Hitchy-Koo of 1919

Last updated
Hitchy-Koo of 1919
Music Cole Porter
LyricsCole Porter
Book George V. Hobart
Productions1919 Broadway

Hitchy-Koo of 1919 is a musical revue with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by George V. Hobart. This revue was third in a series of four Hitchy-Koo Broadway revues from 1917 to 1920 produced by, and starring, Raymond Hitchcock. The revues were named after the 1912 popular song "Hitchy-Koo" by composers Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams with lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert; the only song which was featured in all of the Hitchy-Koo revues. [1] The original Broadway production of this version played in 1919. The revue received favourable reviews.

Contents

Production history

Marion Wilbanks in Hitchy-Koo of 1920 Marion Wilbanks - Mar 1921 30.png
Marion Wilbanks in Hitchy-Koo of 1920
Corone Paynter in Hitchy-Koo of 1920 Corone Paynter - Feb 1921.png
Corone Paynter in Hitchy-Koo of 1920

The show had tryouts in Atlantic City, New Jersey in August 1919 and the Colonial Theatre, Boston in September 1919 prior to its Broadway premiere. [2] The revue debuted on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre on October 6, 1919 and closed on November 22, 1919, running for a total of 56 performances. The show later toured the United States. [3] It starred, and was produced by, Raymond Hitchcock, who also produced and starred in versions of Hitchy-Koo in 1917, 1918, and 1920.

Some of the songs were written while Porter was in Paris, during World War I. As Porter was returning to the United States by ship, he met Hitchcock. After hearing some of Porter's songs, Hitchcock engaged Porter for the 1919 show. [4] The song "When I Had a Uniform On", helped launch the stage career of the Broadway comic, Joe Cook. [5] One of the songs, "Old-Fashioned Garden" became Porter's first hit. (The song used the surplus flower costumes the producers had bought from Florenz Ziegfeld.) [3]

Besides Hitchcock, the large cast included Lucille Ager, Maurice Black, Dan Brennan, Chief Eagle Horse, Sylvia Clark, Joe Cook, Lillian Kemble-Cooper, James J. Doherty, Charles Howard, Waneta Means, Ruth Mitchell, Florence O'Denishawn, Ursula O'Hare, Elaine Palmer, Eleanor Sinclair, Mark Sullivan, and Charles Witzell.

Songs

"Old-Fashioned Garden" and "Peter Piper" were recorded in 1919 by Prince's Band / Orchestra (Columbia A-2874). "Old-Fashioned Garden" was recorded again the same year by Olive Kline (Victor 45201). The following year, "Old-Fashioned Garden" was recorded by Joseph M. Knecht (Emerson 10319), Yerkes Jazarimba Band (Paramount 200043) and Palace Trio (Victor 35696). [2]

Critical reception

The revue was well received. The New York Times critic wrote: "The music and lyrics are the work of Cole Porter, who has made a particularly clever job of the lyrics and a good tinkling one of the music." [3]

Notes

  1. Colin Larkin (2006). "Maurice Abrahams". Encyclopedia of Popular Music . Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 22. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  2. 1 2 "Hitchy-Koo of 1919", sondheimguide.com, accessed 20 December 2013
  3. 1 2 3 Schwartz, p. 54
  4. Porter, Cole and Kimball, Robert. The complete lyrics of Cole Porter (1992), Da Capo Press, ISBN   0-306-80483-2, p. xxviii
  5. "COLE PORTER: THE GREAT SOPHISTICATE," theatrehistory.com (originally published in The Story of America's Musical Theater. David Ewen.1961. pp. 134-139.), accessed August 1, 2009

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cole Porter</span> American composer and songwriter (1891–1964)

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1933 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1933 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell Parish</span> American lyricist (1900–1993)

Mitchell Parish was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.

<i>Ziegfeld Follies</i> Series of elaborate theatrical revue productions

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zizi Jeanmaire</span> French ballet dancer and singer (1924–2020)

Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet Carmen, produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear in several Hollywood films and Paris revues. She was the wife of dancer and choreographer Roland Petit, who created ballets and revues for her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revue</span> Theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbie Mitchell</span> American opera singer (1884–1960)

Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell Cook, also billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer. She performed the role of Clara in the premiere production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1935, and was also the first to record "Summertime" from that musical.

Rogers Peet was a men's clothing company founded on November 6, 1874. Rogers Peet introduced several innovations into the men's wear business: they attached tags to garments giving fabric composition, they marked garments with price tags, they offered customers their money back if not satisfied, and they used illustrations of specific merchandise in their advertising. By 1877, it was headed by William R. H. Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African-American musical theater</span> Musical theater productions by African Americans

African-American musical theater includes late 19th and early 20th century musical theater productions by African Americans in New York City and Chicago. Actors from troupes such as the Lafayette Players also crossed over into film. The Pekin Theatre in Chicago was a popular and influential venue.

<i>Born to Dance</i> 1936 film by Roy Del Ruth

Born to Dance is a 1936 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Eleanor Powell, James Stewart and Virginia Bruce. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irène Bordoni</span> American actress

Irène Bordoni was a Franco-American actress and singer.

Henry Martyn Blossom Jr. was an American writer, playwright, novelist, opera librettist, and lyricist. He first gained wide attention for his second novel, Checkers: A Hard Luck Story (1896), which was successfully adapted by Blossom into a 1903 Broadway play, Checkers. It was Blossom's first stage work and his first critical success in the theatre. The play in turn was adapted by others creatives into two silent films, one in 1913 and the other in 1919, and the play was the basis for the 1920 Broadway musical Honey Girl. Checkers was soon followed by Blossom's first critical success as a lyricist, the comic opera The Yankee Consul (1903), on which he collaborated with fellow Saint Louis resident and composer Alfred G. Robyn. This work was also adapted into a silent film in 1921. He later collaborated with Robyn again; writing the book and lyrics for their 1912 musical All for the Ladies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Hitchcock (actor)</span> American silent film actor, stage actor, and stage producer

Raymond Hitchcock was an American silent film actor, stage actor, and stage producer, who appeared in or produced 30 plays on Broadway from 1898 to 1928, and who appeared in the silent films of the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Ray Goetz</span> American songwriter

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.

<i>The Night Boat</i>

The Night Boat (1920) is a musical in three acts, based on a farce by Alexandre Bisson, with a book and lyrics by Anne Caldwell and music by Jerome Kern. The story lampoons the notorious New York City-to-Albany night boat, on which clandestine romances were common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillian Kemble-Cooper</span> English-American actress

Lillian Kemble-Cooper was an English-American actress who had a successful career on Broadway and in Hollywood film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I May Be Gone for a Long, Long Time</span> 1917 song

"I May Be Gone for a Long, Long Time" is a World War I era song released in 1917. It was featured in the 1917 stage production of Raymond Hitchcock and E. Ray Goetz's Hitchy-Koo. Lew Brown wrote the lyrics. Albert Von Tilzer composed the music. The song was published by Broadway Music Corp. of New York, New York. André De Takacs designed the sheet music cover. It features Grace La Rue's image blended into the clouds of an ocean scene. The song was written for both voice and piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George V. Hobart</span> American writer and lyricist (1867–1926)

George Vere Hobart was a Canadian-American humorist who authored more than 50 musical comedy librettos and plays as well as novels and songs. At the time of his death, Hobart was "one of America's most popular humorists and playwrights". Hobart gained initial national fame for the "Dinkelspiel" letters, a weekly satirical column written in a German-American dialect. The Library of Congress includes several of his songs in the National Jukebox.

Hitchy-Koo is a 1912 American popular song and a series of musical revues, inspired by the song, staged on Broadway each year from 1917 through 1920 and on tour in 1922.

References