“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “I’m in the Mood for Love,” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street” are among 400 generation-spanning hit songs written by Dorothy Fields (1904-1974).
Recorded by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, performed by Broadway stars and warbled by street buskers, they are part of the American songbook.
But Fields? That a woman who worked in relative obscurity penned unforgettable tunes comparable to contemporaries such as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin has not been lost on No Square Theater’s Bree Burgess Rosen.
She and musical director Roxanna Ward pay homage in a biographical concert, “Out in Left Fields,” Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, part of the theater’s American Songbook Series. The 7:30 p.m. show takes place in Legion Hall, 384 Legion St.
“The title was Roxanna’s idea,” remarked Rosen. “It’s a tribute to Fields who wrote with the greats and was the only female writer on Broadway at the time. All these hits, and she’s still largely unknown because she was a woman,” said Rosen, adding that Fields won an Oscar in 1936 for “The Way You Look Tonight,” from the film “Swing Time.”
In her own life, “….Tonight” makes for cherished memories. “I used to sing my son to sleep with this song,” recalled Rosen.
Fields wrote the lyrics for “Annie Get Your Gun” alongside musical composer Irving Berlin.
Cast member Pat Kollenda described Fields’ lyrics as “beyond amazing” and fun to sing. “Rhythm of Life” from the musical “Sweet Charity,” with lyrics also written by Fields, are another Kollenda fave. “No one remembers her name, but everybody knows her songs,” she said.
Another cast member, Debbie Meeker, recalls that her grandmother, a concert pianist who performed at Carnegie Hall, played Fields’ music for three decades. “It’s music close to my heart,” she said.
Cast for “I’m In The Mood For Love,” Meeker calls songs from Fields’ era “positive, beautifully written, uplifting and kind to the listener.”
While not picking a favorite, she said her duet with Rob Harryman in “A Fine Romance” provides an emotional lift. “It’s a romance that turns out to be not so fine and shows that Fields’ had audacity, writing some naughty lines,” said Meeker.
Rosen recalls that “Left Fields” performances in 2000, with an 18-member cast, sold out over two weekends. This time, the cast numbers 10, all costumed in evening wear. “Instead of having a lot of voices, we have fewer that are really strong,” said Rosen. “There are solos and duets, which makes for good exposure for a small and elegant cast.”
Rehearsing the show proved an unexpected hurdle due to recent downtown traffic congestion. “We only had six rehearsals since I could not book three more because of the traffic. That’s a first,” she said.
The theater is offering 30 percent off its online ticket price “in honor” of the pesky inconvenience. “Just type in ‘traffic’ in the code box,” she said.
Known for her ear for comedic opportunity, Rosen figures that the debacle will find its way into this year’s production of “Lagunatics,” the yearly spoof of everything Laguna Beach. “That traffic and the escaped goats, of course,” she quipped.
[…] latter quality also impressed Bree Burgess Rosen, who had hired him to direct the No Square Theatre productions “Just So” and […]