''Jumbo'' 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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

produced by Billy Rose, with music and lyrics by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Bot ...

and book by

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...

and

Charles MacArthur Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American playwright, screenwriter and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story. Life and career MacArthur was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven chil ...

Production

The musical opened on Broadway at the Hippodrome Theatre on November 16, 1935 and closed on April 18, 1936 after 233 performances. Directed by

John Murray Anderson John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and ...

and

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Y ...

it starred

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...

Donald Novis Donald George Novis (3 March 1906 – 23 July 1966) was an English-born American actor and tenor. Early life Novis was born on 3 March 1906 in Hastings, Sussex to Frederick George Novis and Charlotte Morris.California County Marriages, 1850-19 ...

, Gloria Grafton, and featured

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

specialty acts. ''Jumbo'' tells the story of a financially strapped circus. At the end of each performance, Durante lay down on the stage and permitted a live elephant to place its foot upon his head. The large 5,000-seat theatre was turned into a circus tent where the many specialty acts (including acrobats and animal acts) performed during the show. The music was played by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

and his orchestra.Hischak, Thomas S. ''The Rodgers and Hammerstein encyclopedia'' (2007), Greenwood Publishing Group, . p. 140

Opening night

The musicians included as follows: *Paul Samuel Whiteman, leader *Mischa Russell, concert master *Matty Malneck, Harry Struble, Bob Lawrence, violins *Eddie Wade, Harry Goldfield, Charlie Teagarden, trumpets *Bill Rank, Jack Teagarden, Hal Matthews, trombones *Bennie Bonacio, Frank Trumbauer, alto saxophones *John Baptiste Cordaro, Edward Powell, tenor saxophones *Charlie Strickfaden, baritone saxophone *Roy Bargy, piano *Michael Pingitore, banjo *Artie Miller, bass *Norman McPherson, tuba *Larry Gomerdinger, drums and percussion

Songs

;Act 1 *Over and Over Again – Mr. Ball and Henderson's Razorbacks *The Circus Is on Parade – Henderson's Razorbacks and Artists of the Circus * The Most Beautiful Girl in the World – Matt Mulligan Jr. and Mickey Considine *Laugh – Claudius B. Bowers and Circus Specialty * My Romance – Matt Mulligan Jr. and Mickey Considine * Little Girl Blue – Mickey Considine ;Act 2 *The Song of the Roustabouts – The Razorbacks *Women –Claudius B. Bowers, Circus Specialty, Allan K. Foster Girls and Dancers *Memories of Madison Square Garden (When the Circus Played the Garden) – Ensemble *Diavolo – Mr. Ball, The Razorbacks and Circus Specialties *The Circus Wedding – Entire Company and The Menagerie ''Note:''The song "

There's a Small Hotel "There's a Small Hotel" is a 1936 song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Originally written for but dropped from the musical ''Billy Rose's Jumbo'' (1935), it was used in ''On Your Toes'' (1936), where it was introduced by R ...

", dropped from the production before it opened, later appeared in the 1936 Rodgers and Hart musical ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dola ...

'' and became a standard.

1962 film

The musical was made into a movie as ''

Billy Rose's Jumbo ''Billy Rose's Jumbo'' is a 1962 American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, and Martha Raye. An adaptation of the stage musical ''Jumbo'' produced by Billy Rose, the film was direct ...

'' in 1962, starring

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sen ...

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored ...

, and

Stephen Boyd Stephen Boyd (born William Millar; 4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was a Northern Irish actor. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as the villainous Messala in '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Bes ...

, featuring

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

's choreography. It was nominated for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Scoring of Music-Adaptation or Treatment. Although Jimmy Durante was in the cast of both the stage musical and the film (made nearly three decades later), the two productions have very different plots, utilizing much of the same score, and the characters' names were changed in the film. However, one piece of stage business from the stage musical was repeated in the film: In both versions, Durante is working for a cash-strapped circus when its assets are seized by creditors. Durante attempts to sneak his beloved elephant Jumbo off the circus grounds, only to be confronted by a sheriff, who demands: "Where you going with that elephant?" Caught red-handed, Durante blithely replies, "What elephant?"

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing
{{Authority control 1935 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Rodgers and Hart Fiction set in circuses