''By Jupiter'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with a book 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, Bo ...

and

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. The musical is based on the play '' The Warrior's Husband'' by Julian F. Thompson, set in the land of the

Amazons The Amazons (Ancient Greek: ', singular '; in Latin ', ') were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, Labours of Heracles, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. ...

. ''By Jupiter'' premiered on Broadway in 1942 and starred

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (; January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer (particularly musical theater) who started his movie career in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major B ...

, and was the last musical written by

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

; when Hart’s erratic behavior was often the cause of friction between him and Rodgers and led to a breakup of their partnership the following year before his death. Rodgers then began collaborating with

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

Synopsis

In the land of the

the women rule and do battle while the men stay at home, mind the children, and buy new hats. An

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s, led by

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, arrives in search of the Sacred Girdle of Diana, currently in the hands of reigning Queen

Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...

. Accompanying them is

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, author of a recent bestseller called '' The Iliad''. The Greek warriors are captured by the Amazons, and romance blossoms between Theseus and Antiope, the warrior-leader of the Amazons. A subplot involves Hippolyta's foppish husband Sapiens, forced on her by his wealthy mother, in exchange for financing the war against the Greeks, who employs his "non-traditionally-male wiles" to get his way with the opposite sex.

Productions

The Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on June 3, 1942, and closed on June 12, 1943, after 427 performances. Directed by

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing ...

and

choreographed Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thr ...

Robert Alton Robert Alton (2 January 1902 – 12 June 1957) was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the ...

, the cast included

, Benay Venuta,

Vera-Ellen Vera-Ellen (born Vera-Ellen Rohe; February 16, 1921 – August 30, 1981) was an American dancer, actress, and singer. She is remembered for her solo performances as well as her work with partners Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Donald ...

, and Constance Moore, who was replaced by Nanette Fabray later in the run. Choreographer Flower Hujer danced in the production. At one point,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

considered pairing

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

with

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including on Broadway. She was hono ...

in a movie version of the show, but the idea was eventually shelved. A revival opened

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the Theatre Four on January 19, 1967, and closed on April 30, 1968, after 118 performances. This production had new material by

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

. Directed by Christopher Hewett with choreography and musical staging by Ellen Ray,

Bob Dishy Bob Dishy is an American actor of stage, film, and television. Biography Early life and education Dishy grew up in the Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. His father, a salesman, was born in Beirut and his mother in Jerus ...

headed the cast. An original cast recording was released of this production, reissued in CD on September 11, 2007, by DRG. Ian Marshall Fisher's Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust presented a concert staging in London at the Barbican Center, Cinema 1 in May 1992, with

Louise Gold Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer. Her long career has included puppetry on television and roles in musical theatre in the West End, as well as other television, film and voice roles. Gold was raised in London ...

as Hippolyta and Jon Glover as Sapiens. Issy Van Randwyck was also among the cast. 42nd Street Moon,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California, presented a staged concert from April 17 – May 12, 2002. Musicals in Mufti at the York Theatre in New York City presented a staged concert from April 5–7, 2002. Village Light Opera Group at Vineyard's Dimson Theatre in New York City presented a staging of the musical from May 17-19, 2019 directed by Michael Blatt, with music direction by James Higgins and special guest appearances from

's nephew, Larry Hart, and librettist/lyricist Michael Colby."By Jupiter Gets Another Orbit By Peter Filicia"
masterworksbroadway.com, May 14, 2019 The musical proved to be not only Rodgers and Hart's longest-running Broadway hit, but their last full-length work. (They collaborated on a revision of their 1927 show '' A Connecticut Yankee'' in 1943, writing six new numbers.)

Roles and original cast

*Sapiens (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word meaning “wise”) –

– Benay Venuta * Antiope – Constance Moore *

–

Ronald Graham Ronald Lewis Graham (October 31, 1935July 6, 2020) was an American mathematician credited by the American Mathematical Society as "one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of discrete mathematics in recent years". He ...

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

– Bob Douglas *

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

– Mark Dawson *

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

/First Slave – Robert Hightower *Second Amazon Dancer – Flower Hujer *

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

/First Camp Follower –

*Second Slave – William Hightower *Pomposia – Bertha Belmore *Buria – Jayne Manners *First Sentry – Martha Burnett *Second Sentry – Rose Inghram *Third Sentry – Kay Kimber *Sergeant – Monica Moore *

– Berni Gould *

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

– Irene Corlett *Heroica –

Margaret Bannerman Margaret Bannerman (born Marguerite Grand; December 15, 1896 – June 14, 1976) was a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the English films '' The Gay Lord Quex'', ''Lady Audley's Secret'' and '' Hindle Wakes''. She had a successful ca ...

*Caustica –

Maidel Turner Maidel Turner (May 12, 1888 – April 12, 1953) was an American movie actress featured in almost 60 films between 1913 and 1951, beginning as the leading lady of ''The Angel of the Slums'' (1913) and becoming a comical character actress as she a ...

– Ralph Dumke *First Amazon Dancer/Ensemble – Marjorie Moore *First Boy/Ensemble – Don Liberto *Second Boy/Ensemble – Tony Matthews *Third Boy/Ensemble – William Yaux *Huntress/Second Camp Follower/Ensemble – Helen Bennett *Amazon Runner/Ensemble – Wana Wenerholm *Third Camp Follower/Ensemble – Ruth Brady *Fourth Camp Follower/Ensemble – Joyce Ring *Fifth Camp Follower/Ensemble – Rosemary Sanky

Song List

;Act I *“For Jupiter and Greece” – Achilles and the Herald *“The Amazons” – Danced by the First Amazon Dancer and Amazon Warriors *“Jupiter Forbid” – Sung by Hippolyta, Antiope, and Three Sentries, Danced by the Second Amazon Dancer, Two Slaves, and Ensemble *“Life with Father” – Sapiens *“Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me” – Antiope *“The Gateway of the Temple of Minerva” – Theseus and Ensemble *“Life with Father (Reprise)” – Pomposia and Sapiens *“Here's a Hand” – Theseus and Antiope *“No, Mother, No” – Sapiens and Ensemble ;Act II *“The Boy I Left Behind Me” – Buria and Ensemble *“Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me (Reprise)” – Sapiens *“ Ev'rything I've Got” – Sapiens and Hippolyta *“Bottoms Up” – Herald, Hippolyta, Antiope, Homer, Achilles, Minerva, the Second Amazon Dancer, Two Slaves, and Ensemble *“Careless Rhapsody” – Antiope and Theseus *“Finaletto” – Sapiens, Hippolyta, Pomposia, and Ensemble *“Ev'rything I've Got (Reprise)” – Hippolyta *“ Wait Till You See Her” – Theseus and Ensemble *“Now That I've Got My Strength” – Sapiens, Penelope, Minerva, and Ensemble *“Finale” – Company

References

Notes

External links

*
Internet Off-Broadway listing
{{Authority control 1942 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on plays Musicals by Rodgers and Hart Cultural depictions of Theseus Plays based on classical mythology Heracles in fiction Hippolyta Musicals set in fictional countries