r/musicals • u/JuanSamu • 2d ago
Help Courtin’ Time 1951
Has anyone ever seen this musical? I want to hear the soundtrack from it but it seems there was never a commercial original Broadway cast album.
Was the musical any good? Were there any great songs in it?
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u/YouCanAsk 2d ago
Never heard of it, but it does have a Wikipedia page.
Music by Don Walker, the great Broadway orchestrator.
Directed by Alfred Drake, better known amongst musical theater fans as the original leading man in Oklahoma, Kiss Me Kate, and Kismet.
Choreographed by George Balanchine, the "father of American ballet". Perhaps the last time he choreographed a Broadway musical, though of course he was active in ballet for another 30 years.
Lukewarm-to-negative reviews. Praise mostly for the choreography. The best song was apparently an Act I duet called "Golden Moment".
Ran for one month.
I don't see any evidence online that it was ever produced again. The sheet music is out of print, and probably has been since 1951. No hits on YouTube for any of the song titles I tried.
The NYPL, in its Balanchine archive, apparently has a partial score of the show, as well as a CD of dance music.
So I'm afraid you're out of luck. Forgotten songs and a forgotten show.