| Yip Yip Yaphank | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Music | Irving Berlin |
| Lyrics | Irving Berlin |
| Productions | 1918 Broadway |
Yip Yip Yaphank is a 1918 musical revue by Irving Berlin. He wrote and produced the show during World War I, after he was drafted into the United States Army and was serving in 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. The military revue was performed by the soldiers of Camp Upton, and moved to Broadway after a brief tryout at the camp.
The commanding officer at Camp Upton had wanted to build a community building on the grounds of the army base, and thought that Sgt. Berlin could help raise the $35,000 needed for its construction. Berlin's song, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," an everyman song for soldiers, would be the basis of a revue full of army recruits—a veritable source of manpower available for him to use. He called for his friend and co-worker Harry Ruby to join him in writing down the flurry of songs that Berlin would create, including "God Bless America", which Berlin would eventually toss out of the play for being too sticky. [1]
In July 1918, Yip Yip Yaphank had a tryout run at Camp Upton's little Liberty Theatre, before moving on to Central Park West's Century Theatre in August. The show was typical of revues and follies, featuring acrobatics, dancers, jugglers, and also featured a demonstration by Lightweight Boxing Champion Benny Leonard. Included with the performances were military drills choreographed to music by Berlin.
The show had its comedy too, including males dressed as Ziegfeld girls, and Sgt. Berlin himself as the reluctant soldier not wanting to join in reveille during the "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" skit.
The finale, "We're On Our Way to France", was the replacement for "God Bless America". During this act, the whole company wore their full gear, and marched out of the theater, down the aisles and out to the street. During the Century Theatre run, the "performers" stayed at an armory downtown, and would usually march right back to the armory after the evening show.
By September 1918, the production had to move to the Lexington Theatre, where it would eventually end its run. On that night, the audience saw the usual ending, with the battle-ready men marching off to "war" but with a slight diversion. After the main performers were seen marching through the aisles, Sgt. Irving Berlin and the rest of the crew were similarly dressed and marching out of the theater. This time, the men were going off to war, actually heading to France.
The play earned the U.S. Army US$80,000 ($1.4 million in 2021 dollars) for Camp Upton's Community Building, though the army never had it built. [1] Irving Berlin did not go to France, but would be listed among other great songwriters and playwrights of the time, well up to the next great war.
The first adaptation of Yip Yip Yaphank! after being performed on Broadway was in the 1943 film This Is the Army. In this film, the character Jerry Jones is seen preparing to perform Yip Yip Yaphank! with his fellow soldiers. Most of the show is not depicted in this film, but the finale "We're On Our Way to France" is performed in the same way it was during the last show at the Lexington Theater in 1918. [2] The soldiers are shown marching out of the theater into the streets in full field equipment where they get into military trucks to ship off to war. The film also featured Berlin himself singing "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning as was done in the original 1918 production. [2]
The next adaptation wasn't until November 4, 2010, when the show was revisited by American Classics. American Classics is an organization that performs historical musicals and musical revues in the Greater Boston Area. This performance was the first ever revival of Yip Yip Yaphank! and featured all of the original songs from the 1918 production. [3] American Classics proceeded to perform another revival of the show in 2018 for its 100th anniversary.
On November 9th and 10th 2018, Yip Yip Yaphank was performed by the students of Longwood High School as a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the show's debut. The Longwood Central School District services the town of Yaphank where the musical revue was originally performed and conceived. This depiction contained many of the original songs and skits from the original performance. One change made to the show was the reintroduction of the song God Bless America. Extensive research was done during the production by the producer to correctly portray the intent of Irving Berlin. Producer of the adaptation Dr. John J. Gallagher stated, "A team of teachers joined me at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC for a research project during the summer of 2017. There, we obtained sheet music, some orchestrations and other personal documents from Berlin himself . . . Local historians had donated authentic photos [and] letters from soldiers that have been incorporated into the production." [4]
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Song Is You", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Long Ago ". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg.
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Yaphank is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,945 at the time of the 2010 census.
"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song.
Alexander Dubin was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.
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"Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 that gives a comic perspective on military life. Berlin composed the song as an expression of protest against the indignities of Army routine shortly after being drafted into the United States Army in 1918. The song soon made the rounds of camp and became popular with other soldiers, partly because hatred of reveille was universal.
Miss 1917 is a musical revue with a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, music by Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and others, and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, Otto Harbach, Henry Blossom and others. Made up of a string of vignettes, the show features songs from such musicals as The Wizard of Oz, Three Twins, Babes in Toyland, Ziegfeld Follies and The Belle of New York.
The 152d Depot Brigade was a training and receiving formation of the United States Army during World War I, and was successively commanded by Brigadier Generals George W. Read, John E. Woodward, George H. Estes, George D. Moore, Edward Sigerfoos, and William Jones Nicholson.
William Horne was an American operatic tenor who, after World War II, performed with the New York City Opera. He was born in Manhattan, New York.
This Is The Army is an American musical revue in two acts, designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, with a book by James McColl and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It was produced by the U.S. Army on Broadway in 1942, with a cast of U.S. soldiers, for the benefit of the Army Emergency Relief Fund.
Florence Timponi Jennings, born Florence Lucille Timpone, also known as Melva Talma, was an American singer, actress, Ziegfeld girl, and vaudeville performer, billed as "the Sunshine Girl".
