The Lady Comes Across

Latouche’s final musical with Vernon Duke, The Lady Comes Across (1942), with choreography again with Balanchine, was a bomb, lasting only three performances. The work was to feature the British star Jessie Matthews, who left the show while in tryouts. The show never recovered, though it marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Latouche and one of its bookwriters, novelist Dawn Powell. About the same time, Latouche also involved himself in several other efforts, none of which materialized. In one instance, he reportedly wrote some material for film director William Dieterle to use in his film Syncopation. He also considered collaborating on a project with choreographer Ruth Page and composer Kurt Weill. Finally, he gave some thought to further shows with Vernon Duke, but nothing transpired along those lines either.