Talk of the Town
BOOK AND CONCEPT BY ANDREW BENTLEY & EVE POTTS
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY JEFFREY STOCK
Talk of the Town - a new musical inspired by the love story that led to the founding of The New Yorker Magazine. Harold Ross, the eventual founder and editor of the legendary magazine, met Jane Grant — his wife-to-be — in France during World War I. They later teamed up in New York City during the Roaring Twenties, joining forces with such literary lights as E.B. White, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott and James Thurber. As we approach the centennial anniversary of the magazine, we look back at how it all began.
LISTEN
We begin in Paris during WWI. Jane Grant is a YMCA entertainer rehearsing her song and dance number with Alexander Woollcott and the guys at the Stars and Stripes office. The topic: France, freedom, America and strong modern women. Put it all together and you get “The Statue of Liberty Is a Dame.”
Harold Ross is covering a war story for the Stars and Stripes newspaper in France, with Jane by his side. The hunky soldier they are interviewing becomes a point of contention, as Jane teases Ross with the idea that a strong man makes a better partner than a clever man. Their theories collide in a contrapuntal duet.
The legendary songwriter Irving Berlin played a real-life role in this story. The Russian-American musician met the Irish-American heiress Ellin Mackay in New York in 1922. They fell in love despite the age gap and the cultural divide. When Irving uses a Jewish expression to congratulate Ellin on her success as a high society debutante, she is not sure what he means. Irving gently explains.
Raoul Fleishmann, the bread and yeast magnate, becomes the principal investor in The New Yorker Magazine. His wife Ruth was hoping that getting involved in publishing would keep him away from his gambling habit. But when the magazine business takes a turn for the worse, he seeks refuge in poker, where he feels in his element.
After a long courtship, Jane surprises Ross with a marriage proposal. When Alexander Woollcott, now working as a theater critic, hears that they plan to have a mundane ceremony at city hall, he intervenes with a better plan. This song is a montage that takes place in three locations: Woollcott’s New York Times office, Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue, and in the Church Around the Corner on East 29th Street.
The magazine is failing to catch on and Ross is increasingly frustrated with Fleischmann’s attempts to meddle in editorial decisions. Ross gets the idea to buy back control of the magazine from Fleischmann by winning enough money in a poker game. This backfires as Ross is railroaded by three slick players who end up taking $30,000 from him, as well as his wedding ring.
Ross’s drinking and gambling have gotten out of control and his marriage to Jane is on a slippery slope. Woollcott hosts a party that Ross has promised to attend, but he is too distracted by the problems with the magazine, and he forgets. By the time he arrives, Woollcott has gone to bed, all their friends have gone home, and only Jane waits for him, alone. In this song, Ross finally wakes up to the consequences his behavior has had on their relationship. He sees what he has put Jane through and is filled with a sudden gratitude for her steadfast patience.