A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932. Though most famous for their visual spectacle, revues frequently satirized contemporary figures, news or literature. Similar to the related subforms of operetta and musical theatre, the revue art form brings together music, dance and sketches to create a compelling show. In contrast to these, however, revue does not have an overarching storyline. Rather, a general theme serves as the motto for a loosely related series of acts that alternate between solo performances and dance ensembles.
Irving Caesar was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including "Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Crazy Rhythm", and "Tea for Two", one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. In 1972, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Circle in the Square Theatre School is a non-profit, tax exempt drama school associated with Circle in the Square Theatre; it is the only accredited conservatory attached to a Broadway theatre.
Emerson Whithorne was a notable American composer and researcher into the history of music. He had a reputation as an authority on the music of China. He wrote music criticism for Musical America and the Paul Mall Gazette.
Louis Achille Hirsch, also known as Louis A. Hirsch and Lou Hirsch, was an American composer of songs and musicals in the early 20th century.
Ira Gasman was an American playwright, lyricist, and newspaper columnist. He was nominated for both Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his contributions to The Life, the 1997 Broadway musical that had its first production at off-Broadway's Westbeth Theatre seven years earlier.
The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theater at 216 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It was originally named Weber and Fields' Music Hall when it opened in November 1912 as a resident venue for the comedy duo Weber and Fields, but was renamed to the 44th Street Theatre in December 1913 after their tenure at the theatre ended. It should not be confused with the Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall, often referred to as simply Weber and Fields' Music Hall and also known as Weber's Music Hall or Weber's Theatre, which was used by both Weber and Fields or just Weber from 1896 through 1912.
The Casino Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 1404 Broadway and West 39th Street in New York City. Built in 1882, it was a leading presenter of mostly musicals and operettas until it closed in 1930.
The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnership of theatrical producers Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger. The theater has been used as an event venue since 2011 and is part of an entertainment and retail complex developed by Forest City Ratner. The theater is owned by the city and state governments of New York and leased to New 42nd Street. Brookfield Asset Management, which acquired Forest City in 2018, subleases the venue from New 42nd Street.
The SoHo Playhouse is an Off-Broadway theatre at 15 Vandam Street in the Hudson Square area of Manhattan.
Edward Ray Goetz was an American composer, lyricist, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical producer. A Tin Pan Alley songwriter, he published more than 500 songs during his career, many of them originally written for the New York stage. His songs were recorded by several artists, including Judy Garland, Al Jolson, and Blossom Seeley. He was active as both a lyricist and composer for Broadway musicals from 1906 through to 1930, collaborating with artists like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Sigmund Romberg, and A. Baldwin Sloane to create material for the theatre.
Harold Richard Atteridge was an American composer, librettist and lyricist primarily for musicals and revues. He wrote the book and lyrics for over 20 musicals and revues for the Shubert family, including several iterations of The Passing Show.
The International Composers' Guild was an organization created in 1921 by Edgard Varèse and Carlos Salzedo. It was responsible for performances and premieres of works by Béla Bartók, Alban Berg, Erik Satie, Carlos Chávez, Henry Cowell, Charles Ives, Maurice Ravel, Wallingford Riegger, Francis Poulenc, and Anton von Webern, and others.
The Greenwich Village Follies was a musical revue that played for eight seasons in New York City from 1919 to 1927. Launched by John Murray Anderson, and opening on July 15, 1919, at the newly constructed Greenwich Village Theatre near Christopher Street, the show's success has been credited in part to its timing: as a non-union production, it was unaffected by the then-current actors' strike.
The Earl Carroll Vanities was a Broadway revue presented by Earl Carroll in the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial.
Robert Edwards, also known as Bobby Edwards, was an American artist, musician, and writer, and a prominent figure among New York City's Greenwich Village in the 1920s and '30s. He was editor and publisher of the Greenwich Village Quill, and was known as the "Bard of Bohemia" and the "Village Troubadour" for his many songs he wrote and sang publicly.
Arthur Walter Kramer was an American music critic, music publisher, and composer.
Joseph Macauley, sometimes given as Joseph Macaulay, was an American actor and singer. A native of San Francisco, he originally trained as a lawyer at the University of California and also studied singing with Henry Bickford Pasmore. In his early acting career he performed with various theatre troupes in Northern California from 1913 to 1915 and was often seen in outdoor amphitheaters in public parks such as the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mount Tamalpais and the Forest Theater in Carmel. In 1916 he toured in John E. Kellerd's Shakespeare troupe, and then settled in New York City where he trained under George Arliss as a member of The Theatre Workshop in 1916–1917.
The Greenwich Village Follies of 1919 is a musical revue in two acts with music by A. Baldwin Sloane and lyrics co-authored by John Murray Anderson and Arthur Swanstrom. Anderson also wrote the book in collaboration with Philip Bartholomae. The first of The Greenwich Village Follies series of revues, the work premiered Off-Broadway at the Greenwich Village Theatre on July 15, 1919. Theatre scholar Thomas S. Hischak described it as "the first Off-Broadway musical to gain wide recognition in New York", and credited designer Charles Buckles Falls for adopting many new innovations in set design both original to him and from Europe which had a significant impact on future set design on Broadway. Shirley Baker was also praised for her costume designs.
Arthur M. Swanstrom was an American lyricist, playwright, producer, and dancer. The son of politician J. Edward Swanstrom, he began his career as a ballroom dancer; primarily performing in that capacity in nightclubs and in vaudeville. He expanded into working as a lyricist; initially working in partnership with John Murray Anderson as the lyricist for the revue The Greenwich Village Follies from 1919 to 1921. He became active as a Tin Pan Alley songwriter; writing lyrics for popular songs. Some of his hit songs included "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me" (1919), "The Argentines, The Portuguese, and the Greeks" (1920), "Broadway Blues" (1920), "Rain" (1927), and "Twenty-Four Hours A Day" (1935). Many of his songs were written in collaboration with Carey Morgan; although he worked with several other composers during his career. He was both producer and lyricist for the Broadway productions of Sons O' Guns (1929) and Princess Charming (1930), and authored both the lyrics and book to the Broadway musical Sea Legs (1937). Ill health and financial problems plagued Swanstrom in the last years of his life, and he died of a stroke in 1940 at the age of 52.
