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Oh, Boy! (musical)
Encyclopedia
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. His dapper polo champion friend Jim is in love with madcap actress Jackie, but George must hide her while she extricates herself from a scrape with a bumbling constable whom she punched at a party raid.
The piece was the most successful of the "Princess Theatre
Musicals", opening in February 1917 and transferring to the Casino Theatre in November 1917 to finish its Broadway
run of 463 performances. A London production, under the title Oh, Joy! opened in January 1919 at the Kingsway Theatre, where it ran for 167 performances. A silent film version was also produced in 1919.
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."
The Princess Theatre
was a simply designed, 299-seat Broadway theatre
that had failed to attract successful productions because of its small size. Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Kern and Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to its smaller setting, with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the star-studded extravaganzas of Ziegfeld and others. 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 but now joined the team at the Princess.
Oh, Boy!, like the first two Princess Theatre shows, featured modern American settings and simple scene changes (one set for each act) to more aptly suit the small theatre, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery. The authors deliberately attempted to have the humor flow from the plot situations, rather than from musical set pieces. In 1818, Dorothy Parker
described in Vanity Fair
how the Princess Theatre 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." It became the most successful of the Princess Theatre shows, and one of the first American musicals to be a success on the London stage. 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 ... the libretto is remarkably pun-free and the plot is 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". They call it good clean fun and "honest, non-ironic, hardworking theatre".
Oh, Boy! was first performed, as a tryout, in Schenectady, New York
, before receiving its Broadway premiere on February 20, 1917 at the Princess Theatre. It ran for 463 performances (the last few months at the Casino Theatre), making it the third-longest running Broadway musical in the 1910s. It was produced by William Elliott and F. Ray Comstock. Staging was by Edward Royce, with scenery by D. M. Aiken and costumes by Faibsey. A London production, under the title Oh, Joy! was produced by George Grossmith, Jr.
, containing some modified lyrics, and starring Beatrice Lillie
as Jackie – her first role in a book musical. It opened on January 27, 1919 at the Kingsway Theatre, where it ran for 167 performances. A silent film version was also produced in 1919.
, and Briggs, George's butler, puts the telegram aside. Jim Marvin, a young dandy
, enters through the window followed by a troupe of young people ("Let's Make a Night of It"). Jim's polo team has won a silver cup, and he's brought all his friends to George's house to celebrate. Jim is surprised to find that George is not home; George never goes out at night. However, Jim decides to continue the party and goes into the dining room with his friends to find some food and drink.
George is not home because he has eloped with Lou Ellen Carter. They return to the apartment ready to spend their first night together ("You Never Knew About Me"), not realizing they have guests. They go into the bedroom, and Jim and his friends return to the living room, not knowing George is home with Lou Ellen. Jim rhapsodizes on the wonders of an available female ("A Package of Seeds"). George and Lou Ellen overhear the noisy guests and open the door. They see no one, as everyone is now in the dining room, but George notices the telegram. It is from his Quaker Aunt Penelope, who controls his portion of the family fortune. She cautions him not to become engaged to Lou Ellen without careful consideration and tells him that she is coming to visit. George and Lou Ellen decide that Lou Ellen will have to go back to her parents for a while. Lou Ellen tries to sneak out through the party by pretending that she is one of the partiers. The girls ask her to go with them to their next party, but she explains that she is "An Old-Fashioned Wife". The landlord insists that the party must end, and everyone leaves, as George and Lou Ellen go to find a taxi to take her home.
Jim is left alone in the apartment when a pretty girl with a gun enters and explains she is escaping from the police. She is an actress named Jackie Sampson, and she was at a party at the Cherrywood Inn when a tipsy old gentleman named Tootles made a pass at her. He climbed on a table to read a speech, got into an altercation with a constable and started a riot. In the confusion, Jackie lost her handbag and gave the policeman a black eye. The policeman, P. C. Simms, has come to arrest her, but Jim tells him Jackie is George's wife. Jim offers to go back to the cabaret, find her handbag, and make Tootles absolve Jackie of any blame. Jackie thanks him ("A Pal Like You"), and they decide she should spend the night at George's to support her alibi. George can stay at Jim's place. She puts on Lou Ellen's pajamas. George returns and begins a letter to Lou Ellen ("Letter Song: I'll Just Dream About You") when Jackie emerges from the bedroom and explains her situation. George agrees to let her stay, and when Simms returns, George shows him the wedding certificate to prove he is married and reintroduces him to Jackie, who is still wearing the pajamas. Simms decides everything is in order and leaves, and Jackie can stay "Till the Clouds Roll By". George spends the night on Jim's sofa.
When George returns home in the morning, Lou Ellen's father, Judge Carter, has come to see if George is a suitable son-in-law. Jim has invited more of his friends to George's apartment, and the Judge finds it hard to believe George is really a serious young man. George invents a story about unstable explosives that frightens Judge Carter away. A flapper
sings and dances for George ("A Little Bit of Ribbon") before Jackie emerges. Meanwhile, Jim could not find Tootles or the handbag, but he has found Tootles's speech. Briggs goes to the train station to waylay Aunt Penelope. Lou Ellen and her mother arrive and are shocked at the apparently immoral behavior going on in the apartment. When Jackie accidentally mentions that she has stayed there all night, George tells them she is his Aunt Penelope. Jackie tries to convince them she is a Quaker ("The First Day in May"). Judge Carter returns, and Jackie recognizes him as Tootles! She decides to follow him to the Country Club
, where he is going to give his speech for the Polo Trophy. Hopefully he'll be able to clear her name with the police and get her handbag back.
Jackie tells the judge that she will give him his speech if he will get her handbag back from Simms. Jim asks Jackie to think about marrying him ("Nesting Time in Flatbrush"). Jackie orders a strong drink to fortify her to be George's wife, his aunt, and a flapper stimultaneously. Lou Ellen is despondent because she cannot speak to George, but she reassures herself that "Words Are Not Needed". Aunt Penelope arrives, and Simms tells her George and Jackie are married; he saw her in pajamas. Aunt Penelope feels faint and asks for a glass of water but accidentally takes Jackie's drink. Soon inebriated, she asks George about the pajamas, and he sends her to the ladies' room. Jackie, Jim, and George sing an extemporaneous piece about "Flubby Dub the Caveman." Lou Ellen meets Aunt Penelope in the ladies' room, and Aunt Penelope tells her about the pajamas. Lou Ellen asks her mother to make George explain who was wearing her pajamas and who Jackie is, since Aunt Penelope is George's aunt.
Aunt Penelope spots Briggs and declares that he is a madman who tried to lock her up. Simms jumps at the chance to arrest him and rushes to empty his hands, giving Jackie's handbag to Judge Carter. Judge Carter and Jackie exchange the handbag and the speech. Aunt Penelope demands an explanation: did she dream all the strange happenings, and is George really married? George explains to everyone that he is married to Lou Ellen. Simms is thoroughly confused, but George tells him that Jackie is Jim Marvin's wife, and it is quite certain that she soon will be.
Act II
Tom Powers reprised the role of George Budd in the 1919 London production, Oh, Joy!" It also starred Beatrice Lillie
as Jackie.
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...
. 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. His dapper polo champion friend Jim is in love with madcap actress Jackie, but George must hide her while she extricates herself from a scrape with a bumbling constable whom she punched at a party raid.
The piece was the most successful of 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...
Musicals", opening in February 1917 and transferring to the Casino Theatre in November 1917 to finish its 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...
run of 463 performances. A London production, under the title Oh, Joy! opened in January 1919 at the Kingsway Theatre, where it ran for 167 performances. A silent film version was also produced in 1919.
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."
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...
was a simply designed, 299-seat Broadway theatre
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...
that had failed to attract successful productions because of its small size. Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Kern and Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to its smaller setting, with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the star-studded extravaganzas of Ziegfeld and others. 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 but now joined the team at the Princess.
Oh, Boy!, like the first two Princess Theatre shows, featured modern American settings and simple scene changes (one set for each act) to more aptly suit the small theatre, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery. The authors deliberately attempted to have the humor flow from the plot situations, rather than from musical set pieces. In 1818, 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 Princess Theatre 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." It became the most successful of the Princess Theatre shows, and one of the first American musicals to be a success on the London stage. 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 ... the libretto is remarkably pun-free and the plot is 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". They call it good clean fun and "honest, non-ironic, hardworking theatre".
Oh, Boy! was first performed, as a tryout, in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, before receiving its Broadway premiere on February 20, 1917 at the Princess Theatre. It ran for 463 performances (the last few months at the Casino Theatre), making it the third-longest running Broadway musical in the 1910s. It was produced by William Elliott and F. Ray Comstock. Staging was by Edward Royce, with scenery by D. M. Aiken and costumes by Faibsey. A London production, under the title Oh, Joy! was produced by George Grossmith, Jr.
George Grossmith, Jr.
George Grossmith, Jr. was a British actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies...
, containing some modified lyrics, and starring Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys "Bea" Lillie was an actress and comedic performer. Following her 1920 marriage to Sir Robert Peel in England, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.-Early career:...
as Jackie – her first role in a book musical. It opened on January 27, 1919 at the Kingsway Theatre, where it ran for 167 performances. A silent film version was also produced in 1919.
Act One
The telegram boy arrives at George Budd's apartment at Medowsides, Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, and Briggs, George's butler, puts the telegram aside. Jim Marvin, a young dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
, enters through the window followed by a troupe of young people ("Let's Make a Night of It"). Jim's polo team has won a silver cup, and he's brought all his friends to George's house to celebrate. Jim is surprised to find that George is not home; George never goes out at night. However, Jim decides to continue the party and goes into the dining room with his friends to find some food and drink.
George is not home because he has eloped with Lou Ellen Carter. They return to the apartment ready to spend their first night together ("You Never Knew About Me"), not realizing they have guests. They go into the bedroom, and Jim and his friends return to the living room, not knowing George is home with Lou Ellen. Jim rhapsodizes on the wonders of an available female ("A Package of Seeds"). George and Lou Ellen overhear the noisy guests and open the door. They see no one, as everyone is now in the dining room, but George notices the telegram. It is from his Quaker Aunt Penelope, who controls his portion of the family fortune. She cautions him not to become engaged to Lou Ellen without careful consideration and tells him that she is coming to visit. George and Lou Ellen decide that Lou Ellen will have to go back to her parents for a while. Lou Ellen tries to sneak out through the party by pretending that she is one of the partiers. The girls ask her to go with them to their next party, but she explains that she is "An Old-Fashioned Wife". The landlord insists that the party must end, and everyone leaves, as George and Lou Ellen go to find a taxi to take her home.
Jim is left alone in the apartment when a pretty girl with a gun enters and explains she is escaping from the police. She is an actress named Jackie Sampson, and she was at a party at the Cherrywood Inn when a tipsy old gentleman named Tootles made a pass at her. He climbed on a table to read a speech, got into an altercation with a constable and started a riot. In the confusion, Jackie lost her handbag and gave the policeman a black eye. The policeman, P. C. Simms, has come to arrest her, but Jim tells him Jackie is George's wife. Jim offers to go back to the cabaret, find her handbag, and make Tootles absolve Jackie of any blame. Jackie thanks him ("A Pal Like You"), and they decide she should spend the night at George's to support her alibi. George can stay at Jim's place. She puts on Lou Ellen's pajamas. George returns and begins a letter to Lou Ellen ("Letter Song: I'll Just Dream About You") when Jackie emerges from the bedroom and explains her situation. George agrees to let her stay, and when Simms returns, George shows him the wedding certificate to prove he is married and reintroduces him to Jackie, who is still wearing the pajamas. Simms decides everything is in order and leaves, and Jackie can stay "Till the Clouds Roll By". George spends the night on Jim's sofa.
When George returns home in the morning, Lou Ellen's father, Judge Carter, has come to see if George is a suitable son-in-law. Jim has invited more of his friends to George's apartment, and the Judge finds it hard to believe George is really a serious young man. George invents a story about unstable explosives that frightens Judge Carter away. A flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
sings and dances for George ("A Little Bit of Ribbon") before Jackie emerges. Meanwhile, Jim could not find Tootles or the handbag, but he has found Tootles's speech. Briggs goes to the train station to waylay Aunt Penelope. Lou Ellen and her mother arrive and are shocked at the apparently immoral behavior going on in the apartment. When Jackie accidentally mentions that she has stayed there all night, George tells them she is his Aunt Penelope. Jackie tries to convince them she is a Quaker ("The First Day in May"). Judge Carter returns, and Jackie recognizes him as Tootles! She decides to follow him to the Country Club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
, where he is going to give his speech for the Polo Trophy. Hopefully he'll be able to clear her name with the police and get her handbag back.
Act Two
At the Medowsides Country Club, Jim and his friends begin the trophy ceremony with a song ("Koo-La-Loo"). Briggs is frantically searching for George. He tried to lock Aunt Penelope in the kitchen, but she punched him in the eye and escaped. When George and Jackie arrive, Simms greets them as Mr. and Mrs. Budd and asks them where Jackie got her pajamas; he would like to get a pair for his wife. Jackie tells Jim that even though she is becoming fond of George, she also likes him ("Rolled Into One"). Mrs. Carter dislikes George and persuades her husband to forbid Lou Ellen to speak to him ("Oh Daddy, Please").Jackie tells the judge that she will give him his speech if he will get her handbag back from Simms. Jim asks Jackie to think about marrying him ("Nesting Time in Flatbrush"). Jackie orders a strong drink to fortify her to be George's wife, his aunt, and a flapper stimultaneously. Lou Ellen is despondent because she cannot speak to George, but she reassures herself that "Words Are Not Needed". Aunt Penelope arrives, and Simms tells her George and Jackie are married; he saw her in pajamas. Aunt Penelope feels faint and asks for a glass of water but accidentally takes Jackie's drink. Soon inebriated, she asks George about the pajamas, and he sends her to the ladies' room. Jackie, Jim, and George sing an extemporaneous piece about "Flubby Dub the Caveman." Lou Ellen meets Aunt Penelope in the ladies' room, and Aunt Penelope tells her about the pajamas. Lou Ellen asks her mother to make George explain who was wearing her pajamas and who Jackie is, since Aunt Penelope is George's aunt.
Aunt Penelope spots Briggs and declares that he is a madman who tried to lock her up. Simms jumps at the chance to arrest him and rushes to empty his hands, giving Jackie's handbag to Judge Carter. Judge Carter and Jackie exchange the handbag and the speech. Aunt Penelope demands an explanation: did she dream all the strange happenings, and is George really married? George explains to everyone that he is married to Lou Ellen. Simms is thoroughly confused, but George tells him that Jackie is Jim Marvin's wife, and it is quite certain that she soon will be.
Songs
Act I- Let's Make a Night of It - Jim Marvin and Ensemble
- You Never Knew About Me - Lou Ellen Carter and George Budd
- A Package of Seeds (from 90 in the Shade - Lyrics by Herbert Reynolds and Wodehouse) - Marvin, Jane Packard, Polly Andrus and Girls
- An Old-Fashioned Wife - Carter and Girls
- A Pal Like You (We're Going to Be Pals) - Jackie Sampson and Marvin
- Till the Clouds Roll By (Lyrics by Kern and Wodehouse) - Sampson and Budd
- A Little Bit of Ribbon - Packard and Girls
- The First Day of May - Sampson, Marvin and Budd
Act II
- Koo-La-Loo - Marvin and Ensemble
- Rolled into One - Sampson
- Oh, Daddy, Please! - Lou Ellen Carter, Budd and Judge Daniel Carter
- Nesting Time (in Flatbush) (Lyrics by Kern and Wodehouse) - Sampson and Marvin
- Words Are Not Needed (Every Day) - Lou Ellen Carter and Boys
- Flubby Dub, the Cave-Man - Sampson, Marvin and Budd
Roles and original cast
- George Budd – Tom PowersTom PowersTom Powers was an American stage and film actor. He was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA and died in Hollywood, California, of heart disease.- Career :...
- Lou Ellen Carter (his new wife) – Marie Carroll
- Jim Marvin (his friend) – Hal Forde
- Jackie Sampson (an actress) – Anna Wheaton
- Briggs, George's butler – Carl Lyle
- Judge Daniel Carter – Frank McGinn
- Mrs. Carter – Augusta Haviland
- Miss Penelope Budd (George's aunt) – Edna May OliverEdna May OliverEdna May Oliver was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters.-Early life:...
- Constable Simms – Stephen Maley
- Jane Packard – Marion DaviesMarion DaviesMarion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
- Polly Andrus – Justine JohnstoneJustine JohnstoneJustine Johnstone was an American stage and silent screen actress who retired to become a pathologist and expert on syphilis. She also was part of the team that developed the modern intravenous drip technique....
Tom Powers reprised the role of George Budd in the 1919 London production, Oh, Joy!" It also starred Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys "Bea" Lillie was an actress and comedic performer. Following her 1920 marriage to Sir Robert Peel in England, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.-Early career:...
as Jackie.