''Let It Ride'' is a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 ...

based on the 1935 Broadway farce ''

Three Men on a Horse ''Three Men on a Horse'' is a three-act farce co-authored by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. The comedy focuses on a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself. Originally ...

'' by

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 Yo ...

and

John Cecil Holm John Cecil Holm (November 4, 1904, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – October 24, 1981, in Westerly, Rhode Island) was an American dramatist, theatre director and actor. He is best known for his 1935 play ''Three Men on a Horse'', co-written w ...

. The musical, with book by Abram S. Ginnes and music and lyrics by

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

, choreographer

Onna White Onna White (March 24, 1922 – April 8, 2005) was a Canadian choreographer and dancer, nominated for eight Tony Awards. Early life and career Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventual ...

, assistant choreographer Eugene Louis Faccuito (Luigi), opened on Broadway in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the

Eugene O'Neill Theatre The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and ...

on October 12, 1961, and played 69 performances including one preview. The original Broadway production co-starred

George Gobel George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', broadcasting from 1954 to 1959 ...

and

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dram ...

and featured

Barbara Nichols Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was b ...

and

Paula Stewart Paula Stewart (born Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer, April 9, 1929) is an American stage, film and television actress mostly known for performing in bit parts and supporting roles. Early years Stewart's father was Dr. Walter Zürndorfer and her moth ...

. Erwin Trowbridge, a mild-mannered man working for a greeting card company, has an unusual talent: he can pick the winners of horse races with uncanny accuracy, as long as he does not place a bet himself. When a few professional gamblers discover his talent, they do their best to exploit it. Sam Levene created the role of Patsy in the original Broadway production of ''

'' (1935) which was a mega-hit in 1935, running an extraordinary 835 performances; three decades later, Levene recreated the role of Patsy in the original Broadway musical ''Let It Ride''. Levene also recreated the role of Patsy in the 1936

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

film ''

'' and a ten-month 1944

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour of ''

'' which played 200 shows to 120,000 servicemen, the first legitimate theatrical production mounted overseas. Levene performed th
title song
from ''Let It Ride'' on
racetrack grandstand parade float
accompanied with a bevy of showgirls in th
1961 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
presented on NBC, November 23, 1961. Two songs from ''Let It Ride'' are included on the compilation album ''Lost Broadway 1961'' fro

George Gobel as Erwin sings Hey, Jimmy, Joe, John, Jim, Jack and Sam Levene as Patsy leads the company singing the title son
''Let It Ride''

Songs

;Act 1 * Run, Run, Run - Singers and Dancers * The Nicest Thing - Audrey * Hey, Jimmy, Joe, John, Jim, Jack - Erwin * Broads Ain't People - Erwin, Harry, Frankie and Charlie
Let It Ride
- Patsy, Singers and Dancers
I'll Learn Ya
- Erwin and Patsy * Love Let Me Know - Audrey and Carver * Happy Birthday - Birthday Girls * Everything Beautiful - Erwin and Birthday Girls * Who's Doing What to Erwin - Audrey, Chief Schermerhorn, Carver and Mother * I Wouldn't Have Had To - Mabel ;Act II * There's Something About a Horse - Singers and Dancers
He Needs You
- Erwin, Frankie and Charlie
Just an Honest Mistake
- Chief Schermerhorn, Repulski and Cops * His Own Little Island - Erwin
If Flutterby Wins
- Erwin, Patsy, Frankie, Charlie, Harry and Hoods

External links

*
''Let It Ride''
on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

* {{Playbill production, let-it-ride-eugene-oneill-theatre-vault-0000004738
''Let It Ride''
on

Masterworks Broadway Masterworks Broadway is a record label created by the consolidation of Sony Music Entertainment's Broadway theatre music divisions, Columbia Broadway Masterworks and RCA Victor Records' Broadway series. Masterworks Broadway's recent releases incl ...

1961 musicals Broadway musicals