Show Girl (1929 musical)
Show Girl is a musical by William Anthony McGuire that ran from Jul 2, 1929 to Oct 5, 1929. A backstage musical, much of the action of the musical's story takes place at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Other scenes take place in Trenton, New Jersey; Brooklyn; and at a Penthouse apartment in New York City. The show tells the story of aspiring Broadway showgirl Dixie Dugan (played by Ruby Keeler) as she is pursued by four suitors (played by Eddie Foy, Jr., Joseph Macaulay, Austin Fairman, and Frank McHugh).[1] The music was written by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn.
The character of Dixie Dugan was created by J. P. McEvoy and was first introduced in Liberty before McEvoy published his 1928 novel Show Girl (on which the musical was loosely based).
The Broadway production was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, directed by McGuire, and choreographed by Bobby Connolly, with ballet sequences—including one set to An American in Paris—by Albertina Rasch. Duke Ellington conducted the orchestra. The show opened on July 2, 1929 at the Ziegfeld Theatre and ran for 111 performances. The cast included Ruby Keeler as Dixie, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Foy, Jr., Frank McHugh, and Nick Lucas.
Keeler's husband, Al Jolson, frequently sat in the audience and serenaded her with the show's closing number, "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)," from his seat.[2] The song was featured in the 1946 biopic The Jolson Story.[3]
In 1929, Ruby had to withdraw due to illness and Dorothy Stone took over the role.
Warner Brothers filmed this musical as Show Girl (1928),[4] with Alice White as Dixie Dugan; a sequel, Show Girl in Hollywood (1930) was made with White again starring as Dixie.
Cast[edit]
Doris Carson - Raquel
Lew Clayton - Gypsy
Sadie Duff - Mrs. Dugan
Austin Fairman - John Milton
Eddie Foy, Jr. - Denny Kerrigan
Noel Francis - Peggy Ritz
Kathryn Hereford - Bobby
Ruby Keeler - Dixie Dugan
Nick Lucas - Rudy
Joseph Macauley - Alvarez Romano
Frank McHugh - Jimmy Doyle
Howard Morgan - Matt Brown
Barbara Newberry - "Sunshine' and "Virginia Witherby"
Matthew Smith - Captain Robert Adams
Song list[edit]
Act One
- Happy Birthday
- My Sunday Fella
- How Could I Forget?
- Can Broadway Do Without Me? (Music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante)
- Lolita (My Love)
- Do What You Do
- Spain
- One Man
- So Are You
- I Must Be Home by Twelve O'Clock
- Because They All Love You (Lyrics by Thomas Malie, music by J. Little)
- Who Will be With You When I Am Far Away? (Music and lyrics By W. H. Farrell)
- Black and White
- Jimmie, the Well-Dressed Man (Music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante)
- Harlem Serenade
Act Two
- An American in Paris
- Home Blues
- Broadway, My Street (Lyrics by Sidney Skolsky, music by Jimmy Durante)
- (So) I Ups to Him (Music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante)
- Follow the Minstrel Band
- Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)
References[edit]
- ^ upperco (2014-10-06). "S Is For… SHOW GIRL (1929)". THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
- ^ Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington by John Edward Hasse (ISBN 0306806142), page 122
- ^ The Jolson Story at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Show Girl at IMDb (1928 film)
