Kern–Sunny, Who, Rebecca

We now come to the one song from this show that is worth greater, in-depth examination. It is called “Who” and was the love duet between Sunny, the horseback rider in the circus, and Tom, a soldier in a New York regiment from WWI. It is sung in Southampton, England before the troops return to America.

According to David Ewen, in his book, The Complete Book of the American Musical Theater, “The writing of this lyric presented a formidable problem to Oscar Hammerstein II, since the refrain began with a single note held for two and a quarter measures (or nine beats). It was impossible to use a phrase for such an extended melodic phrase, and if a single word were used it had to be a word strong enough to sustain interest through five repetitions. Hammerstein solved the problem with the word, ‘who,’ and Kern always maintained that it was the selection of this word for the opening measures of his song that was responsible for the great success the song enjoyed.”

We have two versions of the song, the first of which is an accurate reproduction of the orchestration and arrangement of the song heard on opening night. It was restored by John McGlinn, who is conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra. Brent Barrett sings Tom’s role and Rebecca Luker sings the role of Sunny.