I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles (sheet music cover)

''The Passing Show of 1918'' is a

Broadway musical 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 ''Th ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

featuring music of

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

and

Jean Schwartz Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born American songwriter. Schwartz was born in Budapest, Hungary. His family moved to New York City when he was 13 years old. He took various music-related jobs including dem ...

(and other songwriters), with book and lyrics by

Harold R. Atteridge Harold Richard Atteridge (July 9, 1886 – January 15, 1938) was an American composer, librettist and lyricist primarily for musicals and revues. He wrote the book and lyrics for over 20 musicals and revues for the Shubert family, including sev ...

. The show introduced the hit songs "

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular American song written in 1918, released in late 1919, becoming a number one hit for Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It has been revived and adapted over the years, serving as the anthem of Premier Leag ...

" and "

Smiles The simplified molecular-input line-entry system (SMILES) is a specification in the form of a line notation for describing the structure of chemical species using short ASCII strings. SMILES strings can be imported by most molecule editors for ...

". Staged by

J. C. Huffman Jesse C. Huffman (1869–1935) was an American theatrical director. Between 1906 and 1932 he directed or staged over 200 shows, mostly for the Shubert Brothers. Many of them were musical revues, musicals or operettas. He is known for ''The Passi ...

and choreographed by Jack Mason, the show debuted at the

Winter Garden Theater The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

on July 25, 1918. Playing for 142 performances, it closed on November 9 of the same year. The show was produced by Lee and

Jacob J. Shubert Jacob J. Shubert (c. 1879 – December 26, 1963) was an American theatre owner/operator and producer and a member of the famous theatrical Shubert family. Biography Born in Vladislavov, in the Suwałki Governorate of Congress Poland, a part o ...

. The production featured an early appearance of

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

(with his sister

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "rattling good entertainment" and praised the "vaudeville team" of Fred and Adele Astaire, as well as the brothers

Willie and Eugene Howard Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

Background

The original ''

The Passing Show ''The Passing Show'' was a musical revue in three acts, billed as a "topical extravaganza", with a book and lyrics by Sydney Rosenfeld and music by Ludwig Engländer and various other composers. It featured spoofs of theatrical productions of ...

'' was presented in 1894 by

George Lederer George Washington Lederer (c. 1862, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania − October 8, 1938) was an American producer and director on Broadway from 1894 to 1931. He was the husband of actresses Reine Davies and Jessie Lewis and the father of Charles Leder ...

at the Casino Theatre. It featured spoofs of theatrical productions of the past season. It was one of the first musical

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

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 ...

and led the fashion for such productions. The Casino Theatre produced a revue each summer thereafter for several seasons. In 1912, Lee and Jacob J. Shubert began an annual series of twelve elaborate Broadway revues at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

, using the name ''The Passing Show of 19XX'', designed to compete with the popular

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

. They featured libretti by Atteridge and music usually by Romberg,

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Herman Finck Herman Finck (November 4, 1872 – April 21, 1939) was a British composer and conductor of Dutch extraction. Born Hermann Van Der Vinck in London, he began his studies training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established a care ...

starred in many editions of the series and in the many editions of the

George White's Scandals ''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. Fie ...

. Other stars included

Charlotte Greenwood Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...

Marilyn Miller Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

De Wolf Hopper William DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. A star of vaudeville and musical theater, he became best known for performing the popular baseball poem "Casey at the Bat". ...

Charles Winninger Charles J. Winninger (May 26, 1884 – January 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals. Life and career Winninger was born in Athens, Wisconsin, the son of Rosalia (Grassler) and Franz Winninger ...

and his sister

Marie Dressler Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

George Hassell George Jefferson Hassell (July 5, 1888 – February 10, 1928) was an American serial killer and mass murderer who killed his wife and eight children (ranging in age between 1 and 21 years old) on December 5, 1926, in Farwell, Texas. He also ...

, and

Violet Englefield Violet Englefield (1881 – 22 March 1946) (born as Maud Violet Englefield) was a British actress and singer known for her musical theatre performances in London's West End and on Broadway in the first two decades of the 20th century. Career ...

. Most of the Shubert shows, including the 1918 show, were staged by

Synopsis

The revue was structured into thirteen scenes, tied together by parodies of the previous season's shows including ''

The Squab Farm ''The Squab Farm'' was a musical comedy about the film industry staged on Broadway in 1918. It was written by Fanny Hatton and Frederic Hatton, and staged at the Bijou Theatre on Broadway. It starred several former film directors as well as actre ...

''.

Musical numbers

;Act 1 *I (Really) Can't Make My Feet Behave *War Stamps (Won't You Buy a War Stamp?) (Music By Ray Perkins) *My Baby Talking Girl (My Baby-Talk Lady) *Go West, Young Girl (Music by Russell Tarbox) *Trombone Jazz *My Vampire Girl *Squab Farm *The Shimmy Sisters *On the Level, You're a Devil, But I'll Soon Make An Angel Out of You (Lyrics by Joe Young) *(That Soothing) Serenade (Music and lyrics by Harry DeCosta) *Bring on the Girls ;Act 2 *Twit, Twit, Twit *My Holiday Girls (Music by Augustus Barratt) *Quick Service *(The) Galli Curci Rag *Smiles (Lyrics by

J. Will Callahan J. Will Callahan (March 17, 1874 – November 15, 1946) was an American lyricist. He was also partially blind. He wrote lyrics for songs including "Gasoline" (1913), "Smiles" (used in ''The Passing Show of 1918''), and more notoriously to mo ...

; music by

Lee S. Roberts Leland Stanford Roberts (1884–1949), commonly known as Lee S. Roberts, was an American composer and pianist. He is best known for his composition 'Smiles' with lyricist J. Will Callahan, written in 1917, but was a prolific composer across many ...

) *

(Music by John Kellette; lyrics by Jaan KenbrovinJaan Kenbrovin was a collective pseudonym for the writers James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent) *My Duchess of the Long Ago *Boots *Dress, Dress, Dress

References

External links

''The Passing Show of 1918'' on Internet Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passing Show Of 1918 Broadway musicals 1918 musicals Musicals by Sigmund Romberg Revues

Background

Synopsis

Musical numbers

See also

References

External links