''Hold On To Your Hats'' is a musical comedy in two acts by
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred ...
,
Matt Brooks, and
Eddie Davis, with lyrics by
E. Y. Harburg
Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...
and music by
Burton Lane. The show was lavishly
[ Mantle, Burns, Editor, "The Best Plays of 1940-1941", Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 15] staged by
Edgar MacGregor, with dances by
Catherine Littlefield
Catherine Littlefield (1905–1951) was an American ballerina, choreographer, ballet teacher, and director.
She founded the Philadelphia Ballet (originally the Littlefield Ballet) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. It was the first American b ...
, musical direction by
Al Goodman, and colorful
settings and costumes by
Raoul Pene Du Bois. It was produced by
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
and George Hale at the
Shubert Theatre on September 11, 1940. It ran for 158 performances, closing on February 1, 1941.
The cast included Jolson,
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 ...
,
Jinx Falkenburg
Eugenia Lincoln "Jinx" Falkenburg (January 21, 1919 – August 27, 2003) was an American actress and model. She married journalist and publicist Tex McCrary in 1945.Autobiography: Jinx, Jinx Falkenburg, Duell, Sloan and Pearce (1951) Known as ...
,
Arnold Moss
Arnold Moss (January 28, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was an American character actor. His son was songwriter Jeff Moss.
Early years
Born in Flatbush, Moss was a third-generation Brooklyn native. He attended Brooklyn's Boys High School. ...
,
Jack Whiting, and
John Randolph. It was the last show in which Jolson appeared.
[ Snider, Lee, Editor, "The Best of Burton Lane", Chappell, p. 3 (unnumbered)]
Plot
With scenes in Route 66, Sunshine Valley Rancho, New York City, and Mexico, a posse of cowboys come in from the West looking for The Lone Rider (Al Jolson) of the radio drama, to go west and round up the notorious bandit Fernando (Arnold Moss). He finally sings his way out of trouble after several narrow escapes.
Songs
Act 1
* “Way Out West Where the East Begins”
* “Hold On To Your Hats”
* “Walkin’ Along Mindin’ My Business”
* “The World Is In My Arms”
* “Would You Be So Kindly”
* “Life Was Pie for the Pioneer”
* “Don't Let It Get You Down”
* “There's a Great Day Coming, Manana”
Act 2
* “Then You Were Never in Love”
* “Down on the Dude Ranch”
* “She Came, She Saw, She Can-Canned”
* “Old-Timer”
Five songs from other shows.
References
{{reflist
1940 musicals
Broadway musicals