Mexican Hayride, one of Cole Porter’s unspoken musicals. With audiences expecting genius like shown in Anything Goes, they were quite disappointed with his new work. Though “the book is harmless” (Nichols, NYT), what audiences came for at the time was the music. Which in this show is subpar in comparison to Porter’s other work. What can be admired in his work is the integration of Mexican style music while still keeping the operatic musical style of the time. Structurally speaking, “the show moves on its way without effort” (Nichols, NYT). The music is entertaining enough to get you from one comedic bit to the next. 

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The story starts at a bullfight in Mexico in which the famous American bullfighter, Montana, throws the ear of the bull into the audience and whoever catches it becomes the "American Amigo". During the bullfight we see Joe, a fugitive, hiding from the officers. In a comical rage Montana ends up accidentally throwing the ear to Joe who goes from fugitive to honored guest. We see him go through a series of close calls until finally the Mexican authorities figure him out and he's forced to flee. Joe tried disguising himself in all kinds of costumes but eventually his ridiculous charades catch up to him and he's sent back to the United States. All the while there is a loose love story between Montana and the the American chargé d'affaires, David. The book of the musical focuses more on the comedic antics of Joe more than creating a cohesive story. The music though entertaining doesn't do much to advance the plot but it does give a bit more depth to the character's personalities.