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The song 'Tea for Two' was originally written to be performed as a duet between the two young lovers in the 1924 show , itself based on the 1919 play . Nanette's Uncle is extremely wealthy, and enjoys using his money to make people happy (which gets him into a bit of trouble). His friend has a nephew whose on-again-off-again romance with Nanette is the main driving force of the show's plot. When the show debuted on Broadway, 'Tea for Two' was sung by Groody and Barker when the young lovers had just made up after their first (but not last) quarrel.
While there have been numerous successful releases of the song, it is probably the version sung by Day (as Nanette) and Macrae (as the male romantic lead) which is the most familiar. This 1951 film kept two young lovers who could sing the duet, but bore little other resemblance to the musical on which it was ostensibly based. The film has a flashback structure, with Uncle relating the story to two young children. In the flashback, Nanette's promises to finance a show for the aspiring if she can respond, "No," to every question she is asked for 24 hours. This causes problems when the show's tries to declare his love; more turmoil follows when it is revealed that Nanette's uncle is bankrupt, but Nanette's assistant persuades the family to back the show. The film ends with the couple returning home to their two children.
Your Options
[lawyer][Tom][actress]['My Lady Friends'][Jack][Max][Pauline][Doris][Billy][Jimmy]['No, No, Nanette'][lyricist][Gordon][uncle][Louise]
Click or drag the options above to the spaces in the text.
The lyrics of this song from Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar sound, to a modern ear, more than a bit dated:
He: "Picture you upon my knee, With tea for two and two for tea, Just me for you and you for me, alone!"
She: "Day will break and I'm gonna awake And start to bake a sugar cake, For you to take for all the boys to see."
Together: "We will raise a family, A boy for you, and girl for me. Can't you see how happy we will be."
Of course, that is hardly surprising for a song written a century ago, and dedicated to providing fluffy entertainment, not exploring social issues. The song was a late addition to the show 'No, No, Nanette', added during a pre-Broadway run in Chicago to provide a bit of oomph. It was first performed by Phyllis Cleveland and John Barker, and proved to be just the ticket. Hit releases followed, including a number of instrumental versions (so catchy was the tune, and so simple the lyrics for listeners to sing for themselves).
'No, No, Nanette' had a successful Broadway run, and was adapted into two movies, both starring Zazu Pitts, in 1930 and 1940. A revival in 1971 involved a heavily revised book - changing from being daring and on the edge of raciness to a nostalgic vision of innocent fun times - but kept most of the music, including the hit song, performed by Carole Demas and Roger Rathburn. The headliners of the show, however, were veteran performers Bobby Van and Helen Gallagher as Billy and his wife, and Ruby Keeler, who came out of retirement for a bravura tap-dancing performance as Jimmy's wife.
The original production of 'No, No, Nanette' has been infamously blamed for the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees by Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, allegedly invoking the Curse of the Bambino in order to produce this show. Of course, this doesn't add up - the sale took place in 1919, well before he was raising money for this show. However, the sale was actually made to finance 'My Lady Friends', so there is a connection in there.
'Tea for Two' was the first film in which Doris Day was a headline performer, and also the first in which she displayed her dancing skills. If you're following the players' names, you may be confused to find that Jimmy is now the romantic lead, not Nanette's guardian. Tom (or rather, Tommy) is still Billy's son, and gets some song-and-dance opportunity, but no longer as the lead character. In fact, this movie seems to have carried over some character names from the show in which the song originated only to try and establish a valid link in some way. It doesn't really seem to exist, but if you want to see a lighthearted comedy whose leads do sparkle together, it's not a bad choice for an evening's entertainment.
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