No Strings

● Opened on Broadway on March 15, 1962 at the 54th Street Theatre

○ First premiere was at the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto, then the U.S. premiere was
at the ​Fisher Theater​ in Detroit, where the show ran from January 15 to February
3, 1962
○ Ran for 580 performances on Broadway
● Book by Samuel A. Taylor
● Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers
○ Only show that he wrote both music and lyrics for
○ First show Rodgers worked on following Hammerstein’s death

Originally starred Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley

Central Characters:
● Barbara Woodruff- an American fashion model living in Paris
● David Jordan- an American, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who has suffered from an intense
case of writer's b​lock​ since his arrival in France

* Original Broadway Cast Character Description

“12 parts, 8 principals. Total cast, 35-45.
● Barbara, ​exceptional singer, good actress (written for a Negro although no reference is made to race)​.
○ Quick note: This role was written for a black actress, but the character’s journey isn’t about
overcoming racism or living in Paris as a black woman. She isn’t sad, struggling, or angry. It is
always valuable to have stories about black characters and the challenges they face related to their
identities as black people, but it is also incredibly valuable to have stories that feature black
characters as normal people with normal joys, fears, love stories, and problems.
● David, ​actor with legit voice.
● Jeanette, ​typical French maid, petite, sings.
● Luc, ​straight role.
● Louis, ​handsome, stately actor who sings.
● Comfort, ​character girl, sexy, good strong voice.
Plot Summary:
David is seeking inspiration for his next novel while travelling Europe, when he is introduced to
top fashion model, Barbara by one of his friends who’s a photographer. They both grow fond of
each other, and head back towards Barbara’s apartment to discuss philosophy and life as they
walk. Abruptly, Barbara warns David not to see her again and tells him goodbye (which we
discover is because of Louis, her wealthy patron who is waiting for her inside her apartment).
When she arrives inside, Louis begins raving about how wonderful the evening is going to be,
but Barbara isn’t very responsive because she is still thinking about David. Meanwhile, David
has been drawn to Nice, France with his hard-living travelling companion, Comfort O'Connell.
He is relieved by the distraction, but later back in Paris is upset to discover Barbara with Louis.
He manages to pull Barbara aside and confess his love for her, as well as demanding that she
leave Louis. However, he has no right to ask her to do all of these things, and she lets him
know. David flees in anger and disappointment, but later that night they reconvene and are
inseparable. Barbara agrees to help David by being inspiration for his next book, and they begin
to go on adventures together (however, David isn’t making any progress on the novel). David is
more interested in the parties in Deauville, and when Barbara pushes the issue he takes off to
join friends. This prompts Barbara to return to France to go back with Louis, and soon David
realized that his life has derailed, and returns to France in hopes of winning Barbara back. She
convinces him to return to the United States to finish his book, and he pleads for her to come
with him, but her life is in Paris now so she can’t leave with him. As they part, David agrees to
finish his book and come back to her ready to start a life with her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TIu2-fd8o&list=PLy92zwCbUJ5tQ9T5gMnQPdbXDO_33
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