Dearest Enemy

Dearest Enemy (1925), a musical comedy by Herbert Fields (book), Richard Rodgers (music), Lorenz Hart (lyrics). [Knickerbocker Theatre, 286 perf.] When the British General Howe ( Harold Crane) stops at the home of New Yorker Mrs. Robert Murray ( Flavia Arcaro) for some rest and refreshment, the good lady contrives to delay him and his associates until the American troops of General Putnam ( Percy Woodley) have time to escape and join Washington ( H. E. Eldridge) at Harlem Heights. The delay allows Mrs. Murray's niece, Betsy Burke ( Helen Ford), to fall in love with British Captain Sir John Copeland ( Charles Purcell). The romance seems to fall apart when Copeland believes Betsy has signaled the Americans, but after the war he reconsiders and returns to consummate the courtship. Notable songs: Bye and Bye; Here in My Arms; I Beg Your Pardon. Hailed by Arthur Hornblow in Theatre as “something very akin to a genuine comic opera,” the musical was Rodgers and Hart's first book show following their success with Garrick Gaieties. It united the pair with Herbert Fields, thus creating a new team that for several seasons gave promise of rivaling the great Princess Theatre trio of Bolton‐Wodehouse‐Kern.