| The Straw Hat Revue | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Music | Sylvia Fine and James Shelton |
| Lyrics | Sylvia Fine and James Shelton |
| Book | Max Liebman and Samuel Locke |
The Straw Hat Revue is a musical comedy revue with sketches mostly by Max Liebman and Samuel Locke, and music and lyrics by Sylvia Fine and James Shelton. It was produced on Broadway in 1939.
The Straw Hat Revue started life as a 1939 summer theatre revue at Camp Tamiment, Bushkill, PA. It was discovered by the Broadway producer, Harry Kaufman, and reorganized into a Broadway show produced by Mr. Kaufman and Messrs. Shubert (Lee and J.J.). [1] The Straw Hat Revue premiered on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on September 29, 1939, and closed on December 2, 1939, after 75 performances. [2] It was conceived and staged by Max Liebman with choreography by Jerome Andrews, and settings by Edward Gilbert. The orchestra was under the direction of Edward A. Hunt. [3] The cast included Imogene Coca, Danny Kaye, Alfred Drake, Jerome Robbins, Mata & Hari, and James Shelton [4]
Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times said, “. . . a cheerful lark very much worth holding over into the felt hat season. . . . Put it down as the first pleasant surprise of the season. . . . written, acted and staged with skill and relish.” [5]
Danny Kaye was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill Hayes, baritone singer Jack Russell, Judy Johnson, the Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the series.
Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer.
Imogene Coca was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wished to have a serious career in music and dance, graduating to decades of stage musical revues, cabaret and summer stock. In her 40s, she began a celebrated career as a comedian on television, starring in six series and guest starring on successful television programs from the 1940s to the 1990s.
Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include Finian's Rainbow in 1947 and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever in 1965.
Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle Hammons (1882–1962). Educational primarily distributed short subjects; it is best known for its series of comedies starring Buster Keaton (1934-37) and the earliest screen appearances of Shirley Temple (1932-34). The company ceased production in 1938, and finally closed in 1940 when its film library was sold at auction.
Ben Bagley was an American musical producer and record producer.
The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theater at 225 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance style and was built for the Shubert brothers. Lee and J. J. Shubert had named the theater in memory of their brother Sam S. Shubert, who died in an accident several years before the theater's opening. It has 1,502 seats across three levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The facade and interior are New York City landmarks.
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Hold On To Your Hats is a musical comedy in two acts by Guy Bolton, Matt Brooks, and Eddie Davis, with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and music by Burton Lane. The show was lavishly staged by Edgar MacGregor, with dances by Catherine Littlefield, musical direction by Al Goodman, and colorful settings and costumes by Raoul Pene Du Bois. It was produced by Al Jolson and George Hale at the Shubert Theatre on September 11, 1940. It ran for 158 performances, closing on February 1, 1941. The cast included Jolson, Martha Raye, Jinx Falkenburg, Arnold Moss, Jack Whiting, and John Randolph. It was the last show in which Jolson appeared.
Laffing Room Only is a vaudeville revue in two acts by Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, and Eugene Conrad, with music and lyrics by Burton Lane. This was the first show for which Burton Lane wrote both the words and the music. It was produced by the Shuberts, Olsen, and Johnson at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, opening December 23, 1944. Laffing Room Only was staged by John Murray Anderson, with comedy directed by Edward F. Cline, music directed by John McManus, dances by Robert Alton, settings by Stewart Chaney, and costumes by Billy Livingston. The production was supervised by Harry Kaufman. It ran for 232 performances, closing on July 14, 1945.
Max Liebman was a Broadway theater and TV producer-director sometimes called the "Ziegfeld of TV", who helped establish early television's comedy vocabulary with Your Show of Shows. He additionally helped bring improvisational comedy into the mainstream with his 1961 Broadway revue From the Second City.
Tamiment, first known as Camp Tamiment, was an American resort located in the Pocono Mountains of Pike County, Pennsylvania, which existed from 1921 through 2005.
Americana is a musical revue in two parts, with book and lyrics by J. P. McEvoy, and music by Con Conrad with additional numbers by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Philip Charig, James Hanley, B. G. DeSylva, Morrie Ryskind, Arthur Schwartz, Theo Goodwin, Joe Young, and Sam Lewis. The show was presented by Richard Herndon at the Belmont Theatre, and, after many postponements, opened July 26, 1926. The show was staged by Allan Dinehart with dance numbers by Larry Ceballos. The production was designed by John Held, Jr. It ran for 224 performances, closing in February 1927. The cast headlined Lew Brice, Roy Atwell, Betty Compton, Charles Butterworth and the Eddie Elkins Orchestra. The New York Times review called it a "witty, ingenious and sophisticated evening of fun-making, it made up in its abundant humor for more than it lacked in some other departments." The other departments referred to were lack of chorus girls and opulent settings.
James Shelton was an American Broadway actor, composer, and writer. He is best known for being the songwriter of "Lilac Wine" (1950), which has been covered by numerous artists.
Ruthanna Boris was the first American Ballerina to star with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo troupes of the 1940s. She was born in Brooklyn. She was among the first students at George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein’s School of American Ballet when it opened in 1934. As a choreographer her ballets Cirque de Deux and Cakewalk, are often revived. She died in El Cerrito, California and her papers are held at Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Make Mine Manhattan is a 1948 Broadway revue with music by Richard Lewine, lyrics by Hassard Short, and sketches by Arnold Horwitt and produced by Joseph Hyman.
Three's A Crowd is a 1930 Broadway revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and others, and music by Arthur Schwartz and others. It was “put together” by Howard Dietz, and produced by Max Gordon.