Dorothy Fields Forever

Synopsis

A celebration of the lyrics of Dorothy Fields. She wrote for the greatest stars of their day, including Ethel Merman, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Danny Kaye, Shirley Booth, Gwen Verdon and Shirley Maclaine. She wrote with some of the greatest composers of popular music: Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, Sigmund Romberg, Harold Arlen, Arthur Schwartz and Cy Coleman among them. And Dorothy Fields wrote some of the greatest shows, films and songs of the last century. Her lyrics were polished, elegant and perfectly rhymed . Never one to show off for the sake of it, her ear for the vernacular allowed her to express the feelings and ambitions of any character for whom she wrote. From the 1920s to the 1970s her lyrics embraced the slang of the day as well as universal high points of emotion.

Our Review:

1 July 2002

First things first: Dorothy Who?

It's sad to have to explain, and there's no need once you see the show, since her work sings for itself, without the need to advertise or trumpet its virtues. That's partly, of course, what made the discreet, distinctive lyric writing talents of Dorothy Fields (pictured) such an integral part of the now vanquished golden age of the Broadway musical: its seeming effortlessness and lack of fanfare, and the craft that was a given.

First seen at the tiny Jermyn Street Theatre in February, this effervescent fringe treat makes a highly welcome return to the slightly larger King's Head, whose dinner theatre ambience is perfectly suited to the show's intimate charms. But I would caution any West End producers on the look-out for a show to transfer cheaply to beware: if Dorothy Fields is a tough one to explain to non-aficionados, the show lacks name recognition amongst its cast, too.

Which is all well and good for the purpose here, which ...

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