''Very Good Eddie'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with a book by

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical theatre, musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. B ...

and

Philip Bartholomae Philip Bartholomae (July 3, 1880 - January 5, 1947) was an American playwright, lyricist, screenwriter, and theatre director. He wrote many plays and musicals which were staged on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, several of which were adapted int ...

, 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 ...

, and lyrics by Schuyler Greene, with additional lyrics by

Elsie Janis Elsie Janis (born Elsie Bierbower, March 16, 1889 – February 26, 1956) was an American actress of stage and screen, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and radio announcer. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as " the sw ...

, Herbert Reynolds, Harry B. Smith, John E. Hazzard,

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries—Ernest Hemingway, Virginia W ...

and

, and additional music by

Henry Kailimai Henry K. Kailimai Sr. (1882 – February 7, 1948) was a Native Hawaiians, Hawaiian musician, composer, and bandleader who first received attention after his band performed at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915, becoming among ...

. The story was based on the

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

'' Over Night'' by Bartholomae. The

farcical Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

plot concerns three couples and a sex-crazed voice teacher who board a

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

Day Line boat in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson River Valley region, midway between the core of the New ...

, New York. Chaos ensues when two of the couples cross paths and accidentally trade partners. The

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

-style adventure continues at a hotel, where guests pop in and out of rooms while an inebriated desk clerk tries to sort through the madness. The show was the second of the series of "Princess Theatre musicals" and was a hit for Bolton and Kern, running for 341 performances and leading to revivals and further successful collaborations.

Background

Early in the 20th century, American

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

consisted of a mix of elaborate European operettas, like ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' (1907), British

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

imports, like '' The Arcadians'' (1910),

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

's shows, the

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the ope ...

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

, and the spectacular

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s of

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the '' Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He al ...

. But as Cohan's and Herbert's creative output waned, new creative talent was being nurtured on Broadway, including Jerome Kern,

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

and

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

. Kern began by revising British musicals to suit American audiences, adding songs that "have a timeless, distinctly American sound that redefined the Broadway showtune." Kenrick, John
"History of The Musical Stage: 1910–1919: Part I"
''Musicals 101.com: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film'', 2014, accessed February 10, 2016 The Princess Theatre was a simply designed, 299-seat

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

that had failed to attract successful productions because of its small size.Bloom and Vlastnik, pp. 230–31 Theatre agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Kern and Bolton to write a series of musicals specifically tailored to its smaller setting, with an intimate style and modest budgets, that would provide an alternative to the star-studded extravaganzas of Ziegfeld and others. Kern and Bolton's first Princess Theatre musical was ''Nobody's Home'' (1915), an adaptation of a London show called ''Mr. Popple of Ippleton''. ''Very Good Eddie'' was their second. This was followed by an even bigger hit in 1917, '' Oh, Boy!'' and several others, all featuring modern American settings and simple scene changes (one set for each act) to more aptly suit the small theatre, eschewing operetta traditions of foreign locales and elaborate scenery. In ''Very Good Eddie'', guests have names like Gay Anne Giddy, Fullern A. Goat, Tayleurs Dummee and Always Innit, and the voice teacher has a student called "Lily Pond" (a likely allusion to the renaming of a town in Maryland from Lily Pond to Lilypons in honor of the noted opera soprano

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an op ...

Synopsis

Note: This is a synopsis of the original 1915 Libretto. Alterations were made and many songs were added for the 1975 revival version.

Act I

The

Hudson River Day Line The Hudson River Day Line was a commercial steamboat line on the Hudson River active from 1863 through 1962; with a brief period of inactivity in the late 1940s. While the company was not officially incorporated until 1879, the company had already ...

boat "The Catskill" is under way on a summer day (“We’re on Our Way”). The boat stops for fifteen minutes at

, New York. Dick Rivers comes aboard and tells Victoria Lake and the girls that he has fallen in love with Elsie Lilly, the star pupil of the great voice teacher Madame Matroppo (“The Same Old Game”). To be alone with Elsie, he persuades Madame Matroppo to let him interview her pupil for a magazine article. Elsie is not easily wooed. She tells Dick that she used to be engaged to a man named Eddie. She has heard that Dick is always in love with the next girl he meets (“Some Sort of Somebody”). After some arguing, newlyweds Eddie and Georgina Kettle board the boat. Eddie is much smaller than Georgina and she treats him like an infant. Georgina asks Eddie if he has been in love before her, and he says he used to have an affair with a girl named Elsie. Then two other honeymooners, Percy and Elsie Darling enter. In this relationship, Percy belittles Elsie. As the couples run into each other, Eddie and Percy turn out to be college friends. The couples rejoice (“Isn't it Great to Be Married”). Georgina and Percy get off the boat and leave Eddie and Elsie Darling behind. Georgina has to find Eddie's missing luggage, and Percy needs to send a telegram. The boat suddenly leaves, and Eddie and Elsie have no idea what to do without their partners. They decide to get off at the next stop and attempt to make their way back to their partners. When they decide to eat, they realize they don't have any money. Eddie sees his acquaintance Dick Rivers and decides to ask him for some money. Eddie pretends that Elsie Darling is his bride so that Dick will give him 20 dollars as a honeymoon gift. Dick tells him about his newfound love, Elsie Lilly and that she is on the boat as well. He does not realize that Eddie and Elsie Lilly are old lovers. Dick leaves, and Eddie and Elsie Darling sit down to eat. Elsie encourages Eddie to have a martini, and he immediately feels drunk. Dick returns with Madama Matroppo and introduces her to the "newlyweds". Eddie orders champagne for everyone as they celebrate (“Wedding Bells Are Calling Me”).

Act II

At the Rip Van Winkle Inn, it is evening (“On the Beach of Li-Li-Wee”). Eddie and Elsie Darling realize that there is no return boat or train until the next day. They get two separate rooms at the Inn. Eddie must use Percy's luggage since he left his own suitcase back in Poughkeepsie. He spills rice out of Percy's suitcase, and the drunken desk clerk thinks that the pair are married. This means they must register as husband and wife. Elsie convinces Eddie that he must destroy the register, since it could be used as evidence to request a divorce. Madame Matroppo enters and informs Eddie that Elsie Lilly and Dick are also staying at the Inn. The clerk guides Eddie and Elsie Darling to their rooms. Dick enters and expresses his confusion about Eddie's behavior towards his “wife” to Madame Matroppo (“If I Find the Girl”). Eddie leaves his room and secretly spills ink on the register to cover his name. Madame Matroppo is looking for her French admirer when she runs into the clerk who expresses his love for her (“The Triangle”). Eddie invites Elsie Darling for dinner downstairs, but she declines. Eddie meets Madame Matroppo at dinner but she refuses to sit with him and says he must go upstairs to dine with his "wife". Eddie laments his size and his low status (“When Your Collar Is No. 13 and Your Shoes No. 3”). Dick finally runs into Elsie Lilly and confesses his love for her. She tells him she doesn't want to settle down, but he tells her that he doesn't want to either (“Old Boy Neutral”). Georgina and Percy arrive at the Inn but they can't be sure whether Eddie and Elsie Darling are guests because the register is ruined. It is late so they decide to stay at the Inn as well. To the surprise of the clerk they also get two separate rooms. Georgina learns that Percy's wife is named Elsie and comes to the unsettling conclusion that she must be the same Elsie that Eddie loved long ago. Unhappily they both go to bed. Meanwhile, Elsie Darling knocks on Eddie's door because she is afraid a mouse is in her room. He comforts her and tells her to be brave (“Babes in the Wood”). The next morning Elsie Lilly finds out that Dick got her red roses all the way from New York. Victoria Lake and her girls sing (“The Fashion Show”). Dick meets Percy and Georgina and informs them that the "newlyweds" Eddie and Elsie Darling are at the Inn. He tells them how they had cocktails on the boat; Percy and Georgina are shocked and angry. The clerk informs Madame Matroppo that he has to sing in a minute, and he needs a last minute voice lesson. She decides to hypnotize him, and he tells her he used to be a cashier in a police station. He fantasizes about money and having someone to share it with (“I’d Like to Have a Million in the Bank”). Eddie bought a few left over roses from Dick and knocks on Elsie Darling's door to give them to her. She starts crying when she sees him in Percy's pajamas. Elsie Lilly and Dick enter and once again he confesses his love for her. This time she accepts it (“Holding Roses”). Eddie tells Elsie Darling that Madame Matroppo is suspicious of their “marriage” so they decide to speak very lovingly to each other in the hope that she can hear them. Unfortunately, Percy and Georgina hear them and angrily confront them. But Eddie and Elsie Darling have learned how to handle themselves. Eddie explains the facts, and both of them finally stand up to their partners. Eddie orders Georgina to sit down, and she does. The delighted clerk shouts admiringly, "Very Good, Eddie!” (“Finale”).

Productions

Produced by

Elisabeth Marbury Elisabeth Marbury (June 19, 1856 – January 22, 1933) was a pioneering American theatrical and literary agent and producer who helped shape business methods of the modern commercial theater, and encouraged women to enter that industry. Since 18 ...

and F. Ray Comstock, the original Broadway production opened on December 23, 1915 at the Princess Theatre. In May 1916, it moved to the Casino Theatre, and in September it transferred to the 39th Street Theatre, returning to the Princess Theatre to end its run on October 14, 1916, after a total of 341 performances. The cast included

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Truex was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, w ...

and

Helen Raymond Helen Raymond (September 3, 1878 – November 26, 1965) was an American stage actress who did comedy roles on Broadway, and also appeared in Hollywood motion pictures and in vaudeville. Early years Raymond was born September 3, 1878, in Ph ...

. The sets were designed by the interior decorator

Elsie de Wolfe Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl ( Ella Anderson de Wolfe; December 20, c. 1859 – July 12, 1950) was an American actress who became a prominent interior designer and author. Born in New York City, de Wolfe was acutely sensitive to her surroundings ...

, who also coordinated the costumes. This was followed by an Australian production in 1917 featuring Barry Lupino, and a London production in 1918 at the Palace Theatre.Very Good Eddie
BroadwayWorld, accessed April 24, 2016. In 1975, the

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of ...

East Haddam, Connecticut East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census. History Until 1650, the area of East Hadd ...

revived the show to great acclaim, prompting the producers to transfer it to Broadway. After three previews, it opened on December 21, 1975 at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

, where it ran for 304 performances. The cast, directed by Bill Gile, and choreographed by Dan Siretta, included

Charles Repole Charles Repole is an American actor, theater director, and college professor. Repole made his Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in ''Very Good Eddie'' in 1975, earning a Tony Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for his performance. Addition ...

, Virginia Seidel, James Harder, and Travis Hudson. This was followed, the next year, by a US tour. In 1976, the musical ran for 411 performances at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at the junction of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, near Piccadilly Circus, in the City of Westminster, London. It opened in 1928. In its early years the theatre presented a wide range of ...

in London's West End. The cast included Prue Clarke. In addition to the original lyricists, the 1975–1976 productions included lyrics by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

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 ...

Frank Craven Frank Craven (August 24, 1875September 1, 1945) was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town''. Early years Craven's parents, John T ...

and Graham John.

Principal roles and original cast

*Steward (on "The Catskill") – Benjamin F. Wright *Monsieur De Rougement – James Lounsbery *Purser (on "The Catskill") – Lew Fullerton *Dick Rivers – Oscar Shaw *Mme. Madame Matroppo – Ada Lewis *Elsie Lilly – Anna Orr *Eddie Kettle –

*Georgina Kettle (his wife) –

*Percy Darling – John Willard *Elsie Darling (his wife) – Alice Dovey *Al Cleveland (clerk at The Rip Van Winkle Inn) – John E. Hazzard *Victoria Lake – Julia Mills *Chrystal Poole – Tess Mayer *Lily Pond – Bessie Kelly *Belle Fontaine – Arline Chase *Flo Tide – Marie Kittridge *Virginia Spring – Dorothy Silvia

Songs

;Act I * Overture * We're on Our Way – (Victoria Lake and Ensemble) * The Same Old Game** – (Dick Rivers and Girls) * Some Sort of Somebody – (Dick and Elsie Lilly) (from ''Miss Information''; lyrics by Janis) * Thirteen Collar* – (Eddie) * Bungalow in Quogue* – (Elsie and Percy Darling) (lyrics By P. G. Wodehouse) * Isn't it Great to Be Married? – (Eddie and Georgina Kettle, Elsie and Percy Darling) * Good Night Boat* – (Company) (lyrics by Anne Caldwell and Frank Craven) * Left All Alone Again Blues* – (Elsie Darling) (lyrics by Caldwell) * Hot Dog!* – (Company) (lyrics by Caldwell) * If You're a Friend of Mine* – (Elsie Darling and Eddie) (Lyrics by Harry Graham) * Wedding Bells Are Calling Me – (from ''Nobody Home''; Lyrics by Smith) : *''Songs from 1975 revival'' : **''Not in the 1975 revival'' ;Act II * On the Shore at Le Lei Wi** – (Elsie Lilly, Dick and Ensemble) (music by Kailimai and Kern) * If I Find the Girl** – (Dick and Ensemble) (lyrics by Reynolds and Hazzard) * Thirteen Collar** – (Eddie) * Honeymoon Inn* – (Elsie Lilly and Company) (lyrics by Wodehouse) * I've Got to Dance* – (M. de Rougemont and Company) * Moon of Love* – (Mme. Matroppo and Company) (lyrics by Caldwell) * Old Boy Neutral – (Elsie Lilly, Dick and Ensemble) * Babes in the Wood – (Elsie Darling and Eddie) (Lyrics by Kern and Greene) * The Fashion Show** – (Victoria and Ensemble) * I Wish I Had a Million** – (Al Cleveland and Girls) * Katy-Did* – (Mme. Matroppo) (lyrics by Smith) * Holding Roses – (Elsie Lilly, Miss Rivers and Dick) (lyrics by Reynolds and Hazzard) * Finale – (Company) (lyrics by Reynolds and Hazzard)

Awards and nominations

1975 Broadway production

1976 London production

Notes

References

*Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. ''Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time.'' Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004. * Green, Stanley and Green, Kay. ''Broadway Musicals: Show by Show,''Fifth Edition. Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, 1996. *Lamparski, Richard. ''Whatever Became of...?'' Second Series. Ace Books, New York, 1968.

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing
MIDI files {{Guy Bolton 1915 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Jerome Kern Musicals set in New York Musicals by Philip Bartholomae Musicals by Harry B. Smith