The Truly Turbulent Thirties: 22 Male-Female Duet Ideas From The Great Depression

Written by Jackson Upperco

October 13, 2016

Need a duet from the 1930s for an audition? A class project? A themed cabaret? Put down your Anything Goes vocal score – half the songs in there weren’t even in the original 1934 production and they’ve all been heard to death! Add something authentic and NOT overdone to your repertoire. At a loss? Well, this unique collection of Musical Theatre male-female (with implied flexibility) duet suggestions, all from the Great Depression, is here to help.

Each of the selections below, chosen by a self-proclaimed expert on the scores of this era, is guaranteed to put you in the mind and flavor – the real mind and flavor – of this iconic decade. With classic entries in the Great American Songbook to bluesy (seldom sung) gems waiting for rediscovery, this EXCLUSIVE list is one to be bookmarked and studied!

1. “Hangin’ Around With You” from Strike Up The Band (1930)



A musical satire with a score by the esteemed Gershwin brothers, this show began its tryouts in 1927, before it was indefinitely shelved, revised, and resurrected over two years later for a 1930 Broadway opening. Its original premise concerned a war between the U.S. and Switzerland over a cheese tariff – later revised to chocolate, and all made a dream. This number, for the secondary couple (a flapper and her beau) was written for the latter version. Fun!

Get the sheet music here.

2. “Fine And Dandy” from Fine And Dandy (1930)



Fine And Dandy is often erroneously called the first Broadway musical composed by a woman (in this case, Kay Swift, whose husband served as her lyricist), but the truth is that it’s the first successful, legitimately well-received score composed by a woman. (But that’s irrelevant.) Swift, as longtime paramour of George Gershwin’s, has a similarly infectious musical style – evidenced here in this bouncy duet for the star comic and his love interest. Very of 1930.

Get the sheet music here.

3. “Could You Use Me?” from Girl Crazy (1930)



Known for offering the Broadway debut of Ethel Merman, this Gershwin musical comedy was repurposed and heavily altered to become Crazy For You (1992). A charming character number, for a city boy who’s sent to Arizona and falls for a local postmistress, it was included in the ’92 jukebox musical, but I’d advise you against evoking anything but the memory of the original Girl Crazy, which offered more lyrics (ones that were surprisingly character-centric for the era).

4. “I’m Getting Myself Ready For You” from The New Yorkers (1930)



Based on stories from the famed magazine The New Yorker (then in its infancy), this Cole Porter scored “sociological musical satire” was loaded with late ‘20s archetypes – gangsters, socialites, and chanteuses – as it tracked the romance between a society gal and a bootlegger. Sung by one of the secondary couples, this snazzy tune is teeming with its composer’s sophisticated brand of sexual innuendo – as lovers prepare to get “ready” for each other (to do, you know…).

5. “I’ve Got Five Dollars” from America’s Sweetheart (1931)



Broadway loved to riff on Hollywood following the coming of talkies in the late ‘20s, and Rodgers and Hart (who would eventually go Hollywood for a while themselves) reveled in the parody. The plot of America’s Sweetheart concerned a young couple whose fortunes in the industry never seem to align – she’s up, he’s down; then he’s up, she’s down. Their opening duet is a Depression-era charmer, filled with optimism because, hey, they’ve “got five dollars.”

6. “I Say It’s Spinach (And The Hell With It)” from Face The Music (1932)



Irving Berlin threw his own hat into the satirical ring with a pair of early ‘30s scores which included Face The Music. Its plot revolved around a crooked New York Police Chief who invests in a new Broadway musical. The cutesy young lovers got several peppy duets (perfect for this bleak, sunshine-needing era), including “Let’s Have Another Cup O’ Coffee” and “I Say It’s Spinach (And The Hell With It)” – the latter also based on a famous New Yorker cartoon.

Get the sheet music here.

7. “You’re An Old Smoothie” from Take A Chance (1932)



Take A Chance was originally an American history revue (with songs by Richard Whiting and Nacio Herb Brown) titled Humpty Dumpty, with a few interspersed backstage segments. Out of town, the show was retitled and recast, given new songs by Vincent Youmans, and thrown both a romance and a pair of gangsters. In this Whiting-Brown number, for a singer (Ethel Merman) and a crook (Jack Haley), they lament how they’re “putty” in each other’s hands.

Get the sheet music here.

8. “Luckiest Man In The World” from Pardon My English (1933)



Set in a Germany that’s outlawed non-alcoholic beverages (in a spoof of Prohibition), this Gershwin musical concerned a man who vacillates between two different personalities every time he’s hit on the head – a German soda bootlegger (his real one) and a member of British high society. This song exists in two melodically different forms – a solo for the lead (heard on Broadway) and its out-of-town more charactery variant, a duet with his German moll.

9. “Mine” from Let ‘Em Eat Cake (1933)



A sequel to the Gershwins’ Pulitzer Prize-winning musical satire Of Thee I Sing (1931), about a Presidential campaign (and its resulting scandals), Let ‘Em Eat Cake was mounted with most of the same cast and crew, but was considered much darker. It was about the President losing re-election and attempting a fascist takeover – too much for beleaguered Depression audiences. However, the score had a few delights – like a standard for the ex-President and his First Lady.

Get the sheet music here.

10. “I Won’t Dance” from Three Sisters (1934)



Revised by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh when shoehorned into the 1935 film adaptation of Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach’s Roberta, this number was originally written by the latter pair for the property’s 1933 Broadway production. When it was cut, Kern used it next year in a London musical called Three Sisters, where it made its debut and got some new words by Hammerstein. The above recording is the ’34 version; the sheet music below is the ’35.

Get the sheet music here.

11. “You’re A Builder-Upper” from Life Begins At 8:40 (1934)



One of the early half of the decade’s most sophisticated revues, Life Begins At 8:40 had an impressive roster of stars that included Bert Lahr, Luella Gear, Ray Bolger, and Frances Williams. This unique duet, by Harold Arlen and lyricists Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg, was introduced by Bolger and Dixie Dunbar. In it, the two hopelessly-in-love sweethearts each cite the other as being both a “builder-upper [and] a breaker-downer” by whom the love being strung along!

12. “Bess, You Is My Woman” from Porgy And Bess (1935)



Perhaps the Gershwin brothers’ crowning achievement, this folk opera (with support from DuBose Heyward) was set in a black tenement and traced the romance between a crippled beggar and the coke addict he tries to help rehabilitate. In this, one of the most romantic numbers of the entire decade, the titular lovers first affirm their feelings for one another. Obviously, it’s a romantic duet for a pair of classically trained singers; best suited for people of color.

Get the sheet music here.

13. “A Picture Of Me Without You” from Jubilee (1935)



Above, I suggested you avoid the overdone duets from Anything Goes (some of which, like “It’s De-Lovely,” come from other shows – like, in this case, 1936’s Red, Hot, And Blue!). Here’s a fine alternative – a nifty ditty from Jubilee, a terrific piece about a royal family who hides among their subjects whilst fearing a coup. In this number, a Prince and a saucy chanteuse muse on what life would be like without one another. Loaded with ‘30s references, it’s classic Cole Porter.

14. “That Moment Of Moments” from The Ziegfeld Follies Of 1936



After the success of the 1934 edition of The Ziegfeld Follies, produced by his widow Billie Burke, the series returned with one of its finest productions. The score came courtesy of Vernon Duke and Ira Gershwin, and was introduced by the likes of Fanny Brice, Eve Arden, Bob Hope, and Josephine Baker. This is simply an elegant love song, originally for the show’s two leading vocal talents – Gertrude Niesen and Rodney McLennan. If you want ‘30s loveliness, here’s some.

15. “It’s Got To Be Love” from On Your Toes (1936)



One of the more visible non-Anything Goes scores of the decade, this entry by Rodgers and Hart has seen two major revivals – first in 1954 and then again in 1983. The premise concerns an American music teacher who falls for a Russian ballerina (whose company has agreed to perform his student’s jazz ballet). Here’s a fun duet for the teacher (originally Ray Bolger) and his steady American girlfriend, an aspiring songwriter who is said to have written the joyful tune.

16. “I Wish I Were In Love Again” from Babes In Arms (1937)



Perhaps among the more well-known entries on this list, conjuring up images of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, this number – also by the talented team of Rodgers and Hart – was included in the quintessential “hey, kids, let’s put on a show” musical, Babes In Arms, about two kids who are forced to work on a farm while their folks tour the vaudeville circuit. To avoid this fate, they decide to put on a show. The sheriff’s daughter and her ex-boyfriend get this fun number.

Get the sheet music here.

17. “From Alpha To Omega” from You Never Know (1938)



Another fine alternative to the overdone duets from Anything Goes (and the revivals that claimed interpolated songs), this rapturous Porter duet for a romancing maid and valet, each masquerading as their bosses (a Mademoiselle and Baron, respectively) may not be as well-known as “You’re The Top.” But it covers a lot of the same territory, as the pair lists the many things over which the other is better – “from Juliet to Norma Shearer, you’re what I like the most.”

Get the sheet music here.

18. “It Never Was You” from Knickerbocker Holiday (1938)



Among the most haunting numbers of the decade, this offering by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, from a musical allegory intending to compare a dictatorial 17th century American governor to the then-current U.S. President (F.D.R.), is the principal love duet for the brave protagonist and his lady love, the town councilman’s daughter. The evocative lyrics tell of the pair searching, but never finding what they were inevitably seeking – each other. Swoon!

19. “He And She” from The Boys From Syracuse (1938)



Cheeky goodness comes from this cheeky Rodgers and Hart musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy Of Errors (about two sets of identical twins separated at birth). Sung by Luce, a slave girl, and Dromio of Syracuse, the identical twin of her real husband, and the man with whom she’s just enjoyed a night of passion, this riotous comedic number features the pair’s musings on marriage, philandering, and what kids do to a relationship. Such wit!

20. “It’s All Yours” from Stars In Your Eyes (1939)



Again, with the Hollywood spoofs! This time the score comes from the oft-overlooked Arthur Schwartz and the equally underrated Dorothy Fields. The headliners were Ethel Merman and Jimmy Durante, playing a Hollywood diva and pitchman, respectively. There were several gems (especially for La Merm), but the audience’s favorite was the pair’s duet, filled with vaudeville jokes and one-upping ad libs – part of a dream sequence in which they’re Russian royalty.

21. “All The Things You Are” from Very Warm For May (1939)



A great American standard by Jerome Kern (with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II), this number was originally performed by a quartet backed by the ensemble. But as the above vocal rendition indicates, it makes for an ideal duet. Very Warm For May was about summer stock (a gangster subplot was removed before the Broadway opening), and this classic was featured in a “show within a show” sequence. If you want to stretch your vocal chops, here’s a gem of true beauty.

Get the sheet music here.

22. “But In The Morning, No!” from Du Barry Was A Lady (1939)



We’ll close this list with another Cole Porter offering, coming from Du Barry Was A Lady (from which “Friendship” hails), about a washroom attendant who’s in love with a singer and dreams that they’re back in Louis XV’s court – where he’s the king and she’s his eponymous mistress. But, as in real life, she won’t sleep with him! This song is an attempted seduction, with some of the naughtiest lyrics Porter ever wrote. If you’re seeking a good bawdy piece, look no further, kids…

Get the sheet music here.

For more information on the scores and composers of this era, visit the author’s blog: jacksonupperco.com


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Jackson Upperco is a lover of retro television, forgotten Broadway musicals, and Pre-Code Hollywood. He boasts a Bachelors Degree in Film and Television from Boston University. You can keep up with all of his entertainment interests at jacksonupperco.com.