Owen in the premiere 1921 Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway th ...

, Ruth Hale, Eleanor Griffith, Lulu McConnell, Aileen Poe, and Florence Webber. The plot revolves around Annie “Sweetie” Farrell (Florence Webber), an honest but poor chorus girl who rented a furnished apartment on Riverside Drive during the run of a musical in which she was appearing. Late one night she learns that the apartment belongs to a rich young bachelor named William Pembroke (Charles Purcell), who had not given anyone permission to rent it. He comes home to live in his apartment to find that she's occupying his own bedroom. Annie is so perturbed that she can hardly sing, but she convinces Bill, who is a baritone, that she meant no harm. He decides to let her stay there while he puts himself up at his club. Two acts later they are married. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

sub-headline reported that the musical "Shows Clever Transformation from Flat to Theatre Stage" and the review said the show "contains much that is above the average of musical comedy, as well as a good deal that is just average."New York Times, July 29, 1920

Songs

Lyrics by Alex Gerber and music by Sigmund Romberg except as noted by ** (lyrics by Lorenz Hart and music by Richard Rodgers) or by * (lyrics by Herbert Fields and music by Richard Rodgers). Act 1 * “Poor Little Ritz Girl” * “Mary, Queen of Scots”* * “Love Will Call”** * “Pretty Ming Toy” * “I Love to Say Hello to the Girls” * “When I Found You” Act 2 * “You Can’t Fool Your Dreams” ** * “What Happened Nobody Knows”** * “My Violin” * “All You Need To Be a Star”** * “Love’s Intense in Tents”** * “The Daisy and the Lark”** * “In the Land of Yesterday” * “The Phantom Waltz” * “The Bombay Bombashay”

References

{{reflist 1920 musicals Broadway musicals Original musicals Musicals by Sigmund Romberg Musicals by Rodgers and Hart