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Watch Your Step (musical)
''Watch Your Step'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a book by Harry B. Smith. It was Irving Berlin's debut musical. "Play a Simple Melody" and "They Always Follow Me Around" as well as "When I Discovered You" and "The Syncopated Walk" were introduced by this musical. A highlight of the show was the Act II Finale, "Opera in Modern Time" in which melodies from famous operas were turned into popular dances of the time. The Ghost of Verdi then appeared to protest the ragging of his "Rigoletto" to no avail. "Watch Your Step" marked the first time a Tin Pan Alley composer moved "uptown" to Broadway with a complete score. Productions The original Broadway production, produced by Charles Dillingham, opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 8, 1914. It ran for 175 performances''Watch Your Step'' at ...
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Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a stage name: Vernon (2 May 1887 – 15 February 1918) was born William Vernon Blyth in England. Irene (7 April 1893 – 25 January 1969) was born Irene Foote in the United States. The couple reached the peak of their popularity in Irving Berlin's first Broadway show, '' Watch Your Step'' (1914), in which they refined and popularized the Foxtrot. They also helped to promote ragtime, jazz rhythms and African-American music for dance. Irene became a fashion icon through her appearances on stage and in early movies, and both Castles were in demand as teachers and writers on dance. After serving with distinction as a pilot in the British Royal Flying Corps during World War I, Vernon died in a plane crash on a flight training base near Fort ...
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Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon
Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff-Gordon (née Sutherland; 13 June 1863 – 20 April 1935) was a leading British fashion designer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who worked under the professional name Lucile. The first British-based designer to achieve international acclaim, Lucy Duff-Gordon was a widely acknowledged innovator in couture styles as well as in fashion industry public relations. In addition to originating the "mannequin parade", a precursor to the modern fashion show, and training the first professional models, she launched slit skirts and low necklines, popularized less restrictive corsets, and promoted alluring and pared-down lingerie. Opening branches of her London house, Lucile Ltd, in Chicago, New York City, and Paris, her business became the first global couture brand, dressing a trend-setting clientele of royalty, nobility, and stage and film personalities. Duff-Gordon is also remembered as a survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912, and a ...
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Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights,Starr, Larry and Waterman, Christopher, American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Oxford University Press, 2009, pg. 64 and had his first major international hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", in 1911. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze ...
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Harry B
Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr. People and fictional characters *Harry (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name *Harry (surname), a list of people with the surname *Dirty Harry (musician) (born 1982), British rock singer who has also used the stage name Harry *Harry Potter (character), the main protagonist in a Harry Potter fictional series by J. K. Rowling Other uses *Harry (derogatory term), derogatory term used in Norway * ''Harry'' (album), a 1969 album by Harry Nilsson *The tunnel used in the Stalag Luft III escape ("The Great Escape") of World War II * ''Harry'' (newspaper), an underground newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland See also *Harrying (laying waste), may refer to the following historical event ...
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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), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Theatre'' as the proper noun in their names (12 others used neither), with many performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations also using the spelling ''theatre''. or Broadway, are the theatrical performances presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the thoroughfare is eponymous with the district and its collection of 41 theaters, and it is also closely identified with Times Square, only three of the theaters are located on Broadway itself (namely the Broadwa ...
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Musical Theatre
Musical theatre is a form of 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, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre w ...
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Play A Simple Melody
"Play a Simple Melody" is a song from the 1914 musical, '' Watch Your Step'', with words and music by Irving Berlin. The show was the first stage musical that Berlin wrote. It ran for 175 performances at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City. The one song from the show that is well-remembered today is "Play a Simple Melody," one of the few true examples of counterpoint in American popular music — a melody running against a second melody, each with independent lyrics. Two other of Berlin's so-called "double" songs are "You're Just in Love," and "An Old-Fashioned Wedding". In the printed music, first the "simple melody" plays alone. Then comes the contrasting melody. Finally, the two play together. The lyrics of "Play a Simple Melody" also track the counterpoint duet in that one singer yearns for the music which mother sang (the style of a bygone generation), but the other singer disdains such classic fare as lacking interest and rhythm. When "Play a Simple Melody" was published ...
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New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the New Amsterdam was built from 1902 to 1903 to designs by Herts & Tallant. The theater is operated by Disney Theatrical Productions and has 1,702 seats across three levels. Both the Beaux-Arts exterior and the Art Nouveau interior of the building are New York City landmarks, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The New Amsterdam consists of an auditorium facing 41st Street and a narrow 10-story office wing facing 42nd Street. The facade on 42nd Street is made of gray limestone and was originally ornamented with sculptural detail; the rest of the facade is made of brick. The lobby from 42nd Street leads to a set of ornamental foyers, a reception room, and men's and women's lounges. The elliptical auditorium contains two balconies cantilevere ...
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Vernon And Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a stage name: Vernon (2 May 1887 – 15 February 1918) was born William Vernon Blyth in England. Irene (7 April 1893 – 25 January 1969) was born Irene Foote in the United States. The couple reached the peak of their popularity in Irving Berlin's first Broadway show, '' Watch Your Step'' (1914), in which they refined and popularized the Foxtrot. They also helped to promote ragtime, jazz rhythms and African-American music for dance. Irene became a fashion icon through her appearances on stage and in early movies, and both Castles were in demand as teachers and writers on dance. After serving with distinction as a pilot in the British Royal Flying Corps during World War I, Vernon died in a plane crash on a flight training base near Fort ...
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Frank Tinney
Frank Aloysius Robert Tinney (March 29, 1878 – November 28, 1940) was an American blackface comedian and actor. Tinney achieved considerable success in vaudeville and on Broadway in the early 20th century. Comedian Joe Cook considered Tinney "the greatest natural comic ever developed in America." Tinney's career and marriage were ruined after he was accused of beating his mistress, Ziegfeld girl Imogene "Bubbles" Wilson in May 1924. Although he was never formally charged, the ensuing publicity ruined his reputation. Tinney suffered a number of health problems after the scandal and eventually had a nervous breakdown. He never regained his health and died in November 1940. Early life Tinney was born in Philadelphia the third of four children raised by Hugh Francis and Mary (née Carroll) Tinney, both first generation Irish-Americans. As a boy, Tinney would later say, he sang in the choir until they found out what was the matter with the choir. He did perform with his brother ...
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Justine Johnstone
Justine Olive Johnstone Wanger (January 31, 1895 – September 4, 1982) was an American stage, and silent screen actress, pathologist and expert on syphilis. Working under her married name, she was part of the team that developed the modern intravenous drip technique.Autumn Stanley, ''Mothers and Daughters of Invention; Note for a Revised History of Technology'', Rutgers University Press, 1995 Early life Johnstone attended Emma Willard School in Troy, New York. An account from a classmate's journal describes her classmates being awed by Johnstone and her acting career. This admiration led to her classmates nicknaming her Ju-jo. She was active in her school years as she was in the drama club and acted in the senior play; was an active editor of ''Gargoyle''; and a member of the basketball team, glee club, operetta, and the choir. She briefly was a model during her time at Emma Willard as well. Acting career Johnstone appeared in three Broadway shows between 1911 and 1914, ...
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Musicals By Irving Berlin
Musical theatre is a form of 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, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre w ...
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