ANKLES AWEIGH
A Musical Comedy in 2 Act, 9 Scenes. Book by Guy Bolton
and Eddie Davis. Music by Sammy Fain. Lyrics by
Dan Shapiro.
Staged by Fred F. Finklehoffe. Choreography by
Tony Charmoli. Scenery and lighting by
George Jenkins. Costumes by Miles White. Vocal
and orchestral arrangements by Don Walker. Musical
and choral director, Salvatore Dell'Isola. Dance music devised
by Roger Adams. Additional dance music by Donald Pippin. Produced
by Howard Hoyt, Reginald Hammerstein and Fred F. Finklehoffe
Opened 18 April 1955 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York and closed 17 September 1955 after 176 performances.
Synopsis
An unusually hectic and hilarious honeymoon centres on a Hollywood starlet, Wynne, who, while on location in Sicily and in defiance of her contract, is secretly married to Navy flyer Bill Kelley who is on manoeuvers in the Mediterranean. The actress, with the aid of her sister and stand-in, Elsey, and two of the lieutenant's pals, Dinky and Spud disguises herself as a sailor and stows away on his ship, the U.S.S. Alamo.
When the ship sails for Morocco, Wynne and Kelley find themselves in the midst of a spy ring. Lucia, Kelley's old Moroccan flame and now the mistress of the leader of the spy ring, still harbours a grudge against the flyer for marrying someone other than herself. As revenge, she has him implicated in the espionage case. In the end he is absolved and winds up a hero, with the comic help of the two sisters and Dinky and Spud.
CAST (in order of appearance)
Russ
Cameraman
Tommy
Pizza Cart Man
Elsey
Wynne
Dinky
Spud
Lieut. Bill Kelley
Native Girl
Captain Zimmerman
Admiral Potties
Chipolata
Joe Mancinni
Tony
Lucia
The Duchess
Shore Patrol
Dancers; Singers
Musical Numbers
- Italy - Boys, Girls
- Old Fashioned Mothers - Elsey, Wynne
- Skip the Build-Up - Elsey, Dinky
- Nothing At All - Wynne, Bill
- Walk Like a Sailor - Wynne, Dinky, Spud, Girls, Elsey, Dancers
- Headin' For the Bottom - Chipolata, Girls, Patrons of Nightspot
- Nothing Can Replace a Man - Wynne, Boys
- Here's to Dear Old Us - Elsey, Dinky, Spud
- His and Hers - Wynne, Bill
- La Festa - Natives, Boys, Girls, Soloist
- Ready Cash - Croupiers, Gamblers
- Kiss Me and Kill Me With Love - Wynne, Bill
- Honeymoon - Elsey, Girls
- The Villain Always Gets It - Boys, Girls
- The Code - Joe's Henchmen
- Walk Like a Sailor (reprise) - Dancing Boys, Girls
- Eleven O'Clock Song - Elsey, Wynne
- Finale - Entire Company
Scenes and Settings
The action takes place with an American film company on location in Sicily and French Morocco at the present time.
Act 1
Scene 1: Montefino, The Piazza—afternoon.
Scene 2: USS Alamo, below decks—that night.
Scene 3: El Dahli Night Spot, Morocco—early the next morning.
Scene 4: A Bedroom in El Dahli.
Scene 5: Montefino, the Piazza.
Act 2
Scene 1: Hotel Argento, Montefino—next day.
Scene 2: A street in Montefino.
Scene 3: Joe's Room.
Scene 4: Aboard the USS Alamo—the following night.
Discography:
Origial Broadway Cast Recording - Decca Broadway - B0002673-02