Character guide
Hope Harcourt
from Anything Goes
Hope Harcourt is a supporting character in Anything Goes, Cole Porter's 1934 shipboard musical comedy.
- Show
- Anything Goes
- Broadway premiere
- 1934
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Cole Porter
Hope Harcourt on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1936 film
Hope Harcourt's songs have shifted more than most. In the 1934 original, Bettina Hall's Hope sang All Through the Night with Billy and led The Gypsy in Me, a number the 1987 and 2011 revivals gave to her fiance, Lord Evelyn. Those revivals give her It's De-Lovely with Billy (added in 1962), a reprise of Easy to Love, and Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye.
On screen, Ida Lupino played Hope in Paramount's 1936 film opposite Bing Crosby's Billy Crocker. The 1956 film, despite sharing the title, replaces Hope along with most of the original characters.
Hope Harcourt: role facts
- Originated on Broadway by
- Bettina Hall (1934)
- Notable performers
- Laura Osnes played Hope in the 2011 Broadway revival and earned a Drama Desk nomination.
- Voice type and range
- Soprano, A3 to E5 in Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye
- Songs Hope Harcourt sings
- Easy to Love (Reprise) (solo, added in 1987)
- It's De-Lovely (with Billy, added in 1962)
- Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye (solo, added in 1987)
- All Through the Night (with Billy)
Who is Hope Harcourt?
Hope is a young woman sailing aboard the SS American to marry Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, a match her family favors for financial reasons, even though her heart belongs to Billy Crocker. Caught between duty to her family and her own feelings, Hope spends much of the voyage torn over which path to follow.
Her situation sets the plot's central romantic conflict in motion, and her eventual choice, aided by Reno Sweeney's scheming and Billy's persistence, resolves the show's central love triangle by its final scenes.
Hope's role in Anything Goes
Hope is a supporting role, though a central one to the plot, sharing romantic duets with Billy Crocker including It's De Lovely. The part calls for a lyrical, legitimate singing voice suited to the show's more tender love songs, in contrast to Reno's brassier numbers.
Bettina Hall originated the role on Broadway in 1934. Hope's quieter, more earnest presence provides a romantic counterbalance to the show's louder comic characters, keeping its central love story grounded amid the farce around it.
Hope Harcourt: frequently asked questions
What show is Hope Harcourt from?
Hope Harcourt is a supporting character in Anything Goes, which opened on Broadway in 1934.
Is Hope Harcourt a lead or supporting role?
Hope Harcourt is a supporting role as Billy Crocker's love interest.
Who wrote the music for Anything Goes?
Cole Porter composed the music and lyrics for Anything Goes.
Think you can name today's mystery character in eight guesses?
Play today's Character Guesser