Whoopee!

Last updated
Whoopee!
Whoopee musical revival poster.jpg
  • Poster for the 1979 Broadway revival.
  • Illustration by Hilary Knight
Music Walter Donaldson
Lyrics Gus Kahn
Book William Anthony McGuire
Basis Owen Davis's play
The Nervous Wreck
Productions1928 Broadway
1979 Broadway revival

Whoopee! is a 1928 musical comedy play with a book based on Owen Davis's play, The Nervous Wreck. The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1928, starring Eddie Cantor, and introduced the hit song "Love Me or Leave Me", sung by Ruth Etting. [1] A film version opened in 1930.

Contents

Synopsis

Setting: Mission Rest, Arizona; Black Top Canyon; The Bar "M" Ranch; the Wilderness; the Desert.

Sheriff Bob Wells and the daughter of a rancher Sally Morgan are getting married. She is in love with Wanenis, whose part-Indian heritage presents social difficulties for their romance. Sally abandons Sheriff Bob and their wedding, catching a ride with Henry Williams. As a hypochondriac, Henry has problems of his own, but Sally adds to his problems when she leaves a note saying they have eloped. A chase ensues, with the jilted Bob; Mary, Henry's nurse who is in love with him; and a cast of others. Along the way they arrive at the Indian Reservation where Wanenis lives. The movie star Leslie Daw enters the proceedings and sings the torchy, sentimental "Love Me, or Leave Me". [2]

Songs

Productions

Whoopee! opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 4, 1928, and closed on November 23, 1929, after 407 performances. It was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, directed by Seymour Felix, dialogue staged by William Anthony McGuire, and dances and ensembles staged by Seymour Felix. The musical starred Eddie Cantor as Henry Williams, Ruth Etting as Leslie Daw, Frances Upton as Sally Morgan, Jack Rutherford as Bob Wells, Paul Gregory as Wanenis and Ethel Shutta as Mary (replacing Ruby Keeler), and featured Buddy Ebsen and Paulette Goddard in the chorus. George Olsen (Ethel Shutta's husband) and His Orchestra provided the music for both the stage production and the movie.

Donald J. Stubblebine reports, "It was still going strong after six months but Sam Goldwyn, who bought the rights, closed it down to make the movie with Cantor." [3] Whoopee! was filmed in 1930 as a musical comedy film. Although the plot followed the stage version closely, much of the music was changed.

1979 Revival

A revival, based on a Goodspeed Opera House production, was presented at the ANTA Playhouse from February 14, 1979, to August 12, 1979, for 204 performances and 8 previews. Directed by Frank Corsaro with choreography by Dan Siretta, the cast featured Charles Repole (Henry Williams) Beth Austin (Sally Morgan), Carol Swarbrick (Mary) and Susan Stroman (Leslie Daw). This revival added Kahn/Donaldson songs not in the original 1928 show: "My Baby Just Cares For Me" (from the 1930 film version), "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby", and "You" (lyrics by Harold Adamson). Also, "Love Me or Leave Me" is sung by Mary and Henry rather than the essentially unrelated Leslie.

Response

Brooks Atkinson, the theatre critic for The New York Times , reviewed the 1928 Broadway production and called it "a gorgeous spectacle" with "long stretches of excellent comedy". He especially praised the comedic abilities of Eddie Cantor, "a comedian of deftness and appealing humor. He is sad; he is preoccupied; he is apprehensive or insinuating with those floating eyes...In the past he has been funny, clever and ludicrious. But he has never been so enjoyable." As to the music, "Walter Donaldson has composed an appropriate score worthy of better singing than it falls heir to." [4]

The New York Times critic Richard Eder called the 1979 Broadway revival a "frequent delight though not an unmitigated one...Most strikingly, it is a superabundance of songs. There is not a poor song in it, and its best ones — the lovely and musically witty "Makin' Whoopee", the jiggly "My Baby Just Cares for Me", and of course the irresistible "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" — are magnificent." [5] Walter Kerr, then the Times' Sunday critic, also reacted favorably to the show while calling attention to its nonsensical frivolity: he deemed it "light as a breeze, and just plain out of its head." Brendan Gill of The New Yorker, however, panned the show.

Repole received a nomination for Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and Dan Siretta was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1929 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1929 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1928 in music</span> Overview of the events of 1928 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Cantor</span> American comedian and actor (1892–1964)

Eddie Cantor was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, this "Apostle of Pep" was regarded almost as a family member by millions because his top-rated radio shows revealed intimate stories and amusing anecdotes about his wife, Ida, and five daughters. Some of his hits include "Makin' Whoopee", "Ida ", "If You Knew Susie", "Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me", “Mandy”, "My Baby Just Cares for Me”, "Margie", and "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm ?" He also wrote a few songs, including "Merrily We Roll Along", the Merrie Melodies Warner Bros. cartoon theme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Donaldson (songwriter)</span> Musical artist

Walter Donaldson was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Songbook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Kahn</span> Musical artist

Gustav Gerson Kahn was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie ", "My Buddy" "I'll See You in My Dreams", "It Had to Be You", "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", "Love Me or Leave Me", "Makin' Whoopee", "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I'm Through with Love", "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and "You Stepped Out of a Dream".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Kalmar</span> American songwriter and screenwriter

Bert Kalmar was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter.

Richard Adler was an American lyricist, writer, composer and producer of several Broadway shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Shutta</span> American actress and singer

Ethel Shutta was an American actress and singer, who came to prominence through her performances on Jack Benny's radio show, her role in the early Eddie Cantor musical Whoopee!, and her Broadway comeback in Follies at the age of 74. In a 1934 vote held by Radio Stars, she came in second place, behind Annette Hanshaw, as the best "female popular singer."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Olsen</span> American drummer

George Edward Olsen Sr. was an American musician and bandleader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Frederick Coots</span> Musical artist

John Frederick Coots was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for the biggest hit of either man's career, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The song became one of the biggest sellers in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Santley</span> Hollywood director and screenwriter

Joseph Mansfield Santley was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatrical plays motion pictures and television shows. He adopted the stage name of his stepfather, actor Eugene Santley.

<i>Glorifying the American Girl</i> 1929 film

Glorifying the American Girl is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced by Florenz Ziegfeld that highlights Ziegfeld Follies performers. The last third of the film, which was filmed in early Technicolor, is basically a Follies production, with appearances by Rudy Vallee, Helen Morgan, and Eddie Cantor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Clyde</span> American actress (1909–1987)

June Clyde was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as A Strange Adventure (1932) and A Study in Scarlet (1933).

Charles Repole is an American actor, theater director, and college professor.

<i>Whoopee!</i> (film) 1930 film by Thornton Freeland

Whoopee! is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy musical Western film photographed in two-color Technicolor. It was directed by Thornton Freeland and stars Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta and Eleanor Hunt. The film's plot closely follows that of the 1928 stage show produced by Florenz Ziegfeld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Weeks (film actress)</span> American actress

Barbara Weeks was an American film actress who performed primarily in Hollywood productions of the 1930s.

<i>The Cocoanuts</i> (musical)

The Cocoanuts is a musical with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a book by George S. Kaufman, with additional text by Morrie Ryskind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical short</span> Short films, often before the main feature

The musical short can be traced back to the earliest days of sound films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jethro Warner</span>

Jethro J. Warner was an American vaudeville and Broadway theatre performer. In vaudeville he was part of the team of Floyd and Warner with his wife.

References

  1. "Whoopee! information". ruthetting.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  2. Green, Stanley (1999). Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 14. ISBN   0-634-00765-3.
  3. Donald J. Stubblebine, Broadway Sheet Music, McFarland & Company, 1996, p. 302.
  4. Atkinson, Brooks (December 5, 1928). "THE PLAY; Players' Cooperative Started". The New York Times. p. L40. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  5. Eder, Richard (February 15, 1979). "Stage: 'Whoopee!', Revival of 1928 Musical". The New York Times. p. C15. Retrieved April 3, 2022.