''Make It Snappy'' was a

musical revue ''Musical Revue'' is a live album featuring Prince Far I and Suns of Arqa released on ROIR Europe in 1988. The album was produced by Phil Rainford and features a live recording of Prince Far I with Suns of Arqa at Band on the Wall in Mancheste ...

that ran for 96 performances at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

in the 1922–23 Broadway season. It ran from 13 April to 1 July 1922. It starred

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

, who introduced the hit songs "

Yes! We Have No Bananas "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is an American novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn published March 23, 1923. It became a major hit that year (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones (singer), Billy Jones, Billy Murra ...

" and "

The Sheik of Araby "The Sheik of Araby" is a song that was written in 1921 by Harry B. Smith and Francis Wheeler, with music by Ted Snyder. It was composed in response to the popularity of the Rudolph Valentino feature film '' The Sheik''. "The Sheik of Araby" w ...

Production

Harold R. Atteridge and

wrote the book. Harold Atteridge wrote the lyrics to music by

Jean Schwartz Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born Jewish American composer and pianist. He is best known for his work writing the scores for more than 30 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals, and for his creation of more t ...

. Alfred Bryan and William B. Friedlander wrote additional lyrics, and Friedlander wrote additional music. The show was produced by The Winter Garden Company, with production supervised by Jacob J. Shubert and staged by Jesse C. Huffman. Louis Gress was musical director. Dell Lampe orchestrated the music and Allan K. Foster staged the musical numbers. The show ran at the Winter Garden from 13 April 1922 to 1 July 1922.

headlined with Nan Halperin, J. Harold Murray and Lew Hearn. Shubert sent the show on tour after it had closed on Broadway. In Philadelphia, in the last week of the tour, Cantor introduced the song ''

'', written by

Frank Silver Frank Silverstadt (September 8, 1892 – June 14, 1960), better known by his stage name Frank Silver, was an American songwriter, jazz drummer and vaudeville performer. He was best known for co-writing and co-composing the popular song "Yes! We H ...

and Irving Cohn. The song, later recorded by Cantor for the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

, became the most popular novelty hit of the 1920s.

Synopsis

The show has been described as a "collation of froth". Some material was reused from an earlier Shubert show ''The Midnight Rounders''. Eddie Cantor played a classic comedy sketch of "Max, the Tailor", a small man having to deal with an unreasonable customer who wanted a belt in the back – and in the end got a different type of belt from the one he expected. Cantor did other sketches as a taxi driver and a very timid police academy candidate. Cantor premiered the song ''

'', lyrics by Harry B. Smith and Francis Wheeler, music by Ted Snyder. This also became a major hit. The Eight Blue Devils put on a tumbling act. Act 2 opened with "Princess Beautiful (A Cleveland Bronner Ballet)". Ballet had been expected in all shows in the 1916–17 season, but by 1922 they were considered outdated. The show included various chorus spectacles. In one the women were all costumed as pink roses. Chorus members used the runway to toss ice cream bricks to the audience in the orchestra seats.

Reception

The revue had a respectable run. It closed in July, as even the most popular New York shows did in the days before air conditioning. ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...

'' said of Cantor's performance that "Al Jolson now has a rival". Both

Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist, newspaper columnist and actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays ...

, writing in ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', and

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet and writer of fiction, plays and screenplays based in New York; she was known for her caustic wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. Parker ros ...

, writing in '' Ainslee's'', claimed that ''Make It Snappy'' prompted a significant improvement in their opinions of Cantor as an entertainer.

Cast

The full cast was: *

* Nan Halperin *Salayman Ali *M. T. Bohannon *Cleveland Bronner *Lew Browne *Marie Burke *John Byam *Evelyn Campbell *Carlos and Inez *Nell Carrington *Helen Christie *Molly Christie *Harry Cressey *Betty Dair *Muriel De Forest *Alfred DeLoraine *Rose Devere *Mae Devereaux *The Eight Blue Devils *Flo Evers *Betty Fitch *Lillian Fitzgerald *Elsie Frank *Eva Fuller *Dolly Hackett *Georgie Hale * Lew Hearn *Lebanon Hoffa * Portland Hoffa *Hermose Jose *Marian Joy *Grace Langdon *Mildred Lee *Madeline Levine * Sally Long *Polly Lux *Betty Marshall *Evelyn Martin *Elsie May *Polly Mayer *Dorothy McCarthy *Margaret McCarthy *Peggy Mermont *Gladys Montgomery * J. Harold Murray *Vivien Nolty *Bonna O'Dear *May O'Brien *Joe Opp *Betty Palmer *Cardinal Peaires *Elsa Peterson *Nan Phillips *Chonchita Piquer *Lucille Pryor * Tot Qualters *Queene Queenen *Charlotte Schuette *Ingrid Solfeng *May Sullivan *Margaret Toomay *Marjorie Toomay *Alice Van Ryker *Alice Weaver *Teddy Webb *Vivien West *Margaret Wilson *Vera Zimeleva

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{IBDB show, 10484 Broadway musicals 1922 musicals Musicals set in New York City Musicals by Alfred Bryan Musicals by Jean Schwartz