Paris

A Comedy with Music in Three Acts
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
(with other songs by E. Ray Goetz, Walter Kollo, and Louis Alter)
Book by Martin Brown

Mrs. Cora Sabot, an imperious Massachusetts matron, is summoned to Paris by the impending marriage of her son Andrew to Vivienne Rolland, the darling of the Paris stage.  Scheming to terminate the engagement, Cora pretends to succumb to the uninhibiting influence of alcohol and to the roguish charms of Guy Pennel, Vivienne's devoted dancing partner.  Her plans succeed.  By the final curtain, Vivienne and Guy recognize their love, and Andrew realizes that marriage to the equally dim-witted Brenda Kaley would be more suitable.

Cast

Irene Bordoni (Vivienne Rolland), Arthur Margetson (Guy Pennel), Louis Closser Hale (Cora Sabot), Erik Kalkhurst (Andrew Sabot), Elizabeth Chester (Brenda Kaley), Theodore St. John (Marcel Prince), Florence Edney (Harriet), Reed Hamilton (Valet), and Irving Aaronson and The Commanders

Musical Numbers

(Porter songs only)

• "Two Little Babes in the Wood" [shorter version of the song from Greenwich Village Follies] - Vivienne
• "Don't Look at Me That Way" - Vivienne
• "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Vivienne and Guy
• "Vivienne" - Irving Aaronson and the Commanders
• "The Heaven Hop" - Irving Aaronson and the Commanders

Cut Songs

• "Quelque-Chose" [dropped before the New York opening, performed by Irene Bordoni; originally written for Greenwich Village Follies]
• "Let's Misbehave" [dropped before the New York opening; replaced with "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love"]
• "Which" [dropped in rehearsals or before the New York opening, intended for Irene Bordoni; later revised and used in Wake Up and Dream as "Which is the Right Life?"]
• "Dizzy Baby" [unused]
• "Bad Girl in Paree" [unused]
• "When I Found You" [unused]
• "Blue Hours" [unused; later used in La Revue des Ambassadeurs]

Original Cast Recordings [First release with notable re-releases]

"Let's Misbehave" - Irving Aaronson and his Commanders

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Victor 21260]
• Compact Disc, 1992 From This Moment On

"Don't Look At Me That Way" - Irene Bordoni with Irving Aaronson and his Commanders

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Victor 21742]
• Compact Disc, 1992 From This Moment On

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Irving Aaronson and his Commanders [vocal: Phil Saxe & Jack Armstrong]

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Victor 21745] Charted January 5, 1929; peaked at #5

Contemporaneous Recordings

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Meyer Davis

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Duophone D-4045]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - The Georgians

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Harmony 776-H]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Lee Morse

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Columbia 1659-D]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Adrian Schubert and His Salon Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Banner 6245]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Harmony 808-H]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Columbia 1701-D]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Bill Wirges and His Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Brunswick 4116]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1929 [Okeh 41181]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - The Detroiters

• 78 RPM, 1929 [Cameo 9005]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - B. A. Rolfe and His Palais D'Or Orchestra

• 78 RPM, 1929 [Edison Diamond Disk 52505]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Arthur Roseberry and His Dance Band

• 78 RPM, 1929 [Parlophone E-6150]

"Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" - Ray Ventura

• 78 RPM, 1929 [Odeon 165529]

"Let's Misbehave" - Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra [vocals: Scrappy Lambert and Billy Hillpot]

• 78 RPM, 1927 [Brunswick 3761] Charted June 2, 1928; peaked at #18

"Let's Misbehave" - Banjo Buddy

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Brunswick 3865]

"Let's Misbehave" - The Bluebirds

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Vocalion 15652]

"Let's Misbehave" - Lou Calabrese and His Hot Shots

• 78 RPM, 1928 [Gennett 6421]