Hooray for What!
Encyclopedia
Hooray for What! is an anti-war
musical
with music by Harold Arlen
, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by Howard Lindsay
and Russel Crouse
. It introduced the song "Down With Love
".
production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre
on December 1, 1937, and ran for 200 performances. Directors were Vincente Minnelli
and Howard Lindsay
, and choreographers were Robert Alton
and Agnes de Mille
(her first Broadway choreography). The cast featured Ed Wynn
as Chuckles, Jack Whiting as Breezy Cunningham , Paul Haakon (Principal Dancer), June Clyde
as Annabel Lewis, Vivian Vance
as Stephanie Stephanovich, Hugh Martin
(Singing Ensemble), Ralph Blane
as A Spy, and Meg Mundy
(Singing Ensemble). Martin also did the vocal arrangements. Life Magazine called it "the funniest show of the year."
42nd Street Moon
Theatre Company, San Francisco, California, presented the musical in a staged concert, in November 2004.
It was presented by "The Medicine Show", New York City, in 2008.
to try to sell his discovery, which has somehow turned into a "love" potion. Meanwhile, Breezy, Stephanie, and their cohorts try to obtain the formula for the poisonous gas.
Act 2
Note: One song cut from the final production, "I'm Hanging On to You", was later re-written with new lyrics to become "If I Only Had a Brain
" for a future Arlen-Harburg collaboration, the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz
.
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay was an American theatrical producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse, and for his performance, with his wife Dorothy Stickney, in the long-running play Life with...
and Russel Crouse
Russel Crouse
Russel Crouse was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse.-Life and career:...
. It introduced the song "Down With Love
Down with Love (song)
Down with Love is a popular song with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and music by Harold Arlen. It was originally written in 1937 for Kay Thompson, but introduced by her replacement, Vivian Vance, in the Broadway musical Hooray for What!. The song has been performed by Judy Garland and Bobby Darin among...
".
Productions
The original BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
on December 1, 1937, and ran for 200 performances. Directors were Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
and Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay was an American theatrical producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse, and for his performance, with his wife Dorothy Stickney, in the long-running play Life with...
, and choreographers were Robert Alton
Robert Alton
Robert Alton was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s...
and Agnes de Mille
Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
(her first Broadway choreography). The cast featured Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
as Chuckles, Jack Whiting as Breezy Cunningham , Paul Haakon (Principal Dancer), June Clyde
June Clyde
June Clyde was an American actress, singer and dancer. She was a niece of actress ....
as Annabel Lewis, Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance
Vivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
as Stephanie Stephanovich, Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
(Singing Ensemble), Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
as A Spy, and Meg Mundy
Meg Mundy
Margaret "Meg" Mundy is an English-American actress. She was born in London, but moved to the United States in 1921.Mundy is the daughter of the Australian opera singer Clytie Hine who studied at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, South Australia...
(Singing Ensemble). Martin also did the vocal arrangements. Life Magazine called it "the funniest show of the year."
42nd Street Moon
42nd Street Moon
42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco, California. The company specializes in the preservation and presentation of early and lesser-known works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Kurt Weill, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern,...
Theatre Company, San Francisco, California, presented the musical in a staged concert, in November 2004.
It was presented by "The Medicine Show", New York City, in 2008.
Plot
In Sprinkle, Indiana, Chuckless, a chemist, accidentally discovers a poisonous gas that could dominate the world. Breezy Cunningham is a weapons manufacturer, and tries to get the formula; when Chuckles refuses, Breezy hires the famous and alluring spy Stephanie Stephanovich to tempt it from Chuckles. Chuckles does not give in to Stephanie's wiles but goes to the League of Nations Peace Conference in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
to try to sell his discovery, which has somehow turned into a "love" potion. Meanwhile, Breezy, Stephanie, and their cohorts try to obtain the formula for the poisonous gas.
Musical numbers
Act 1- Hooray For What! – Ensemble
- God's Country – Breezy Cunningham, Specialty Act, Singing Ensemble and Dancing Ensemble
- I've Gone Romantic on You – Breezy Cunningham and Annabel Lewis
- Moanin' in the Mornin' – Stephanie Stephanovich and Singing Spies
- Viva for Geneva – Ensemble
- Life's a Dance – Benjamin Benedict
- Napoleon's a Pastry – Breezy Cunningham and Annabel Lewis
- Down With Love – Breezy Cunningham, Annabel Lewis, Stephanie Stephanovich and Ensemble
Act 2
- A Fashion Girl – A Spy and Singers
- The Night of the Embassy Ball – Stephanie Stephanovich
- In the Shade of the New Apple Tree – Breezy Cunningham, Annabel Lewis, A Spy and Singers
Note: One song cut from the final production, "I'm Hanging On to You", was later re-written with new lyrics to become "If I Only Had a Brain
If I Only Had A Brain
"If I Only Had a Brain" is a song by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg . The song is sung in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz by the characters that meet Dorothy...
" for a future Arlen-Harburg collaboration, the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
.