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Whoopee!

Whoopee! is a 1928 musical comedy play with a book based on Owen Davis's play, The Nervous Wreck. The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1928, starring Eddie Cantor, and introduced the hit song "Love Me or Leave Me", sung by Ruth Etting.[1]

Whoopee!
  • Poster for the 1979 Broadway revival.
  • Illustration by Hilary Knight
MusicWalter Donaldson
LyricsGus Kahn
BookWilliam Anthony McGuire
BasisOwen Davis's play
The Nervous Wreck
Productions1928 Broadway
1979 Broadway revival

Synopsis Edit

Setting: Mission Rest, Arizona; Black Top Canyon; The Bar "M" Ranch; the Wilderness; the Desert.

Sheriff Bob Wells and the daughter of a rancher Sally Morgan are getting married. She is in love with Wanenis, whose part-Indian heritage presents social difficulties for their romance. Sally abandons Sheriff Bob and their wedding, catching a ride with Henry Williams. As a hypochondriac, Henry has problems of his own, but Sally adds to his problems when she leaves a note saying they have eloped. A chase ensues, with the jilted Bob; Mary, Henry's nurse who is in love with him; and a cast of others. Along the way they arrive at the Indian Reservation where Wanenis lives. The movie star Leslie Daw enters the proceedings and sings the torchy, sentimental "Love Me, or Leave Me".[2]

Songs Edit

Productions Edit

Whoopee! opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 4, 1928, and closed on November 23, 1929, after 407 performances. It was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, directed by Seymour Felix, dialogue staged by William Anthony McGuire, and dances and ensembles staged by Seymour Felix. The musical starred Eddie Cantor as Henry Williams, Ruth Etting as Leslie Daw, Frances Upton as Sally Morgan, Jack Rutherford as Bob Wells, Paul Gregory as Wanenis, Ethel Shutta as Mary (replacing Ruby Keeler), and featured Buddy Ebsen and Paulette Goddard in the chorus. George Olsen (Ethel Shutta's husband) and His Orchestra provided the music for both the stage production and the movie.

1979 Revival Edit

A revival, based on a Goodspeed Opera House production, was presented at the ANTA Playhouse from February 14, 1979, to August 12, 1979, for 204 performances and 8 previews. Directed by Frank Corsaro with choreography by Dan Siretta, the cast featured Charles Repole (Henry Williams) Beth Austin (Sally Morgan), Carol Swarbrick (Mary) and Susan Stroman (Leslie Daw). This revival added Kahn/Donaldson songs not in the original 1928 show: "My Baby Just Cares For Me" (from the 1930 film version), "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby", and "You" (lyrics by Harold Adamson). Also, "Love Me or Leave Me" is sung by Mary and Henry rather than the essentially unrelated Leslie.

Donald J. Stubblebine reports, "It was still going strong after six months but Sam Goldwyn, who bought the rights, closed it down to make the movie with Cantor."[3] Whoopee! was filmed in 1930 as a musical comedy film. Although the plot followed the stage version closely, much of the music was changed.

Response Edit

Brooks Atkinson, the theatre critic for The New York Times, reviewed the 1928 Broadway production and called it "a gorgeous spectacle" with "long stretches of excellent comedy". He especially praised the comedic abilities of Eddie Cantor, "a comedian of deftness and appealing humor. He is sad; he is preoccupied; he is apprehensive or insinuating with those floating eyes...In the past he has been funny, clever and ludicrious. But he has never been so enjoyable." As to the music, "Walter Donaldson has composed an appropriate score worthy of better singing than it falls heir to."[4]

The New York Times critic Richard Eder called the 1979 Broadway revival a "frequent delight though not an unmitigated one...Most strikingly, it is a superabundance of songs. There is not a poor song in it, and its best ones — the lovely and musically witty "Makin' Whoopee", the jiggly "My Baby Just Cares for Me", and of course the irresistible "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" — are magnificent."[5] Walter Kerr, then the Times' Sunday critic, also reacted favorably to the show while calling attention to its nonsensical frivolity: he deemed it "light as a breeze, and just plain out of its head." Brendan Gill of The New Yorker, however, panned the show.

Repole received a nomination for Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and Dan Siretta was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

References Edit

  1. ^ . ruthetting.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  2. ^ Green, Stanley (1999). Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 14. ISBN 0-634-00765-3.
  3. ^ Donald J. Stubblebine, Broadway Sheet Music, McFarland & Company, 1996, p. 302.
  4. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (December 5, 1928). "THE PLAY; Players' Cooperative Started". The New York Times. p. L40. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Eder, Richard (February 15, 1979). "Stage: 'Whoopee!', Revival of 1928 Musical". The New York Times. p. C15. Retrieved April 3, 2022.

External links Edit

whoopee, other, uses, whoopee, 1928, musical, comedy, play, with, book, based, owen, davis, play, nervous, wreck, musical, libretto, written, william, anthony, mcguire, with, music, walter, donaldson, lyrics, kahn, musical, premiered, broadway, 1928, starring,. For other uses see Whoopee Whoopee is a 1928 musical comedy play with a book based on Owen Davis s play The Nervous Wreck The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn The musical premiered on Broadway in 1928 starring Eddie Cantor and introduced the hit song Love Me or Leave Me sung by Ruth Etting 1 Whoopee Poster for the 1979 Broadway revival Illustration by Hilary KnightMusicWalter DonaldsonLyricsGus KahnBookWilliam Anthony McGuireBasisOwen Davis s play The Nervous WreckProductions1928 Broadway 1979 Broadway revival Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Songs 3 Productions 3 1 1979 Revival 4 Response 5 References 6 External linksSynopsis EditSetting Mission Rest Arizona Black Top Canyon The Bar M Ranch the Wilderness the Desert Sheriff Bob Wells and the daughter of a rancher Sally Morgan are getting married She is in love with Wanenis whose part Indian heritage presents social difficulties for their romance Sally abandons Sheriff Bob and their wedding catching a ride with Henry Williams As a hypochondriac Henry has problems of his own but Sally adds to his problems when she leaves a note saying they have eloped A chase ensues with the jilted Bob Mary Henry s nurse who is in love with him and a cast of others Along the way they arrive at the Indian Reservation where Wanenis lives The movie star Leslie Daw enters the proceedings and sings the torchy sentimental Love Me or Leave Me 2 Songs EditAct I It s a Beautiful Day Today Here s to the Girl of My Heart Red Red Rose Gypsy Joe Makin Whoopee Until You Get Somebody Else Taps Come West Little Girl Come West The Movietone of the Gypsy Song Stetson Act II The Song of the Setting Sun Love Is the Mountain Red Mamma Love Me or Leave Me Hallowe en Whoopee Ball Productions EditWhoopee opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 4 1928 and closed on November 23 1929 after 407 performances It was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld directed by Seymour Felix dialogue staged by William Anthony McGuire and dances and ensembles staged by Seymour Felix The musical starred Eddie Cantor as Henry Williams Ruth Etting as Leslie Daw Frances Upton as Sally Morgan Jack Rutherford as Bob Wells Paul Gregory as Wanenis Ethel Shutta as Mary replacing Ruby Keeler and featured Buddy Ebsen and Paulette Goddard in the chorus George Olsen Ethel Shutta s husband and His Orchestra provided the music for both the stage production and the movie 1979 Revival Edit A revival based on a Goodspeed Opera House production was presented at the ANTA Playhouse from February 14 1979 to August 12 1979 for 204 performances and 8 previews Directed by Frank Corsaro with choreography by Dan Siretta the cast featured Charles Repole Henry Williams Beth Austin Sally Morgan Carol Swarbrick Mary and Susan Stroman Leslie Daw This revival added Kahn Donaldson songs not in the original 1928 show My Baby Just Cares For Me from the 1930 film version Yes Sir That s My Baby and You lyrics by Harold Adamson Also Love Me or Leave Me is sung by Mary and Henry rather than the essentially unrelated Leslie Donald J Stubblebine reports It was still going strong after six months but Sam Goldwyn who bought the rights closed it down to make the movie with Cantor 3 Whoopee was filmed in 1930 as a musical comedy film Although the plot followed the stage version closely much of the music was changed Response EditBrooks Atkinson the theatre critic for The New York Times reviewed the 1928 Broadway production and called it a gorgeous spectacle with long stretches of excellent comedy He especially praised the comedic abilities of Eddie Cantor a comedian of deftness and appealing humor He is sad he is preoccupied he is apprehensive or insinuating with those floating eyes In the past he has been funny clever and ludicrious But he has never been so enjoyable As to the music Walter Donaldson has composed an appropriate score worthy of better singing than it falls heir to 4 The New York Times critic Richard Eder called the 1979 Broadway revival a frequent delight though not an unmitigated one Most strikingly it is a superabundance of songs There is not a poor song in it and its best ones the lovely and musically witty Makin Whoopee the jiggly My Baby Just Cares for Me and of course the irresistible Yes Sir That s My Baby are magnificent 5 Walter Kerr then the Times Sunday critic also reacted favorably to the show while calling attention to its nonsensical frivolity he deemed it light as a breeze and just plain out of its head Brendan Gill of The New Yorker however panned the show Repole received a nomination for Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Dan Siretta was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography References Edit Whoopee information ruthetting com Archived from the original on December 3 2009 Retrieved August 27 2009 Green Stanley 1999 Hollywood Musicals Year by Year 2nd ed Hal Leonard Corporation p 14 ISBN 0 634 00765 3 Donald J Stubblebine Broadway Sheet Music McFarland amp Company 1996 p 302 Atkinson Brooks December 5 1928 THE PLAY Players Cooperative Started The New York Times p L40 Retrieved April 3 2022 Eder Richard February 15 1979 Stage Whoopee Revival of 1928 Musical The New York Times p C15 Retrieved April 3 2022 External links Edit Whoopee at the Internet Broadway Database Whoopee at IMDb 1930 film adaptation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Whoopee amp oldid 1180776722, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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