The Theatre: New Musical in Manhattan: Dec. 18, 1939

Du Barry Was a Lady (music & lyrics by Cole Porter; produced by B. G. De Sylva). First show in four years to charge $7.70 on opening night (with seats being scalped at $50 and $75 a pair), Du Barry Was a Lady swept into Manhattan last week with a tremendous advance build-up and the virtually golden guarantees of Cole Porter, Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman.

The fanfare was a trifle excessive. Many a musical has been fresher, cleverer, more original; several Cole Porter shows have had wittier lyrics, catchier tunes. But as a splendiferous version of regulation musicomedy Du Barry Was a...

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