''Hooray for What!'' is an

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

Connema, Richar
''Hooray for What!'' is a Hilarious Send-up of America
Talkin' Broadway Regional News & reviews: San Francisco, undated but presumably November 2004 when 42nd Street Moon Productions performed the piece at San Francisco's Eureka Theatre. Accessed online 6 April 2008.

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 music by

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse."New Plays in Manhattan"
– ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' (December 13, 1937) (Retrieved on February 18, 2008) It introduced the song " Down With Love".

Productions

The original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on December 1, 1937, and ran for 200 performances."Hooray For What! – Opening Night Production Credits"
– ''Internet Broadway Database''(Retrieved on February 18, 2008) Directors were

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...

and Howard Lindsay, and choreographers were Robert Alton and Agnes de Mille (her first Broadway choreography). The cast featured

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was known for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show ...

as Chuckles, Jack Whiting as Breezy Cunningham, Paul Haakon (Principal Dancer), June Clyde as Annabel Lewis (replacing Hannah Williams),

Vivian Vance Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

as Stephanie Stephanovich (replacing Kay Thompson),

Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garla ...

(Singing Ensemble),

Ralph Blane Ralph Blane (July 26, 1914 – November 13, 1995) was an American composer, lyricist, and performer. Life and career Blane was born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He attended Tulsa Central High School. He studied singing wit ...

as A Spy, and Meg Mundy (Singing Ensemble). Martin also did the vocal arrangements. ''

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 ...

'' 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.Dale, Michae
"Review - 'Hooray For What!' & 'Steel Magnolias'"
broadwayworld.com, March 28, 2008

Plot

In Sprinkle,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, Chuckles, 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

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

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 - later featured in Babes in Arms (film) 1939 *"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/a Heart/the Nerve" for a future Arlen-Harburg collaboration, the 1939 film adaptation of '' The Wizard of Oz''. "Napoleon's a Pastry" provided the title for a completely different song in another Arlen-Harburg musical, 1957's ''

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

'' where it was sung by

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

. The original song resurfaced in the 42nd Street Moon production of ''Hooray for What!''

References

Anti-war musicals 1937 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Harold Arlen Musicals by Lindsay and Crouse Musicals by Yip Harburg Musicals set in Indiana {{Lindsay and Crouse