Rodgers–DE, Finale Act Two

It is the beginning of a new week, and we have come to the Act Two Finale. In this mixture of dialogue and music, we realize that nothing can stop Betsy from helping General Putnam and the American army to escape to safety in Harlem Heights. In the course of helping them escape, she is wounded and falls into Sir John’s arms. Sir John stays with her and is captured by two American scouts.

Again, what you hear is a reconstruction written by Larry Moore. Here is his explanation of what he had to do to put this back into the show.

“The libretto mentions Sir John’s reprise, along with stage business and dialogue, but the Century Library orchestra parts only had a small piece called “Lantern Music,” which was to be played under Betsy’s stage business of hanging the lantern. There was no music for Sir John’s reprise before he falls asleep, the house settling down for the night, or anything between the lantern business and the end of the act, which called for a reprise of “Here In My Arms.” Something in the way of a dramatic finale needed to be assembled along the lines of those in Rose-Marie and the other shows I was using for reference. I asked Bruce Pomahac to write music based on “Cheerio!” to underscore the action following the lantern business, while I dealt with putting everything together.

“Some time before 2001, Bruce had made a comment to me about Richard Rodgers and Tchaikovsky. My first thought was that Betsy, once she is shot and faints in Sir John’s arms, falls into a trance much like the Princess Aurora after her encounter with a spindle in The Sleeping Beauty. Betsy’s trance is actually a depression that does not resolve itself until true love’s kiss brings about the happy ending. Sir John’s reprise became the house’s going to sleep at midnight, which occurs in both The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, and everything from Betsy’s faint to the end of the act would be a lead-in to the Intermezzo.”

Here is Annalene Beechey, James Cleverton, Philip O’Reilly and John Molloy.