''A Night in Spain'' is a musical

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 dur ...

with a book by Harold R. Atteridge, music by

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 lyrics by Al Bryan. Additional music and lyrics were contributed by Phil Baker,

Sid Silvers Sid Silvers (January 16, 1901 in Brooklyn, New York – August 20, 1976 in Brooklyn) was an American actor, comedian, lyricist, and writer. Silvers began his career in vaudeville in the early 1920s as a comedy partner of Phil Baker. As part of ...

and

Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...

. The revue was presented on Broadway in 1927 for a total of 174 performances.

Production

A great deal of information is available about the production in 'Nobody's Stooge,' a book about Ted Healy published in 2015. The cast included Phil Baker,

and

Norma Terris Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; April 4, 1896 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...

appeared in the Broadway production 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 ...

. A stand-out dancer was

Helba Huara Helba Huara (1900–1986) was a modern dancer from Peru. Her exotic appearance and unique dance style, which incorporated European and Native American influences, created a sensation in the late 1920s. Moving from Peru to the United States she be ...

, whose innovative choreography was cited in many press reviews. Smaller roles were taken by

Helen Kane Helen Kane (born Helen Clare Schroeder, August 4, 1904 – September 26, 1966) was an American singer and actress. Her signature song was " I Wanna Be Loved by You" (1928), featured in the 1928 stage musical ''Good Boy''. The song was written for ...

(the Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl) and

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known as the ...

(of the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

). During the show's national tour and a 4-month stop in Chicago,

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

(also of the

) met Healy and Shemp and joined the show in March 1928. The show opened at the

44th Street Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, present ...

on May 3, 1927, then transferred to the

on October 10, 1927, and closed on November 12, 1927. It was produced by the

Shubert Brothers The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...

, and directed by Gertrude Hoffmann and Charles Judels, with additional dances choreographed by

Ralph Reader William Henry Ralph Reader (25 May 1903 – 18 May 1982), known as Ralph Reader, was a British actor, theatrical producer and songwriter, known for staging the original Gang Show, a variety entertainment presented by members of the Scouti ...

When the show closed on Broadway, it toured the country, having hit runs in Abilene, Chicago, Detroit, Oakland and San Francisco, among other venues.

Musical numbers

;Act 1 * Argentine * International Vamp * De Dum Dum * The Sky Girl * C'est Vous * Promenade the Esplanade * My Rose in Spain * Rainy Day Pal (by Baker and Silvers) * Love and Kisses (from Baby to You) (by Baker and Silvers) * Columbus and Isabella ;Act 2 * Hot Hot Honey * Under the Clover Moon (by

) * A Spanish Shawl * The Nocturn * The Curfew Walk * Bambazoola * A Million Eyes Also: * Did You Mean It? by Phil Baker, Sid Silver, and

Abe Lyman Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including ''Your Hit Parade''. His name at birth was Abra ...

. From the

version only (Introduced by

). The only song from this show to be recorded was "Did You Mean It?" It was recorded by

in 1927, and also by Abe Lyman, who did his own dance version in 1927.

Cast

* The Andreini Orchestra * George Anderson * Phil Baker * Barbera * Grace Bowman * Jay Brennan * Tito Coral * J. Colvil Dunn * Bernice Gardener * Bert Gardener * Grace Hayes * Betty Healy * Ted Healy * Helba Huara *

* Rhea Mason * Lola Raine * Stanley Rogers *

* The Trainor Brothers

References

*original 1927 Theatre program for ''A Night in Spain'' (44th Street version), which lists acts, song titles, and performers *original 1927 Theatre program for ''A Night in Spain'' (Winter Garden version), which lists acts, song titles, and performers

External links

IBDB entry for ''A Night in Spain''

Another IBDB entry for ''A Night in Spain''

Article which mentions

's appearance in ''A Night in Spain'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Night in Spain Revues 1927 musicals Broadway musicals