Rio Rita may be said to be one of the last, great, "light musical comedies" or "Follies-based" type of musical. With the introduction of Show Boat, later in 1927—as well as the subsequent introduction of George Gershwin's musicals that year and through the early 1930s—the American musical became much more a dramatically cohesive "musical play". This form reached its maturity in the Rodgers and Hammerstein productions, beginning with Oklahoma! and culminating with South Pacific.
Synopsis
Setting: Mexico and Texas
The captain of the Texas Rangers, Jim Stewart, is in San Lucar Mexico on the Rio Grande, in disguise in order to catch the notorious bandit Kinkajou. While there, he falls in love with Rita Ferguson, an Irish-American-Mexican girl who sings in the local hotel after being displaced, along with her brother, from her family ranch.
General Esteban, the Governor of the San Lucar District, also loves Rita and hates all gringos. He hatches a plot to set Jim and Rita at odds by making Rita doubt both her own brother, who may be the Kinkajou, and Jim, who may be spying on her brother through her.
Amid all of this intrigue, Chick Bean, a soap salesman, and Dolly, an American cabaret girl, arrive in San Lucar and get married. Unbeknownst to Dolly, Chick also went to Mexico to obtain a quick divorce from his unfaithful first wife, Katie. But then hours after Chick and Dolly are wed, Ed Lovett, a lawyer of dubious reputation, informs Chick that his divorce is not recognized by the U.S. Government. Complications ensue.
Opening chorus ("The world loves a lover, they say")
The Best little lover in Town – Lovett, chorus of girls
Sweetheart – Rita, chorus of girls
River Song ("Down By the River of My Dreams") – Rita
Eight Little Gringos – gringo girls
Are You There? – Dolly, Chick
Rio Rita – Rita, Jim
Rangers' chorus – rangers
March of the rangers – Jim, rangers
Spanish Shawl ("Beneath the Silken Shawl") – Carmen, serenaders
The Kinkajou – chorus
You're Always In My Arms" – Rita
If You're in Love, you'll Waltz – Rita, Jim
Moonlight ballet
Out on the Loose – Chick, girls
Finale, Act 1
Act II
Opening dance
Yo Ho and a Bottle of Rum – girls
The Black and White Ballet – girls
Come, take a Trip – chorus
I can Speak Espagnol – Dolly, Lovett
Roses – Jim, Rita
Following the Sun Around – Jim
You're Always in My Arms (reprise) – Rita
The Best Little Lover in Town (reprise) – Lovett
Rio Rita (reprise) – Jim
Incidental music
Following the Sun around (reprise) – katie
Finale, Act 2 – ensemble
Notes
It was this musical that Charles Lindbergh was attending when he got news from the Weather Bureau that clear skies were opening over the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh then hurried to his hotel room, but could not sleep, and then to the Roosevelt airfield to take off on his famous flight to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis.
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.
Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies (1907–1931), inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat. He was known as the "glorifier of the American girl". Ziegfeld is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Harry Austin Tierney was an American composer of musical theatre, best known for long-running hits such as Irene (1919), Broadway's longest-running show of the era, Kid Boots (1923) and Rio Rita (1927), one of the first musicals to be turned into a talking picture.
Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois.
Albert Jerome Wheeler was an American comedian who performed in Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and vaudeville acts. He was the comedy partner of Robert Woolsey, and together they formed a successful double act called Wheeler & Woolsey.
Robert Rolla Woolsey was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey.
Thomas Joseph McCarthy was an American lyricist whose most famous songs include "You Made Me Love You", and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", from the now-forgotten Oh, Look! (1918), starring the Dolly Sisters, based upon the haunting melody from the middle section of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu.
Dixiana (1930) is a lavish American pre-Code comedy, musical film directed by Luther Reed and produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The final twenty minutes of the picture were photographed in Technicolor. The film stars Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Joseph Cawthorn, Jobyna Howland, Ralf Harolde, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Dorothy Lee. The script was adapted by Luther Reed from a story by Anne Caldwell.
Rio Rita is a 1929 American pre-Code RKO musical comedy starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles along with the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey.. The film is based on the 1927 stage musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, which originally united Wheeler and Woolsey as a team and made them famous. The film was the biggest and most expensive RKO production of 1929 as well as the studio's biggest box office hit until King Kong (1933). Its finale was photographed in two-color Technicolor. Rio Rita was chosen as one of the 10 best films of 1929 by Film Daily.
Rio Rita is a 1942 American comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Abbott and Costello. It was based upon the 1927 Flo Ziegfeld Broadway musical, which was previously made into a 1929 film also titled Rio Rita that starred the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. Kathryn Grayson and John Carroll replace the 1929 version's Bebe Daniels and John Boles.
Lou Holtz was an American vaudevillian, comic actor, and theatrical producer.
Georges Renavent was a French-American actor in film, Broadway plays and operator of American Grand Guignol. He was born in Paris, France. In 1914, he immigrated to the United States, crossing the frontier between Canada and Vermont.
Dorothy Lee was an American actress and comedian during the 1930s. She appeared in 28 films, usually appearing alongside the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy team.
Robert Edwin Clark, known as Bobby Clark, was an American minstrel, vaudevillian, performer on stage, film, television and the circus. Known for his painted-on eyeglasses, he was part of a comedy team with Paul McCullough for 36 years.
The Cuckoos is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy film released by RKO Radio Pictures and partially filmed in two-strip Technicolor. Directed by Paul Sloane, the screenplay was adapted by Cyrus Wood from the 1926 Broadway musical The Ramblers by Guy Bolton, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. The film stars Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, and while they had appeared on Broadway and in other films together, this was their first time starring as a team. The success of this picture, combined with Rio Rita being their most successful film of 1929, convinced the studio to headline them as the comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey, through 1937.
J. Harold Murray was an American baritone singer and actor. For more than a decade, during the Roaring Twenties and the Depression Thirties, he contributed to the development of musical theater by bridging vaudeville, operetta and the modern American musical. The most popular American songs he introduced on Broadway included "Autumn in New York" ; "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee" and "Soft Lights and Sweet Music" ; "Rio Rita", "The Kinkajou" and "The Rangers Song" ; and "Mandalay".
The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 1341 Sixth Avenue, corner of 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 and despite public protests, it was razed in 1966.
Noel Francis was an American actress of the stage and screen during the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Texas, she began her acting career on the Broadway stage in the mid-1920s, before moving to Hollywood at the beginning of the sound film era.
Ethelind Terry was an American stage and film actress.
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.
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