Shows F

The following Sunday, everybody is off to the races. An American horse, Yankee Doodle, seems unbeatable, but Louis Pernasse, manager of the Hotel Claridge, informs Peter that the final race has been fixed: Horse number six, Toujours Moi, will win. May enters and spots Pernasse; knowing that he sometimes moonlights as maitre d' at the Chateau Madrid, she decides to audition her act for him. Pernasse offers her a job, then takes her money, along with Peter's remaining fifty francs, to place a bet on Toujours Moi. Looloo has also chosen Toujours Moi to win the next race. When she bumps into Peter, and realises that he has only fifty francs to his name, she gives him an additional two thousand to bet and assures him that he can pay her back at a later date. Peter wonders how Looloo can be so generous, and she confesses the reason. As Peter heads for the betting booth, Joyce appears with a dilemma. Michael has proposed to her and told her that if she doesn't accept he'll commit suicide. Should she let him? Or marry him, and kill herself? Looloo insists that it's Joyce's decision, but expresses confidence that her friend will do the right thing. At the starting gate, Toujours Moi is unveiled and revealed to be a scrawny old nag. As the race begins, Billy takes great pleasure in announcing how poorly Toujours Moi is running: a bad third, then a bad fourth, 6 then—suddenly all the other horses turn and run in the wrong direction. Toujours Moi gains the lead. As the horses head for the home stretch,Toujours Moi and Yankee Doodle are neck and neck, and as they approach the finish mark, the winner is—Yankee Doodle. Peter, more depressed than ever, tears up the tickets— but wait! Yankee Doodle is disqualified for running in front of Toujours Moi. Peter has a winning ticket—torn into bits. Looloo rushes in to celebrate their victory, but when Peter reveals his blunder, she refuses to believe him. It's true what her friends have said—he's merely after her money: He was planning on keeping the winnings for himself. Looloo rushes off, leaving Peter alone and inconsolable (You Don't Know Paree). One week later, Pernasse and his staff are preparing a lavish reception for Mrs. Carroll (Somebody's Going to Throw a Big Party/It Isn't Done), who is scheming to improve her social status by marrying Looloo to an impoverished Grand Duke (The Queen of Terre Haute). When Mr. Carroll learns the cost of the festivities, he stumbles off to the nearest bar. Looloo, meanwhile, is as troubled as her father.Try as she may, she can't stop thinking about Peter—and certainly has no desire to wed a Russian aristocrat. She corners Joyce and suggests an alternative (Let's Step Out). Later that evening, Mrs. Carroll bemoans the botched reception: Her husband arrived an hour late, drunk, and Looloo didn't bother to show up at all. Now she'll never get into proper society. Violet, amused by the evening's events, recalls another social climber she once knew (The Tale of the Oyster). The Fourth of July arrives, and Peter; now working as a dancing man at the Chateau Madrid, is busily preparing a party there that will be the culmination of his month-long travails.The evening begins with May's triumphant debut. Then Billy and Michael arrive, still trailing after Violet and Joyce; this time, however; the ladies acquiesce. Finally, Looloo appears, and Peter, with only a few minutes till midnight proposes once again. Looloo struggles for an answer—until Pernasse appears and insists that Peter dance with one of the customers.With Peter's menial occupation revealed, Looloo steps away, hurt and embarrassed. Peter turns on Pernasse, but the Frenchman is primed for a fight: He is still smarting over the race tickets that Peter tore up. Looloo overhears and realises that Peter was indeed telling her the truth that day about tearing up the tickets. She can trust him after all. As the clock strikes midnight, Looloo and Peter celebrate their engagement—and Peter collects fifty thousand francs. Record Liner notes by TOMMY KRASKER CAST (in order of appearance): • Michael Cummins • Billy Baxter • Marcelle Fouchard • Louis, a Bookmaker

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