Sunny is a musical

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...

 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 a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...

 and Otto Harbach

Otto Harbach

Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies...

. The plot involves Sunny, the star of a circus act, who falls for a rich playboy, but comes in conflict with his snooty family. This show was the follow-up to the 1920 hit musical Sally

Sally (musical)

Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton , with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell and P. G. Wodehouse. It was originally produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, opening on December 21, 1920 at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway...

, both starring Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...

 in the title roles, and it was Kern's first musical together with Hammerstein. Sunny also became a hit, with its original 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...

 production in 1925 running for 517 performances.

Broadway production

The Broadway production (produced by Charles Dillingham and directed by Hassard Short

Hassard Short

Hubert Edward Hassard Short , usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatrewho directed over 50 Broadway and West End shows between 1920 and 1953...

) opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre

New Amsterdam Theatre

The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...

 on September 22, 1925 and ran for 517 performances. The cast included Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...

, Jack Donahue, Clifton Webb

Clifton Webb

Clifton Webb was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor's Edge, and Sitting Pretty...

, Mary Hay, Joseph Cawthorn

Joseph Cawthorn

Joseph Cawthorn was an American stage and film comic actor....

, Paul Frawley, Cliff Edwards

Cliff Edwards

Cliff Edwards , also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929...

, Pert Kelton

Pert Kelton

Pert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...

, Moss & Fontana, Esther Howard

Esther Howard

Esther Howard was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.-Career:...

, Dorothy Francis, and the George Olsen Orchestra.

Songs

• "Sunny"
• "Who?
  Who? (song)
  "Who?" is a popular song written for the Broadway musical Sunny by Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was featured in the film version of Sunny starring Marilyn Miller....
  
  "
• "Let's Say Good Night Till It's Morning"
• "D'Ye Love Me?"
• "Two Little Bluebirds"
• "I Might Grow Fond of You"

Films

The musical was adapted for a 1930 film version

Sunny (1930 film)

Sunny is a 1930 musical comedy film released by Warner Brothers. The movie was based on the Broadway stage hit, Sunny, produced by Charles Dillingham, which played from September 22, 1925 to December 11, 1926. Marilyn Miller, who had played the leading part in the Broadway production, was hired by...

 directed by William A. Seiter

William A. Seiter

William A. Seiter was an American film director. He was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, doubling a cowboy...

 and featuring additional music by Kern. In 1941 a second film version

Sunny (1941 film)

Sunny is a 1941 film American film directed by Herbert Wilcox. It was adapted by Sig Herzig from the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical play Sunny...

 was produced, directed by Herbert Wilcox

Herbert Wilcox

Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...

. The first film starred Marilyn Miller, the second one (with a highly revised plot) starred Anna Neagle

Anna Neagle

Forming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...

, with Ray Bolger

Ray Bolger

Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...

 in his first film role after playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

.