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Synopsis

Miss Liberty is about a French girl, believed to be the model for the Statue of Liberty, who finds herself involved in a circulation war between rival New York newspapers published in 1885. As the curtain rises, photographers set up their equipment for the ceremony at which the mayor of New York City will receive Pulitzer’s check to build the base for the statue. As reporters also begin to gather, Maisie Dell, a writer at The Police Gazette, tells Horace Miller, a Herald man, how to take photographs that will please the public – and herself – “What Do I Have To Do To Get My Picture Took?” The ceremony gets underway, and the mayor accepts the check – “The Most Expensive Statue in the World.” But later, Commodore Bennett discovers that Horace, instead of photographing the ceremony, has taken shots of the packing cases containing the statue and promptly fires him. At first, Horace wants to go back home, but Maisie succeeds in convincing him otherwise – “Little Fish in a Big Pond.” At her instigation, he decides to go to Paris to discover the girl who originally posed for the statue, thus gaining an exclusive and perhaps being reinstated in Bennett’s esteem. In Paris, the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi is starting a new project for which he is interviewing would-be models, among them Monique Dupont, a dancer. She assumes the pose of the Statue of Liberty, just as Horace arrives. Thinking that she is the original model (in fact, it was Bartholdi’s mother who posed for the statue), Horace takes her picture and sends Maisie a wire, informing her that he has found the original “Miss Liberty.” Monique, who lives under a bridge with “The Countess,” her disreputable old grandmother, then invites Horace to take an inexpensive tour of Paris – “Let’s Take an Old-Fashioned Walk.” In New York, meanwhile, Maisie presents Horace’s coup to Bennett, who agrees to sponsor “Miss Liberty’s” American tour and offers Maisie a job with the Herald. But her mind is on Horace, and she refuses – “Homework.” Back in Paris, Monique dances joyously while a lamplighter sings about the fabulous city – Paris Wakes Up and Smiles.” Horace arrives with the news that he is to take her to America, and Monique, who does not know that he believes her to be the model for the statue, is overjoyed. The countess shows her approval of Horace by telling him about French customs (“Only for Americans”), and as the first act comes to a close, Horace declares his love for Monique – “Just One Way To Say I Love You.” As the second act begins, Horace, Monique and the Countess arrive in New York to great acclaim from the populace. Monique is horrified to discover that she is supposed to be “Miss Liberty,” but agrees to the deception to protect Horace. Maisie is disturbed by the evident affection between Horace and Monique, and, when Monique returns from a nerve-wracking tour, Maisie steals into her hotel room to have a chat with her. Each girl is so impressed by the other’s honesty that together they make a joint renunciation – “You Can Have Him.” Meanwhile, Bartholdi has arrived in the U.S. and reveals the deception of which Bennett has been a victim. To escape Bennett’s wrath, Horace and Monique run off into the night. As they pass Walhalla Hall where the Policemen’s Ball is underway (“The Policemen’s Ball”), Maisie, who is selling tickets for the ball and who understands now that she has lost Horace for good, suggests that they hide inside. At the ball, Monique sheds her dignified pose as “Miss Liberty” and captivates the crowd with her dancing, but as the ball ends, Bennett arrives and has her placed under arrest, along with Horace and the Countess. Maisie, left alone, sings of her lost love – “Falling Out Of Love Can Be Fun.” The following day, as the Countess and Monique wait at Castle Garden to be deported back to France for their deception, Horace enters with the happy news that Pulitzer has arranged for their release and has offered him a job. Monique, inspired by her experiences in America, sings Emma Lazarus’s poem – “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor.”

Credits

Maisie Dell: Mary McCarty The Herald Reader: Rowan Tudor James Gordon Bennett: Charles Dingle Horace Miller: Eddie Albert Police Captain: Evans Thornton The Mayor: Donald McClelland French Ambassador: Emile Renan Carthwright: Sid Lawson Joseph Pulitzer: Philip Bourneuf The Sharks: Bill Bradley, Allen Knowles, Kazimir Kokic, Robert Pagent Bartholdi: Herbert Berghof The Models: Stephanie Augustine, Trudy Deluz, Marilyn Frechette Monique Dupont: Allyn McLerie The Boy: Tommy Rall The Girl: Maria Karnilova The Acrobats: Virginia Conwell, Joe Milan, Eddie Phillips Strong Man: Kazimir Kokic The Countess: Ethel Griffies A Lover: Ed Chappel His Girl: Helene Whitney A Gendarme: Robert Penn A Lamplighter: Johnny V.R. Thompson Another Lamplighter: Tommy Rall A Socialite: Marilyn Frechette An Actress: Helene Whitney A Minister: Ed Chappel An Admiral: Robert Patterson The Boys: Bob Kryl, Ernest Laird The Mother: Elizabeth Watts The Policeman: Evans Thornton The Brothers: Lewis Bolyard, David Collyer The Train: Eddie Phillips, Erik Kristen, Joseph Milan Reception Delegation: Dolores Goodman, Virginia Conwell, Fred Hearn, Bob Tucker, Allen Knowles A Maid: Gloria Patrice The Dandy: Tommy Rall Ruby: Maria Karnilova A Sailor: Eddie Phillips His Girl: Dolores Goodman Richard K. Fox: Donald McClelland The Judge: Erik Kristen A Policeman: Robert Patterson Immigration Officer: Evans Thornton A Boy: William Calhoun Singers: Stephanie Augustine, Irene Carroll, Trudy Deluz, Marilyn Frechette, Estelle Gardner, Norma Larkin, Yolanda Renay, Helene Whitney, Lewis Bolyard, Ed Chappel, David Collyer, Billy Hogue, Sid Lawson, Robert Patterson, Robert Penn, John Sheehan, Evans Thornton Newsboys: William Calhoun, Ronald Kane, Bob Kryl, Ernest Laird, Kevin Mathews, Rusty Slocum