Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Before Marilyn Monroe brought Lorelei Lee to the screen, Carol Channing made her – and herself – a Broadway sensation. Anita Loos’ blonde philosopher from Little Rock became one of musical theater’s most indelible characters when Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre in December 1949 and ran for 740 performances.

Lorelei and her level-headed friend Dorothy Shaw sail aboard the Île de France, bound for Paris and a nightclub engagement. Lorelei is engaged to wealthy Gus Esmond, whose disapproving father has hired a detective to observe her behavior abroad. This presents a challenge: Lorelei may love Gus, but she also firmly believes that diamonds, financial security, and attentive gentlemen are essential ingredients of a successful romance. When she attracts the attention of the married Sir Francis Beekman—and becomes involved in the disappearance of Lady Beekman’s diamond tiara—her European adventure threatens both her engagement and her reputation.

Dorothy, meanwhile, is far more interested in love than money, particularly after meeting the handsome young man who appears to share her lack of interest in wealth. As the women negotiate suspicious fathers, lovestruck admirers, private detectives, and Parisian high society, their friendship remains the show’s true anchor.

Jule Styne and Leo Robin supplied a score as glamorous and quick-witted as its heroine, including “A Little Girl from Little Rock,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “I Love What I’m Doing,” “It’s High Time,” and the song that became Lorelei’s permanent calling card: “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”