Leave It to Jane
Encyclopedia
Leave It to Jane is a musical
in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern
and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton
and P. G. Wodehouse
, based on the 1904 play College Widow, by George Ade
. The story concerns the football rivalry between Atwater College and Bingham College, and satirizes college life in a Midwestern U.S. town. A star halfback, Billy, forsakes his father's alma mater, Bingham, to play at Atwater, to be near the seductive Jane, the daughter of Atwater's president.
The musical was created for the Princess Theatre
, but another of the "Princess Theatre Shows", Oh, Boy!
, was a long-running hit at the Princess at the same time; so Leave It to Jane premiered instead at the Longacre Theatre
on Broadway
in 1917. and had a long-running Off-Broadway
revival in 1959. Some of the best-known songs are "A Peach of Life", "Leave It to Jane", "The Crickets Are Calling", "Siren’s Song", "Sir Galahad" and "Cleopatterer".
consisted of a mix of elaborate European operettas, like The Merry Widow
(1907), British musical comedy
imports, likeThe Arcadians (1910), George M. Cohan
's shows, American operettas, like those of Victor Herbert
, ragtime
-infused American musicals, and the spectacular revue
s of Florenz Ziegfeld
and others. But as Cohan's and Herbert's creative output waned, new creative talent was being nurtured on Broadway, including Jerome Kern
, George Gershwin
, Irving Berlin
and Sigmund Romberg
. Kern began by revising British musicals to suit American audiences, adding songs that "have a timeless, distinctly American sound that redefined the Broadway showtune."
In 1914, Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Kern and Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to the small Princess Theatre
with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the Ziegfeld reviews, elaborate operettas and imported shows. Kern and Bolton's first Princess Theatre musical was Nobody's Home (1915), an adaptation of a London show called Mr. Popple of Ippleton. Their second was an original musical called Very Good Eddie
(1915). The little show ran for 314 performances on a modest budget. British humorist and lyricist/playwright P. G. Wodehouse
had supplied some lyrics for Very Good Eddie and joined the team at the Princess for Oh, Boy!
, which opened in February 1917, becoming a hit. In their collaborations, Bolton wrote most of the book, with Wodehouse writing the lyrics. According to Bloom and Vlastnik, Oh, Boy! represents "the transition from the haphazard musicals of the past to the newer, more methodical modern musical comedy ... remarkably pun-free [with plots that were] natural and unforced. Charm was uppermost in the creators' minds ... the audience could relax, have a few laughs, feel slightly superior to the silly undertakings on stage, and smile along with the simple, melodic, lyrically witty but undemanding songs".
house, the Longacre Theatre
, on March 29, 1917. Like the Princess Theatre shows, it featured modern American settings, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery. The authors sought to have the humor flow from the plot situations, rather than from musical set pieces. In 1918, Dorothy Parker
described in Vanity Fair
how the team's shows integrated story and music: "Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern are my favorite indoor sport. I like the way they go about a musical comedy. ... I like the way the action slides casually into the songs. ... I like the deft rhyming of the song that is always sung in the last act by two comedians and a comedienne. And oh, how I do like Jerome Kern's music."
Leave It to Jane ran for a modestly successful 167 performances, directed by Edward Royce and choreographed by David Bennett. Though the critics liked the music and lyrics, as well as the cast generally, they were most impressed by Georgia O'Ramey in the comedy role of Flora. An Off-Broadway
revival opened on May 25, 1959 at the Sheridan Square Playhouse
and ran for two years (958 performances), and the cast recorded the show's first cast album, starring Kathleen Murray (later Kathleen Hallor) as Jane. A young George Segal
had a small part. The show is occasionally still staged, including a 1985 production at Goodspeed Opera House starring Rebecca Luker
.
On the first day of the new school term, at "Good Old Atwater" College in Indiana is having difficulty assembling a first-rate football team to pit against its arch-rival school, Bingham. Matty McGowan, the team's coach, is discouraged. "Stub" Talmadge returns from vacation with news of a prospect, "Silent" Murphy, a muscular ex-piano mover who will be a great center; they just need to convince the President that Murphy is a real student. Bessie, Stub's girlfriend, is the local golf champ; the two wonder about married life ("A Peach of a Life"). Stub is trying to avoid Flora Wiggins and her mother, to whom he owes $18 in back rent for the room at their boarding house.
Beautiful Jane Witherspoon is much sought after by the college boys and even by Professor Talbot, who has a crush on her, but her philosophy is to "Wait 'Til Tomorrow", but everyone knows that if there is a problem, "Leave It to Jane". Her father, the President of Atwater, gets a visit from his old friend Hiram Bolton, a chief donor to the rival Bingham College. On Bolton's way out Stub foolishly bets him that Atwater will beat Bingham in the big Thanksgiving Day game. Bessie arrives with news that the all-American halfback, Billy Bolton of Minnesota, is joining the team at Bingham; they realize that he must be Hiram Bolton's son. If he joins Bingham, Atwater's chances are zero. Bessie asks Jane to help lure Billy Bolton to Atwater with promises of academic and athletic success and possible romance.
On meeting her, the handsome Billy is enchanted; Jane turns on the charm for the good of the school: it's an emergency after all! ("The Crickets Are Calling"). Jane plans for Billy to enroll at Atwater under an assumed name to fool her father. Hon. Elan Hicks is a southern politician who has secured a place at Atwater for his shy and gawky son, Bub. Nevertheless, Bub hits it off with the waitress daughter of Stub's landlady, Flora ("Cleopatterer"), and he begins to become fashionable. Meanwhile, Jane tricks Billy into giving her his fraternity pin and attending that evening's formal dance at Atwater. It pains Jane to be misleading Billy. She wryly notes that modern women are not so different from the legendary siren
s.
At the ball that evening, Jane uses all of her seductive powers on Billy, who eventually agrees to stay at Atwater and change his name to Elmer Staples. All are delighted with this outcome ("*Something to Say"), and all assume that Jane will dump Billy after the big game is over.
Act II
Outside the stadium the following Thanksgiving Day, everyone is excited about the big game ("Football Song"). The game is close, and, unfortunately, "Silent" Murphy suffers an injury. Senator Hicks is appalled to find that his son, Bub, has become quite a "sport" at college ("The Days of Chivalry", a/k/a Sir Galahad). Hiram Bolton has discovered the deception and is furious. When he accuses Jane of using her feminine wiles to ensnare his son, she pretends to swoon into Billy's arms, instructing the boys and Stub to get rid of Bolton until after the game. They manhandle him into a taxi, and Billy wins the game with an impressive run. Everyone is overjoyed at Atwater, Stub and Bessie proclaim their love ("The Sun Shines Brighter"), and all the boys describe what sort of girl they have been seeking.
Billy's father tells his son that Jane has fooled him, and heartbroken Billy decides to leave Atwater. Stub then demands that Bolton pay up on their bet. Bolton is unexpectedly impressed that, after having kidnapped him, Stub would show such initiative and nerve, and so he offers Stub a job. Bub, thinks that with Billy out of the picture, Jane will be on the market, and he breaks his engagement with Flora. It's not all bad news for Flora, however, as Stub pays off his debt for rent, she gets an offer from coach McGowan. Happy about the money from his winnings, Stubs and Bessie become engaged. Just as Billy prepares to leave, Jane begs his forgiveness for her deception but reveals that she has fallen in love with him. Billy must honor his agreement to take a job with his father, but he asks Jane to wait for him, and all ends happily.
Act II
and Aristophanes
also have: they say things as simply as you would say them in common speech, yet they sing perfectly." In The New York Evening World, Charles Darnton praised "Mr. Kern's sprightly tunes and ... verses that added to the joy of song. You are sure to like Leave It to Jane." The New York Times
praised the cast generally, but the paper was most impressed by Georgia O'Ramey in the comedy role of Flora.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
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...
and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton was a British-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the U.S., he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G...
and P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
, based on the 1904 play College Widow, by George Ade
George Ade
George Ade was an American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright.-Biography:Ade was born in Kentland, Indiana, one of seven children raised by John and Adaline Ade. While attending Purdue University, he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity...
. The story concerns the football rivalry between Atwater College and Bingham College, and satirizes college life in a Midwestern U.S. town. A star halfback, Billy, forsakes his father's alma mater, Bingham, to play at Atwater, to be near the seductive Jane, the daughter of Atwater's president.
The musical was created for the Princess Theatre
Princess Theatre
The Princess Theatre was a joint venture between the Shubert Brothers , producer Ray Comstock, theatrical agent Elisabeth Marbury and actor-director Holbrook Blinn...
, but another of the "Princess Theatre Shows", Oh, Boy!
Oh, Boy! (musical)
Oh, Boy! is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. The story concerns befuddled George, who elopes with Lou Ellen, the daughter of Judge Carter. He must win over her parents and his Quaker aunt...
, was a long-running hit at the Princess at the same time; so Leave It to Jane premiered instead at the Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1917. and had a long-running Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revival in 1959. Some of the best-known songs are "A Peach of Life", "Leave It to Jane", "The Crickets Are Calling", "Siren’s Song", "Sir Galahad" and "Cleopatterer".
Background
Early in the 20th century, American musical theatreMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
consisted of a mix of elaborate European operettas, like The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
(1907), British musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
imports, likeThe Arcadians (1910), George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
's shows, American operettas, like those of Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
, ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
-infused American musicals, and the spectacular revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
s of Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
and others. But as Cohan's and Herbert's creative output waned, new creative talent was being nurtured on Broadway, including Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
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...
, George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
and Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
. Kern began by revising British musicals to suit American audiences, adding songs that "have a timeless, distinctly American sound that redefined the Broadway showtune."
In 1914, Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Kern and Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to the small Princess Theatre
Princess Theatre
The Princess Theatre was a joint venture between the Shubert Brothers , producer Ray Comstock, theatrical agent Elisabeth Marbury and actor-director Holbrook Blinn...
with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the Ziegfeld reviews, elaborate operettas and imported shows. Kern and Bolton's first Princess Theatre musical was Nobody's Home (1915), an adaptation of a London show called Mr. Popple of Ippleton. Their second was an original musical called Very Good Eddie
Very Good Eddie
Very Good Eddie is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Philip Bartholomae, music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Schuyler Green and Herbert Reynolds, with additional lyrics by Elsie Janis, Harry B. Smith and John E. Hazzard and additional music by Henry Kailimai. The story was based on the farce...
(1915). The little show ran for 314 performances on a modest budget. British humorist and lyricist/playwright P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
had supplied some lyrics for Very Good Eddie and joined the team at the Princess for Oh, Boy!
Oh, Boy! (musical)
Oh, Boy! is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. The story concerns befuddled George, who elopes with Lou Ellen, the daughter of Judge Carter. He must win over her parents and his Quaker aunt...
, which opened in February 1917, becoming a hit. In their collaborations, Bolton wrote most of the book, with Wodehouse writing the lyrics. According to Bloom and Vlastnik, Oh, Boy! represents "the transition from the haphazard musicals of the past to the newer, more methodical modern musical comedy ... remarkably pun-free [with plots that were] natural and unforced. Charm was uppermost in the creators' minds ... the audience could relax, have a few laughs, feel slightly superior to the silly undertakings on stage, and smile along with the simple, melodic, lyrically witty but undemanding songs".
Productions
With Oh, Boy! playing at the Princess, Leave It to Jane had to open at another BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
house, the Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
, on March 29, 1917. Like the Princess Theatre shows, it featured modern American settings, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery. The authors sought to have the humor flow from the plot situations, rather than from musical set pieces. In 1918, Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
described in Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (American magazine 1913-1936)
Vanity Fair was an American society magazine published from 1913-1936. It was highly successful until the Great Depression led to it becoming unprofitable, and it was merged into Vogue magazine in 1936.-History:...
how the team's shows integrated story and music: "Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern are my favorite indoor sport. I like the way they go about a musical comedy. ... I like the way the action slides casually into the songs. ... I like the deft rhyming of the song that is always sung in the last act by two comedians and a comedienne. And oh, how I do like Jerome Kern's music."
Leave It to Jane ran for a modestly successful 167 performances, directed by Edward Royce and choreographed by David Bennett. Though the critics liked the music and lyrics, as well as the cast generally, they were most impressed by Georgia O'Ramey in the comedy role of Flora. An Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revival opened on May 25, 1959 at the Sheridan Square Playhouse
Sheridan Square Playhouse
The Sheridan Square Playhouse was an Off-Broadway theatre in New York City that was active from 1958 through the early 1990s. Closed as a theatre in 1996, the theatre was located at 99 7th Avenue South in Greenwich Village.-History:...
and ran for two years (958 performances), and the cast recorded the show's first cast album, starring Kathleen Murray (later Kathleen Hallor) as Jane. A young George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
had a small part. The show is occasionally still staged, including a 1985 production at Goodspeed Opera House starring Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker is an American musical theatre actress and soprano who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions.-Life and career:...
.
Synopsis
Act IOn the first day of the new school term, at "Good Old Atwater" College in Indiana is having difficulty assembling a first-rate football team to pit against its arch-rival school, Bingham. Matty McGowan, the team's coach, is discouraged. "Stub" Talmadge returns from vacation with news of a prospect, "Silent" Murphy, a muscular ex-piano mover who will be a great center; they just need to convince the President that Murphy is a real student. Bessie, Stub's girlfriend, is the local golf champ; the two wonder about married life ("A Peach of a Life"). Stub is trying to avoid Flora Wiggins and her mother, to whom he owes $18 in back rent for the room at their boarding house.
Beautiful Jane Witherspoon is much sought after by the college boys and even by Professor Talbot, who has a crush on her, but her philosophy is to "Wait 'Til Tomorrow", but everyone knows that if there is a problem, "Leave It to Jane". Her father, the President of Atwater, gets a visit from his old friend Hiram Bolton, a chief donor to the rival Bingham College. On Bolton's way out Stub foolishly bets him that Atwater will beat Bingham in the big Thanksgiving Day game. Bessie arrives with news that the all-American halfback, Billy Bolton of Minnesota, is joining the team at Bingham; they realize that he must be Hiram Bolton's son. If he joins Bingham, Atwater's chances are zero. Bessie asks Jane to help lure Billy Bolton to Atwater with promises of academic and athletic success and possible romance.
On meeting her, the handsome Billy is enchanted; Jane turns on the charm for the good of the school: it's an emergency after all! ("The Crickets Are Calling"). Jane plans for Billy to enroll at Atwater under an assumed name to fool her father. Hon. Elan Hicks is a southern politician who has secured a place at Atwater for his shy and gawky son, Bub. Nevertheless, Bub hits it off with the waitress daughter of Stub's landlady, Flora ("Cleopatterer"), and he begins to become fashionable. Meanwhile, Jane tricks Billy into giving her his fraternity pin and attending that evening's formal dance at Atwater. It pains Jane to be misleading Billy. She wryly notes that modern women are not so different from the legendary siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s.
At the ball that evening, Jane uses all of her seductive powers on Billy, who eventually agrees to stay at Atwater and change his name to Elmer Staples. All are delighted with this outcome ("*Something to Say"), and all assume that Jane will dump Billy after the big game is over.
Act II
Outside the stadium the following Thanksgiving Day, everyone is excited about the big game ("Football Song"). The game is close, and, unfortunately, "Silent" Murphy suffers an injury. Senator Hicks is appalled to find that his son, Bub, has become quite a "sport" at college ("The Days of Chivalry", a/k/a Sir Galahad). Hiram Bolton has discovered the deception and is furious. When he accuses Jane of using her feminine wiles to ensnare his son, she pretends to swoon into Billy's arms, instructing the boys and Stub to get rid of Bolton until after the game. They manhandle him into a taxi, and Billy wins the game with an impressive run. Everyone is overjoyed at Atwater, Stub and Bessie proclaim their love ("The Sun Shines Brighter"), and all the boys describe what sort of girl they have been seeking.
Billy's father tells his son that Jane has fooled him, and heartbroken Billy decides to leave Atwater. Stub then demands that Bolton pay up on their bet. Bolton is unexpectedly impressed that, after having kidnapped him, Stub would show such initiative and nerve, and so he offers Stub a job. Bub, thinks that with Billy out of the picture, Jane will be on the market, and he breaks his engagement with Flora. It's not all bad news for Flora, however, as Stub pays off his debt for rent, she gets an offer from coach McGowan. Happy about the money from his winnings, Stubs and Bessie become engaged. Just as Billy prepares to leave, Jane begs his forgiveness for her deception but reveals that she has fallen in love with him. Billy must honor his agreement to take a job with his father, but he asks Jane to wait for him, and all ends happily.
Songs
Act I- Good Old Atwater – Male Ensemble
- A Peach of a Life – Stub Talmadge and Bessie Tanner
- Wait 'Till Tomorrow – Jane Witherspoon and Boys
- (Just You) Watch My Step – Stub, Louella Banks and Girls
- Leave It to Jane – Jane, Stub, Bessie and Girls
- The Crickets Are Calling – Jane and Billy Bolton
- When the Orchestra's Playing Your Favorite Waltz (There it is Again) – Billy and Town Girls
- Cleopatterer – Flora Wiggins
- Something to Say – Jane and Billy
Act II
- Football Song – Bessie and Ensemble
- The Days of Chivalry (Sir Galahad) – Stub, Flora and Harold "Bub" Hicks
- Football Song (Reprise) – Ensemble
- The Sun Shines Brighter (I'm So Happy) – Bessie and Stub
- The Siren's Song – Jane, Bessie and Girls
- I'm Going to Find a Girl (Someday) – Stub, Bub, Ollie Mitchell, Louella, Marion Mooney and Cissie Summers
Roles and original cast
- Ollie Mitchell (a sophomore) – Rudolf Cutten
- Matty McGowan (a coach) – Dan Collyer
- "Stub" Talmadge (a busy undergraduate) – Oscar ShawOscar ShawOscar Shaw , was a stage and screen actor and singer...
- "Silent" Murphy (a center rush) – Thomas Delmar
- Peter Witherspoon (President of Atwater) – Frederic Graham
- Bessie Tanners (an athletic girl) – Anna Orr
- Flora Wiggins (a prominent waitress) – Georgia O'Ramey
- Howard Talbot (a professor) – Algernon Grieg
- Jane Witherspoon (daughter of Peter Witherspoon) – Edith Hallor
- Hiram Bolton (benefactor of Bingham College) – Will C. Crimans
- Billy Bolton (a half-back) – Robert G. Pitkin
- Hon. Elan Hicks (of Squantunville) – Allan Kelly
- Harold "Bub" Hicks (a freshman) – Olin HowlandOlin HowlandOlin Howland was an American film actor. From 1909 to 1927 he appeared on the Broadway stage while balancing a career in silent movies. In 1921, he appeared in the play Two Little Girls in Blue with Oscar Shaw and the Fairbanks Twins. He was in Janice Meredith with Marion Davies...
- Louella Banks – Arline Chase
- Marion Mooney – Helen Rich
- Cissie Summers – Tess Mayer
- Students, faculty, townies etc.
Critical reception
The musical received good notices. The critic Gilbert Seles commented that Wodehouse's lyrics "had the great virtue which Gilbert's lyrics had and which, I am told, the comic verses of MolièreMolière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
and Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
also have: they say things as simply as you would say them in common speech, yet they sing perfectly." In The New York Evening World, Charles Darnton praised "Mr. Kern's sprightly tunes and ... verses that added to the joy of song. You are sure to like Leave It to Jane." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised the cast generally, but the paper was most impressed by Georgia O'Ramey in the comedy role of Flora.