Dear List,

Show Girl is a 1929 American musical play. Like the 1928 silent comedy-drama film (with soundtrack) bearing the same title, it tells of a "show-crazy girl" (as Humbert would put it) and indeed she rises to fame "in an essentially grief-proof sphere of existence wherefrom death and truth [are] banned" as a sugardaddy eventually finances her in a show "on fabulous Broadway". That musical could boast music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin (whom Nabokov would come to know around 1960) and Gus Kahn, and an orchestra directed by Duke Ellington.

But what interests me is (probably) quite coincidental: among the musical numbers in it, one finds "Lolita (my Love)" and "How could I forget [Lolita]" (the first title seems to have inspired Barry and Lerner with that of their own ill-fated 1971 musical adaptation). Just for curiosity's sake, does anyone know where one could find the lyrics of those two numbers? The plot provided opportunities to include numbers from earlier works but I cannot tell who that Lolita is in the musical.

Many thanks!

Didier Machu

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