''Stepping Stones'' is a "fantastical musical play" (musical comedy) in two acts with book by

Anne Caldwell Anne Marsh Caldwell (August 30, 1867 – October 22, 1936), also known as Anne Caldwell O'Dea, was an American playwright and lyricist. She wrote both pop songs and Broadway shows, sometimes working with composer Jerome Kern. Biography An ...

and R. H. Burnside, lyrics by

, and music by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) 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 ...

. The show was produced by

Charles Dillingham Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway theatre, Broadway shows. Biography Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868, in Hartford, Connecticut, ...

at the

Globe Theater The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was destroyed by fire on ...

, and opened November 6, 1923.Mantle, Burns, Editor, "The Best Plays of 1923–1924", Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 348. The musical director was Victor Baravalle and the music was orchestrated by

Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershw ...

. The show was staged by R. H. Burnside and choreographed by Mary Read and

John Tiller John Thomas Ibbotson Tiller (13 June 1854 – 22 October 1925) was a musical theatre director who was credited with inventing precision dance and was the originator of the 'Tiller Girls'. Biography John Tiller always had a keen interest in musi ...

. Scenic design by Wilhelm, Robert McQuinn, and P. Dodd Ackerman. Costume design by Robert McQuinn, Wilhelm, Cora MacGeachy, Will R. Barnes, and Brooks-Mahieu Company. It ran for 281 performances, closing on October 4, 1924. The cast headlined

Fred Stone Fred Andrew Stone (August 19, 1873 – March 6, 1959) was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act in vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned hi ...

(Peter Plug), Dorothy Stone (Roughette Hood), Oscar Ragland (Otto DeWolfe), and

Jack Whiting Jack Whiting may refer to: * Jack Whiting (actor) (1901–1961), American actor, singer and dancer * Jack Whiting (cricketer) (1894–1975), English cricketer {{hndis, Whiting, Jack ...

(Captain Paul). The plot is basically a musical comedy version of the adventures of Roughette Hood (i.e. Little Red Riding Hood) (Dorothy Stone) with Otto DeWolfe (Oscar Ragland), a villain. She is rescued from the villain in song, dance, and acrobatic comedy by Peter Plug (Fred Stone), an errand boy and wild plumber from the Pampas. Gerald Boardman points out that, "Most critics devoted their opening paragraphs to extolling the seventeen-year-old Dorothy Stone. . . .

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

Stone's clowning and acrobatics were applauded (he parachuted down for his first entrance), and Dillingham's lavish, tasteful hand was complimented as well. . . . In the Herald

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic for The New York Times and the New York Herald, critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an ...

reported that the evening was 'abrim with sweet melodies by Jerome Kern... The show was closed as a result of an actor's strike and then had performances on the road until early 1926. In 1948, Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers released a new recording of "Raggedy Ann", one of the songs from the musical.

Songs

Act 1 * "The Nursey Clock" * "Little Angel Cake" * "Because You Love the Singer" * "Little Red Riding Hood" * "Wonderful Dad" * "Pie" * "Babbling Babette" * "In Love with Love" * "The Wood Nymphs" * "Our Lovely Rose" Act 2 * "Once in a Blue Moon" * "The Mystic Hussars" * "The Skeleton Janitor" * "Raggedy Ann" * "Dear Little Peter Pan" * "Stepping Stones"

References

{{reflist 1923 musicals Broadway musicals Original musicals Musicals set in fictional countries Musicals by Anne Caldwell Musicals by Jerome Kern