Frank Henry Loesser (1910 – 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls and How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying , among others. He won a Tony Award for Guys and Dolls and shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How to Succeed. He also wrote songs for over 60 Hollywood films and Tin Pan Alley, many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning once for “Baby, It's Cold Outside”.
The first song in our medley, “Guys and Dolls”, occurs about halfway through Act One. Sky Masterson is busily pursuing Sergeant Sarah Brown of the “Save-A-Soul” mission to win a bet while Nathan Detroit is striving to make-up with starlet Miss Adelaide after refusing once again to get married after 14 years of betrothal. Small time gamblers Nicely-Nicely Johnson and Benny Southstreet sing the song as they declare that “guys will do anything for the dolls they love.”
The second song in the medley, “Luck Be a Lady”, occurs about halfway through Act Two, during a big dice game (‘crap game’) in the sewers, when Sky bets several thousand dollars on one roll of the dice. If he wins, all the gamblers will have to attend a revival meeting at the mission.
The third song in the medley, “I’ve Never Been in Love Before”, is the last song in Act One. Sky and Sarah have just returned from Havana, Cuba to New York. They return at around 4:00 a.m., and Sky tells Sarah how much he loves the early morning (and sings “My Time of Day”). They both spontaneously admit that they're in love, singing “I've Never Been in Love Before”). Both songs were only used as background music in the 1955 film adaptation of the musical, being replaced by the duet “A Woman in Love”. A siren sounds and gamblers run out of the mission, where Nathan has been holding a craps game. Sarah assumes that Sky took her to Havana so Nathan could run the game in the mission, and she walks out on him as the curtain falls.
Next comes a song which also was not performed in the movie: “A Bushel and a Peck”. It occurs rather early in Act One when Nathan goes to watch his fiancé of 14 years, Adelaide, perform her nightclub act at The Hot Box. The script calls the dancers the Farmerettes and describes their costumes as “abbreviated Farmerette costumes with large hats and carrying rakes, hoes and pitchforks”. During the original production, the dancers wore large Daisy barrettes, with loose petals behind permanent ones. When they sang “He loves me, he loves me not”, they would throw the loose petals into the audience. In the film, the song is replaced by “Pet Me, Poppa”.
The fifth song in the medley, “Follow the Fold”, is the second song in musical. The band members of the Save-a-Soul Mission, led by the pious and beautiful Sergeant Sarah Brown, call for sinners to “Follow the Fold” and repent. With their uniforms and brass and percussion instruments, they are highly reminiscent of a Salvation Army group playing “Bringing in the Sheaves”.
The sixth song in the medley, “If I Were a Bell”, occurs near the end of Act One. Sky and Nathan have made a bet about whether Sky can persuade Sarah to spend a night with him in Havana. Sarah, of course, refuses. But General Cartwright, the leader of Save-a-Soul, visits the mission and explains that she will be forced to close the branch unless they succeed in bringing some sinners to the upcoming revival meeting. Sarah, desperate to save the mission, promises the General “one dozen genuine sinners”, implicitly accepting Sky's deal.
In a Havana nightclub, Sky buys “Cuban milkshakes” for himself and Sarah. She doesn't realize that the drink contains Bacardi rum, and she gets drunk and kisses Sky and sings this song.
The seventh and final song in our medley, “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”, occurs near the end of the musical. Because of his very risky bet (mentioned before when we explained the background of song number two, “Lucky Be a Lady”), Sky has brought a dozen gamblers to the mission just in time for the revival meeting. Sarah is shocked to see that Sky carried through on his promise. The General asks the gamblers to confess their sins, and while some do, one of them admits the real reason they are even there. The General is thrilled that good can come from evil. Attempting to appear contrite, Nicely-Nicely Johnson sings this song and relates a fantastic dream which encouraged him to repent, and the gamblers join in with revivalist fervor.
