The Jazz Age 1920-1929

1. The Jazz Age1920-1929 “I Want To Be Happy” Kenrick, Chapter 9

2. Ziegfeld scandal In September 1920, Olive Thomas was found dead in a Paris Hotel Room at age 26. She had been a mistress to Florenz Ziegfeld. Twelve days later, Follies girl Anna Daly committed suicide. Ziegfeld withdrewfrom the publiceye to mend hismarriage to BillieBurke. Scandals filled the newspapers in the1920s. Olive Thomas

3. The Jazz Age After the war, the United Stateswas an isolated world power. In the cities, Prohibition brought about a new place of entertainment, the speakeasy.

4. A Golden Age The 1920s were Broadway's busiest decade, with as many as fifty new musicals opening in a single season. Record numbers of people forked over up to $3.50 a seat. “. . . the 1920s as a whole saw the the form so refine and transform itself that, by the decade's finish, the …chorus line, the Bubble Dances, the nineteenth-century comedy, and the unmotivated star shot would be virtually extinct, unknown to the better writers and unpopular even with second raters.”- Ethan Mordden, Make Believe: The Broadway Musical in the 1920s (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1997), p. 4.

5. In 1924, ASCAP (co-founded by Victor Herbert, George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and others) won a long battle to give American composers creative control over their stage scores. As unauthorized interpolations by other composers became a thing of the past, the musical began to grow in surprising ways. Several historians suggest that a "golden age” of the American musical began in September 1925when four hits opened within the space of seven days –

6. No, No Nanette(321 perfs) became one of the most lasting musical comedy hits of the decade opened on September 16.Dearest Enemy (286) by Richard Rodgersand Lorenz Hartwas a musical comedy about a romance between a patriotic New York girl and a British officer during the American Revolution (September 18). The Vagabond King (511) was an operetta by Rudolf Frimlfeatured matinee idol Dennis Kingas a common thief who squelches a rebellion against the King of France. (September 21) Sunny(517) starred popular actress Marilyn Miller in a new work by Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. (September 22).

7. These shows were written by craftsmen who took musical theatre seriously, trying to provide quality entertainment and make a profit at the same time. This approach kept the musical theatre booming. Among the hundreds of musical comedies that flooded Broadway in the early 1920s, one new female star emerged to dominate the decade.

8. An age of “Cinderella” stories IRENE (1919) The first hit of postwar America was a rag to riches story about a Manhattan shop girl who becomes a high-fashion model and wins the hand of a handsome man. Starring Edith Day. Score by Harry Tierney Lyrics by Joseph McCarthy Featured the ballad “Alice Blue Gown”

9. George M. Cohan’s THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT became MARYin 192o. This Louis Hirsch, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel musical starred Janet Velie and Jack McGowan. The show introducedthe popular song“Love Nest” thatlater became thetheme song forGeorge Burnsand Gracie Allen.

10. Sally and Marilyn Miller When producer Florenz Ziegfeld decided to build a hit, he spared no expense, especially when showcasing his favorite star (and sometime mistress) Marilyn Miller. A so-so singer adept at both ballet and tap, Miller's enchanting dancing persona made her Broadway's top female musical star of the 1920s. Her first and longest running success was Sally (1920), the story of a poor dishwasher who rises to fame as a ballerina. Ziegfeld commissioned a score by Jerome Kern (including the ballad"Look for the Silver Lining"), plus a Victor Herbert ballet for good measure.

11. Sunny (1925) starred Miller as a circus bareback rider who loves and (eventually) marries a millionaire. The score, which included the hit "Who?," was the first of several collaborations between Jerome Kern and the lyric writing team of Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach. A 1926 London version starring Binnie Hale and Jack Buchanan ran for 363 performances, reinforcing Kern's position as the first American composer whose shows found equal acceptance in Britain and the USA. Miller is immortalized on the side of a building on W. 46th Street in Times Square.

12. I. Miller Building 1552 Broadway at 46th Street

13. Rosalie Rosalie (1928) had Miller playing a European princess who loves a dashing West Point flyer. Her royal father (played by Frank Morgan) finally abdicates so his beloved daughter can marry a commoner. The operetta-style score featured melodies by Sigmund Romberg and George Gershwin, including Gershwin’s "How Long Has This Been Going On?"

14. The Shuberts producedSally, Irene and Mary (1922) It became a motion picture in 1925.

15. Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue opened in 1921 Produced by Sam Harris, it was staged in their new theatre on West 45th Street. His office is preservedin the theatretoday. Theseries ran from1921-24.

16. “What’ll I Do” was introduced in the Music Box Revue of 1923by Grace Moore. “All Alone” waswritten for the1924 edition.

17. Cole Porter (1891-1964) Composer-lyricist Cole Porter inherited a fortune, so he had little financial incentive to pursue a theatrical career. His remarkable talents won attention at both Harvard and Yale. After the failure of Porter's first musical -- See America First (1916) -- he set composing aside and lived the high life in Europe for several years. Things changed in the 1920s when he placed his career in the hands of agent Louis Schurr. Porter was soon working on a succession of worthwhile projects.

18. Porter married Linda Lee Thomas, a wealthy heiress

19. The modest success of Paris (1928) with its daring song hit "Let's Do It," led to to the delightful musical comedy Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929), featuring such provocative songs as "You've Got That Thing" and "You Do Something to Me." Porter's melodies ranged from bright to sensual, and his witty lyrics featured witty rhymes and daring sexual innuendo. The first Broadway lyricist to discuss sex openly in his songs, Porter would rise to greater fame in the 1930s.

20. Rodgers and Hart 1895-1943 1902-1979

21. The Garrick Gaeities (1925) made the team the hottest team on Broadway. They had been writing together for about a decade, but The Garrick Gaieties put them on the map and the bubbly "Manhattan" became a tremendous pop hit. Rodgers and Hart worked with librettist Herb Fieldson several minor successes, many of which were produced by Herb's father, theatrical great Lew Fields.

22. Dearest Enemy (1925) Rodgers, Hart and Fields had been working on a book musical based on an actual incident that took place during the American Revolution. General George Washington asked a New York housewife to entertain a group of British commanders "by every means" – allowing the embattled American army time to make a strategic retreat from Manhattan. Filled with gentle sexual innuendo, this project was rejected by producers until the success of the Gaieties. Dearest Enemy (1925)received a lavish production, and made it clear that this new creative team was not just a flash in the pan.

23. Follow-up hits (1926)

24. A Connecticut Yankee (1928)

25. The score included "My Heart Stood Still" and the scintillating "Thou Swell." In the central role, William Gaxtonwon acclaim beginning his long reign as Broadway's most popular musical comedy leading man. Rodgers and Hart's early shows were lighthearted romps, but some of their songs had surprising, bittersweet undertones. No lyricist ever eclipsed Larry Hart's gift for capturing the heartbreak of hopeless love. Since romantic frustration plagued his private life, this was not altogether surprising. As the stock market crash of 1929 led to tough times on Broadway, Rodgers and Hart suffered a series of frustrating near hits and outright flops. When Paramount Pictures offered them a generous contract to create screen musicals, they took their talents out West. They would return to Broadway in the mid-1930s to create a string of outstanding musical comedies.

26. Present Arms (1928) Busby Berkeley

27. Andre Charlot(1882-1956) Pairs-born Andre Charlot was one of the most prolific WEST END producers of the 20th century…with over 45 credits, the Cameron Mackintosh of his day. Came to fame with several intimate revues in the 1920s…among his “discoveries” were Beatrice Lillie, Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward.

28. Noel Coward (1899-1973)

29. Among those providing the songs for Charlot's revues was Noel Coward, who's talents as an actor, playwright, composer and lyricist would make him the brightest light in the British theatre. Along with his work on the Charlot revues, Noel co-starred with Bea Lillie in the Broadway staging of This Year of Grace(1928). Produced by the “English Ziegfeld,” Charles B. Cochran, it was the first revue with songs and skits exclusively by Coward, who up till then was primarily known as an actor and aspiring playwright. The "world weary" Coward surprised everyone with his next musical, the sentimental operettaBitter Sweet (1929). The plot concerned a British heiress who gives up wealth and family to marry a poor Viennese composer. After her beloved is killed in a duel, she goes on to operatic fame, and years later encourages a young girl to choose love over everything else. "I'll See You Again" and "If Love Were All" became two of Coward's greatest hits. The only British book musical imported to Broadway in the 1920s, its opening coincided with a disastrous stock market crash. Despite good reviews, Flo Ziegfeld could not keep it running for more than 159 performances.

30. Most of the British musical comedies of the 1920s have faded into obscurity. One exception is Mr. Cinders (1929), a lighthearted reversed gender version of the Cinderella tale. London audiences cheered when Binnie Halesang "Spread a Little Happiness," which became a popular British anthem of hope during the Depression-racked 1930s. Although this was the greatest hit in the long career of composer Vivian Ellis, it was considered "too British" for American audiences and was never professionally staged in New York.

31. George and Ira Gershwin

32. George’s early credits… La, La Lucille (1919) – bad luck, coincided with Actor’s strike. Swanee (1919) for Al Jolson Songs for George White’s Scandals (1920-1924) Rhapsody in Blue (1924) forbandleader Paul Whiteman

33. Lady, Be Good (1924) First Gershwin show with Ira as lyricist. The scorewas filled with jazz numbersincluding “FascinatingRhythm.” It was a vehicle for Fredand Adele Astaire, then abrother-sister act.

34. Oh, Kay! (1926) The comedy about a millionaire who doesn't realize that Prohibition rum runners are using his Long Island mansion as a smuggling station. Gertrude Lawrencesang "Someone To Watch Over Me" and the catchy "Do, Do, Do” and co-starred Victor Moore.

35. FUNNY FACE featured Adele Astaire as a girl trying to get back her diary from her guardian (Fred), opening the way for a series of mishaps. The score included "S'Wonderful," "My One And Only," and the title tune. Opening in 1927, it played 263 performances. It was the opening produciton in the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) one of the most famous musical houses on Broadway. In 1983, it was revived as a vehicle for Twiggy and Tommy Tune as MY ONE AND ONLY.

36. No, No Nanette (1925)

37. Harry Frazee sold BABE RUTH to the New York Yankees to help raise funds to finance NO, NO NANETTE in 1925. When its first pre-Broadway tour stumbled in 1924, the producers brought in new stars, a new script and new songs -- in essence, creating a new show. Composer Vincent Youmans and lyricists Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach offered a hit-drenched score that included "Tea for Two" and "I Want to Be Happy." The lighthearted coming of age plot centered on a fun-loving Manhattan heiress who gives her fiancé the cold shoulder and runs off to (gasp!) Atlantic City for a weekend. Nanette was such a hit in Chicago that it remained there for more than a year. By the time Broadway saw the show, a successful London production was already running. After three mediocre screen adaptations, Nanette began to fade into obscurity. Then in 1971, a nostalgic Broadway revival revamped the book, left most of the score intact and electrified audiences with several sensational dance sequences. In this version, it has become the most frequently performed musical comedy of the 1920s.

38. DeSylva, Henderson & Brown DeSylva, B.G. "Buddy” (b. George DeSylva) Producer, lyricist and librettistb. Jan. 27, 1895 (New York City) - d. July 11, 1950 (NYC)Henderson, Ray (b. Raymond Brost) Composer b. Dec. 16, 1896 (Buffalo, NY) - d. Dec. 31, 1970 (Greenwich, CT)Brown, Lew (b. Louis Brownstein) Lyricistb. Dec. 10, 1893 (Odessa, Russia) - d. Feb. 5, 1958 (NYC) The new team of DeSylva, Henderson and Brown contributed "It All Depends on You" to Jolson's Broadway hit Big Boy (1926), then turned out full scores for the 1925 and 1926 editions of George White's Scandals, including "The Birth of the Blues" and "Lucky Day." The trio enjoyed their greatest Broadway success with Good News(1927), a college football musical that included "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and "The Varsity Drag." With ten more Broadway scores, their hit songs include "You're The Cream in My Coffee" for Hold Everything (1928) and "Button Up Your Overcoat" for Flying High (1930).  In 1931, the trio ended their collaboration. On their own, Brown and Henderson wrote "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" for the 1931 Scandals. Brown acted as lyricist, librettist, director and producer on his last three Broadway shows – Strike Me Pink (1933), Calling All Stars (1934) and Yokel Boy (1939). Henderson retired after composing songs for the Shubert-produced 1943 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies. From 1931 on, DeSylva worked solo as a stage and screen producer. His most memorable film was Birth of the Blues (1941), and his Broadway productions included the Cole Porter hits DuBarry Was a Lady (1939) and Panama Hattie (1940) – for both of which DeSylva also served as co-librettist. DeSylva was one of the founders of Capitol Records.

39. Good News (1927) Good News was not the first musical comedy about college life, but it was such a hit that it became the definitive example of this lighthearted sub-genre. The plot about a wealthy football hero who has to pass an exam so he can play in the big game and win the impoverished girl he loves inspired a slew of imitations on stage and screen, but none could match the infectious score composed by Ray Henderson with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown. Their dance-happy songs included "The Best Things in Life Are Free," "Lucky in Love" and the “hot” ”Varsity Drag," a Charleston-style number that became an international dance craze.

40. Ziegfeld staged vehicles for Eddie Cantor

41. Black Musicals Ziegfeld star Bert Williams died in 1922 at age 48, his death shocked his colleagues and fans. But, by the time he died, he had paved the way for many new Black stars.

42. Shuffle Along (1921) Noble and Sissle

43. One of the least remembered Broadway musicals of the 1920s was one of the longest running, and most culturally significant. Shuffle Along (1921 - 504) was the first major production in more than a decade to be produced, written and performed entirely by African Americans. After a brief tour, it opened at the 63rd Street Music Hall, well North of the main theatre district. There was a slip of a plot involving a mayoral race in "Jim Town," but it was essentially a revue showcasing songs by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. With the popular "Love Will Find a Way" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry," Shuffle Along became such a hit that the police converted 63rd Street into a one-way thoroughfare to ease the curtain time traffic jams. The show gave several stellar talents their first major breaks, including Josephine Baker, Adelaide Hall and Paul Robeson.

44. Runnin’ Wild (1923) Introduced a dance craze and featured the singer Elisabeth Welch.

45. THE CHARLESTON became the definitive dance craze of the decade.

46. Beginning in 1926, producer Lew Leslie put together a series of Blackbirds revues featuring all-black casts performing material for mostly white audiences. Leslie's series reached its peak with Blackbirds of 1928 (518 perfs). This production opened at the Liberty Theater, in the very heart of the theater district, with an all-black cast and an all-white creative team. The score by composer Jimmy McHugh and lyricist Dorothy Fields included the hit songs "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," and "Doin' the New Low Down." Although the material tried to move beyond minstrel show stereotypes, they were not completely absent. Some of the cast still wore burnt. Racial enlightenment was still more dream than reality in 1928.

47. Several important stars came out of the Blackbird revues. Bill “Bojangles”Robinson (1878- 1949). Ethel Waters (1896-1977).

48. American Operetta Although jazz was the new rage, American audiences did not lose their appetite for romance and operetta. Two composers stand out from the period… Sigmund Romberg (1877-1951) and Rudolf Friml (1879-1972).

49. Hungarian-born Sigmund Romberg contributed to more than fifty Broadway scores as staff composer for the Shubert Brothers, including numerous revues and several Al Jolsonvehicles. However, Romberg knew his talents deserved a more ambitious showcase, and on several occasions he argued his way into creating the most successful operettas the Shuberts ever produced – The Blue Paradise (1915 - 356) was set in a Viennese cafe, where a man learns it is impossible to recapture a long lost love. The sentimental waltz "Auf Wiedersehen" became Romberg's first hit, and made a star of 18 year old soprano Vivienne Segal.

50. Other Romberg credits Maytime (1917)told of two frustrated lovers who's grandchildren wind up falling for each other. It became America's top World War I stage hit. At one point, the Shuberts had two companies of Maytime running simultaneously on Broadway to meet the demand for tickets. Blossom Time (1921) was a fictitious love story involving the great composer Franz Schubert. The Student Prince in Heidelberg (1924)tells of Prince Karl Franz, who must choose between royal duty and his collegiate love for a tavern waitress. Dorothy Donnelly provided the sophisticated book and lyrics. "Golden Days," "Deep In My Heart Dear," and "Serenade" became hits, and the rousing "Drinking Song" became a particular favorite with Prohibition-era audiences.