We had a wonderful time.
We had such a grand time.
Good night.
It's so nice to have met you.
What a wonderful evening.
Lucy.
Oh, Lucy, this has been
a most momentous club meeting,
just too, too, really.
Bye, Lucy.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
I will let you know all about it,
dear...
Oh, okay, dear.
Bye-bye.
just as soon as I can.
Yes. Bye-bye.
Hi. Oh, is the club meeting over?
Yeah. They just left.
Oh, darn it. I thought I'd get home
on time.
What happened?
The roof fell in on me.
What do you mean?
Oh, Ethel, it's just terrible.
The club voted to use the money in
the treasury
to put on an operetta on the th
and I'm supposed to be in charge.
So what?
Well, there isn't enough money in the
treasury.
Well, you're the treasurer of the
club--
you ought to know.
How much is there?
The books say $ .
Well?
Well, about a year and a half ago
Ricky wanted to go over my household
account,
and I was ten dollars short.
So?
Well, I borrowed ten dollars from the
club treasury
so that my household account would
balance.
Well, ten dollars.
That was only the beginning.
From then on, I borrowed from the
household account
so that the treasury account would
balance,
and then I borrowed from the treasury
so the household account would
balance,
and on and on and back and forth like
a tennis game,
and somewhere along the line, I lost
the ball.
What do you mean?
Now there's no money in either
account.
Oh, my goodness, you are in a spot.
What are you going to do?
Well, I was going to pay back the
treasury
with my household money,
but Ricky doesn't give it to me
until the first of the month.
And you need the money on the th.
Gee, I'm worried.
You know how fat I look in stripes.
Why don't you ask Ricky to advance
you the money?
Oh, I thought of that.
I don't look good in black and blue
either.
You'd better start thinking.
Well, I've got one last desperate
idea.
What is it?
Well, we can save the royalty fee--
that's $ --
if we write the operetta ourselves.
Wait a minute.
And then...
We could save the royalty fee?
Who is "we"?
"We" is Ethel Romberg and Lucy Friml.
That's who "we" is.
Oh, no, you don't.
Just forget all about me.
Oh, all right, I'll just have to get
someone else
to sing the lead.
The lead?
Yeah. That's all right, though.
I can find someone else.
Oh. The lead, huh?
Who could possibly do it but you?
Now the next thing we have to do is
get
someone to sing the male lead for
nothing.
Who?
Who else but John Charles Ricardo?
Hi, Lucy.
Hi.
Sorry I'm late.
That's okay.
I got the story pretty well along.
You want to hear it?
Sure.
It's called The Pleasant Peasant.
She's really a princess in disguise.
That's my part, huh?
Oh, well, I kind of wanted to talk to
you about that, Ethel.
Now, Lucy, you said nobody could
possibly sing the lead but me.
But now look, If Ricky's going to do
the male lead
it's only logical that I sing the
female lead.
Oh...
Besides, I have a much better part
for you.
What?
Camille.
Camille?
Yeah, Camille-- the snaggletooth old
queen of the gypsies.
Oh, no. Now, Lucy...
Now, Ethel, give me one good reason
why you should do the female lead
instead of me.
You can't carry a tune.
Well!
If you're going to get petty about
it.
All right, we'll audition right now.
I'll go first.
Get over.
Mi.
Now you.
Mi.
I been working on the railroad
All the livelong day.
Where do I go to get my teeth
snaggled?
Good girl.
Now let's hear the story of the
operetta.
Well, we open on the outside of the
inn,
and there's dancing on the green.
And then Squire Quinn-- that's Fred--
comes out of the inn.
His inn is on the River Out.
And then you come on and you sing a
song
about nobody being in love with you.
Then the queen of the gypsies comes
on--
that's me, I guess--
and predicts that you're going to
fall in love
with a prince and be married,
but it will come to a terrible
tragedy.
Then Ricky comes in-- he's the
prince--
and he takes one look at you and
falls madly in love with you.
That'll take a little acting.
Never mind.
Well, anyway, they have the wedding,
and then, like the gypsy predicted,
tragedy strikes.
On the way to the prince's castle,
the band of highwaymen hit the prince
on the head, kidnap you
and take you to their cave in the
forest.
Now, the reason the highwaymen
kidnapped the peasant girl
is that the wicked witch has turned
the leader into a frog.
Huh?
Yeah.
The leader of the highwaymen is the
princess' brother
who was separated from her when they
were tadpoles.
But she doesn't know this, see.
And that's the end of the first act.
The first act?
Yeah.
How many scenes are there in that?
Only .
Eighteen?!
That will take a lot of scenery,
won't it?
Now, don't get excited.
I've already rented the scenery and
the costumes.
But don't you have to pay for that
stuff in advance?
Sure, I gave them a check on the club
treasury.
But there's no money
in the club treasury account.
You don't give me credit for
anything.
I dated the check the day after the
show.
By that time there will be a lot of
money in the bank.
Oh, dear.
Want to hear the rest of the story?
Why not?
Now, in the meantime,
the prince, who thinks he's a peasant
but he's really a frog, you know,
is working for Squire Quinn at the
inn,
and the only way...
I am the good Prince Lancelot
I love to sing and dance a lot
I have an eye for a da-da-da...
None of that "da-da-da" stuff.
Let's hear the words.
They're good words; let's hear them.
Good words?
"Lancelot..."
"dance a lot."
Who wrote this operetta anyway?
Who wrote it?
Did you ever hear of Victor Herbert?
Well, sure.
Well, all right then.
Go ahead.
I am the good Prince Lancelot
I love to sing...
Say, Lucy, does this costume look
right to you?
Is that what they sent over?
Well, there's a lot of stuff
downstairs,
but I can't figure it out.
Oh, I'll just have to go down and
check.
I have to do everything around here.
Come on, I'll take care of it.
You two keep on your rehearsing.
Come on now.
Don't stop.
Yes, Mrs. De Mille.
Hey, wait a minute.
Wait a minute, Ethel.
I want to talk to you about
something.
What?
Well, look, honey, I, I...
You know I love Lucy, and she's a
wonderful girl
and she's got wonderful qualities,
but, uh, confidentially...
when she sings, she hits a bad note
once in a while.
Once in a while?
Oh, you've noticed.
Well, what are we going to do about
it?
You don't have to worry about it.
I've already taken care of it.
I talked to the women, and she isn't
going to get a chance to sing by
herself.
Every time she opens her mouth, the
entire cast will join in.
I am the good Prince Lancelot...
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
and welcome
to the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts
League production
of The Pleasant Peasant.
I can't come out in front of the
curtain
because I have my costume on.
Overture, maestro, please.
We're the pleasant peasant girls
Happy pleasant peasant girls
We're so happy we could fly
With an H-A-P-P-Y
We're the pleasant peasant girls
Happy pleasant peasant girls
With a happy mom and a happy pappy
We're so happy that we're almost
sappy
We're the pleasant peasant
Girls.
Oh... what do we do today?
Let's have a picnic down by the River
Out.
Oh, that's a lovely idea.
Oh, wonderful.
Look, there is Squire Quinn.
Well, well, good morning, girls.
Good morning.
Good morning, Squire Quinn.
There, there, there.
Well, what a bunch of pleasant
peasants you are.
I'm the good Squire Quinn
And I wanna shout
About my inn on the River Out
You can easily see the shape Squire
Quinn is in
But wait till you see the shape his
inn is in
The rooms are lovely and full of
space
There's running water in every place
Yes, and lots of water if you can
stay Long enough for a rainy day
Every room has a beautiful view
Of sailing boats on the river blue
You can watch the boats when the wind
blows
But the squire didn't put in windows
Lots of ale and stout are on my shelf
And I take a drop or two myself
A drop, he says, the squire's got the
gout
The stout makes him ail
And the ale makes him stout
So ends my story, and I think that
this'll
Be a good time to wet my whistle
That's all there is, and it leaves no
doubt
That the squire's in his inn
And his inn's on the Out.
Well, well, good-bye, girls.
I've got to go now and polish off a
few tankards.
Good-bye!
Good-bye, girls.
Good-bye! Good-bye!
Look. Look who's coming yonder.
It's a pleasant peasant girl
from the next village.
Come on.
I am Lily
Of the valley
Of the quiet, peaceful valley over
there
And I'm lonely
Oh, so lonely
And nobody in the valley seems to
care
When other girls go walking
On their arms they have a swell beau
But whenever I go walking
On my arm is just my elbow
And I'm looking
Always looking
For my dream man
And I guess I always will
I know a girl's supposed to wait
For a prince to come and get her
The only prince I ever met
Is a neighbor's Irish setter
So, if by any chance
You see
A prince who has a plan for me
Tell him not to dilly-dally
Not to dilly-dally
Come back to
Lily of the valley.
Well, I guess I'll go back to my own
valley.
Lily?
Lily?
Who's that?
Lily.
Who are you?
Who am I?
Come closer
and I'll tell you who I am.
Ah
Ahh
Oh
I am the queen of the gypsies
Gyp, gyp, gyp, gyp, gyp, gypsies
I ride along in my gypsy caravan
It's the finest gypsy band in the
land
There are no kings in the gypsies
Gyp, gyp, gyp, gyp
Gyp, gyp, gyp, gypsies
You know what they mean when they
shake their tambourine
And I'm their gypsy
Queen.
Are you really a gypsy queen, Gypsy
Queen?
Yes, little girl,
and I have a prediction for you.
For me?
Yes, and I will tell it to you in my
song.
My song.
Tell me, tell me.
Ah
Oh
I took the...
Wing of an owl
And the eye of a yak
The eye of a yak
The lost brown tooth of an alley cat
I put it in my pot
And what do you think I got?
What do you think I got?
What do you think I got?
What do you think I got?
What do you think I got?
All right, all right.
All right.
All right, already
I think I'll tell my prediction.
Come here, little girl.
Sit down.
Last night, I had a vision.
You did?
Yes. About you.
About me?
Yes.
What was it?
Well, a handsome prince is coming
to ask you to marry him.
But this marriage must never take
place
because it would be a terrible
tragedy
and mean unhappiness for everyone.
Who's that?
Your prince is coming.
The prince is coming!
The prince is coming!
The prince is coming!
His royal highness, the good Prince
Lancelot.
Whee!
Hello, girls. Hello.
Hello, everybody.
Drinks for all.
Drink, everyone.
Drink to your health.
Drink.
Oh, we are the troops of the king
Yes, we are
And we only think of one thing
Yes, we do
We like to drink, drink, drink,
drink, drink, drink
Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink
We like to drink, drink, drink,
drink, drink, drink
Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink
We like to drink, drink, drink,
drink, drink, drink
Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink
We like to drink, drink, drink,
drink, drink, drink
Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink.
All right, everyone.
Ale for the girls.
More ale for the girls.
All right, prince.
More ale for the girls.
I'm the prince.
Send me the bill.
I am the good Prince Lancelot
I love to sing and dance a lot
I have an eye
For a pretty face
I love the girls
But it's no disgrace
There was Mercedes
Rosaline
Betty, and Sue
Dorothy, Janice
And sweet Mary Lou
Audrey, Bebe
And Anastelle
But that's all over with now
All I want is you
Lily
To you I'll be true
Lily
Come with me
And we'll ride away
Over the hills
To my hideaway
Listen to my plea
Lily
I'm a man that needs
Lily
Please say you will, darling
Don't say you won't
Say you'll marry
Me.
Lily, will you marry me?
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
This marriage must never go on.
It means nothing but tragedy
and unhappiness for everyone.
Ah!
Queen
I'd like a word with you
Uh, go away
This is not your cue.
I know
But there's trouble backstage
What seems to be the trouble?
There are some men backstage
Who are taking away the costumes and
the scenery
Well, I gave them the check
It bounced
It bounced
It bounced
It bou-bou-bou-bou
Bounced
It came back?
It was postdated
I know that
Well, what do we do?
Tell them to wait a minute
But they won't do it
Well, take a s*ab at it
Uh, uh, uh...
on with the wedding.
Everyone.
On with the wedding.
On with the wedding.
Do you, Prince Lancelot,
...take this maiden, Lily of the
valley,
to be your lawfully wedded wife,
for better or for worse?
Yes.
Do you, Lily of the valley,
take Prince Lancelot to be your...
Now, look here, you can't do this.
Now, look here.
Hey, hey.
What's the big idea?
Oh, I am the queen of the gypsies
Gyp, gyp, gyp, gyp, gyp, gypsies
I am the queen of the gypsies...
The club president was
played by Myra Marsh.
02x05 - The Operetta
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Lucy & Ricky Ricardo live in New York, while Ricky tries to succeed in show business -- Lucy who is always trying to help -- usually ends up in some kind of trouble that drives Ricky insane.
Lucy & Ricky Ricardo live in New York, while Ricky tries to succeed in show business -- Lucy who is always trying to help -- usually ends up in some kind of trouble that drives Ricky insane.