Celebrating 130 Years of Lorenz Hart
1. “Love Never Went to College”
Composing was not always Lorenz Hart’s chosen career path. He spent two years studying journalism at Columbia University. Columbia was full of artists or those connected to some of the greatest working artists of the day, soon giving Hart a taste for a theatrical career. It was during his time at Columbia that he met the Schubert brothers, a theatrical producing duo who would help kickstart his career.
2. “My busy mind is burning to use what learning I’ve got.”
Hart attended the theatre in New York from childhood and was a passionate student of literature. His firm grasp of theatrical convention and plot uniquely equipped him to contribute a body of work filled with sharp, tasteful lyrics finely coordinated with rhythm and melody – as well as the plot, mood and action of the play.
3. “Sing for Your Supper”
Hart was fluent in German and worked closely with the Schubert brothers, who were also famous composers of the time, to translate operas and plays from German to English. He did this throughout his academic and professional career to earn extra money to support his artistic pursuits.
4. “We have a place in the sun”
Hart came from artistic lineage, descended on his mother’s side from the tragic poet Heinrich Heine. Heine was a respected Romantic poet, literary critic and writer. He is perhaps best known for his early lyric poetry, which happened to be set to music by renowned composers Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert.
5. “Now I’m no longer alone”
In 1919, at the age of 23, Hart was introduced to 16-year-old Richard Rodgers, and their fruitful partnership began. For one of their first collaborations, they wrote Columbia University’s 1920 Varsity Show, Fly with Me. The show featured lyrics by Hart, music by Rodgers and – coincidentally – additional lyrics by classmate Oscar Hammerstein II, who would eventually become Rodgers’ other famous writing partner!
6. “We’ll turn Manhattan to an isle of joy”
Over the course of their 25-year collaboration, Hart and composer Richard Rodgers produced about 1,000 songs. They wrote for a wide variety of projects, including variety shows, circus acts, musicals and films.
7. “You’re busy keeping far away from work”
Hart was notorious for his dislike of sustained work, disregard for punctuality and loose observation of deadlines. Rodgers ruefully and affectionately described him as “a partner, a best friend—and a source of permanent irritation.”
8. “While I still am alive I am going to mingle”
Hart started work on a musical in 1943 called Miss Underground, with music by Emmerich Kalman and a book by Paul Gallico. While Hart produced between 17 and 18 sets of lyrics, the guiding elements of his partnership with Richard Rodgers that allowed him to thrive were missing, and Hart soon shifted to other projects – never finishing the musical.
9. “At that noisy, girlsy and boysy Hollywood Party”
After several successful years on the East Coast, Rodgers & Hart relocated to Hollywood in 1930. During their four years there, they contributed songs and scores for a series of movie musicals, including Love Me Tonight starring Maurice Chevalier; The Phantom President starring George M. Cohan; Hallelujah, I’m a Bum starring Al Jolson; and Mississippi starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields.
10. “Wide awake I can make my most fantastic dreams come true.”
Only an exceptional opportunity could have brought Rodgers & Hart back from Hollywood, and that opportunity came with Jumbo, a circus spectacular from legendary producer Billy Rose. Turning the 5,000-seat Hippodrome Theatre into a massive circus tent, the show featured acrobatics, musicians and animal acts (including a live elephant). In 1962, Jumbo returned to Hollywood in a film adaptation starring Doris Day and Jimmy Durante.
11. “Dear Old Syracuse”
The Boys from Syracuse, based on A Comedy of Errors, was the pioneer adaptation of Shakespeare for musical comedy. Rodgers & Hart’s musical predated Cole Porter’s better-known Kiss Me, Kate by about a decade.
12. “Yet remember those sweet words, ‘Till death do us part.’”
Hart died on November 22, 1943, shortly after the opening of A Connecticut Yankee, his final musical collaboration with Rodgers. Already ill at the time the show opened, Hart developed pneumonia and fell into a coma the following day. He never saw the critical and commercial success of his final work. In 1970, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
13. “I’ve mastered a few, and everything I’ve got belongs to you.”
In 1998, Hart was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp. This stamp was released as a part of the American Music series and was originally worth 33 cents.
Hart’s prolific contributions to the musical world remain keystones of performance and continue to resonate with audiences today. The scope and honesty of his work are a reminder of what it means to be human – leaving us with a catalog of music which transcends generations.
For a deep dive into Lorenz Hart’s legacy, read his full biography here and peruse his work here.