Every Little Lyric Has A
Meaning All It’s Own:
Otto Harbach at 150

Monday, November 6, 2023
New York PuBlic Library fot the Performing Arts
at Lincoln Center

Widely recognized as the “Dean of American Librettists,” Otto Harbach was the librettist or lyricist for over 40 musicals, in collaborations with such distinguished composers as George Gershwin, Rudolf Friml, Jerome Kern, and Vincent Youmans. Born on August 18, 1873, Harbach grew up in Utah and attended Knox College. Upon graduating from Knox, he assumed a professorship in English at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Whitman awarded Harbach a sabbatical year, during which he began doctoral study at Columbia University—but he decided to leave academic life and turned instead to journalism and then advertising. In 1908, he pursued yet another career—the theatre—and found success in his first work, Three Twins, which introduced “Cuddle Up A Little Closer, Lovey Mine.” He would go on to write such well-known shows as Madame Sherry, Rose-Marie, No, No, Nanette, The Desert Song, The Cat and the Fiddle, and Roberta. A founding member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), he served that organization as a director, vice-president, and ultimately president. Harbach passed away in 1963. Upon his death, Stanley Adams, then-president of ASCAP, remarked that “just as important as his great talent and fame was his gentle thoughtful kindness to everyone. It can be truly said of Otto Harbach that he was a great man, and he will be missed by all those who knew and loved him.” This evening’s tribute will explore the nature of Harbach’s contributions to musical theatre and celebrate his talent, through performances of songs from shows including Going Up, Roberta, The Desert Song, The Cat and the Fiddle, and No, No, Nanette.