''Hooray for What!'' is an anti-warConnema, Richar
''Hooray for What!'' is a Hilarious Send-up of America
Talkin' Broadway Regional News & reviews: San Francisco, undated but presumably November 2004 when 42nd Street Moon Productions performed the piece at San Francisco's Eureka Theatre. Accessed online 6 April 2008. musical with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by

Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...

and Russel Crouse."New Plays in Manhattan"
– ''Time Magazine (Monday, Dec. 13, 1937)''(Retrieved on February 18, 2008) It introduced the song "

Down With Love ''Down with Love'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Peyton Reed. It stars Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor and is a pastiche of the early-1960s American "no-sex sex comedies", such as '' Pillow Talk'' and '' Lover Come Back ...

Productions

The original

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 ...

production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on December 1, 1937, and ran for 200 performances."Hooray For What! – Opening Night Production Credits"
– ''Internet Broadway Database''(Retrieved on February 18, 2008) Directors were Vincente Minnelli and

, and choreographers were

Robert Alton Robert Alton (2 January 1902 – 12 June 1957) was an American dancer and choreographer, a major figure in dance choreography of Broadway and Hollywood musicals from the 1930s through to the early 1950s. He is principally remembered today as the ...

and Agnes de Mille (her first Broadway choreography). The cast featured

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 ...

as Chuckles, Jack Whiting as Breezy Cunningham, Paul Haakon (Principal Dancer),

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as ''A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Clyd ...

as Annabel Lewis (replacing Hannah Williams), Vivian Vance as Stephanie Stephanovich (replacing

Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''

),
Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garland ...
(Singing Ensemble),
Ralph Blane Ralph Blane (July 26, 1914 – November 13, 1995) was an American composer, lyricist, and performer. Life and career Blane was born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He attended Tulsa Central High School. He studied singing with ...
as A Spy, and Meg Mundy (Singing Ensemble). Martin also did the vocal arrangements. '' Life Magazine'' called it "the funniest show of the year."
42nd Street Moon 42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern Californi ...
Theatre Company, San Francisco, California, presented the musical in a staged concert, in November 2004. It was presented by "The Medicine Show", New York City, in 2008.Dale, Michae
"Review - 'Hooray For What!' & 'Steel Magnolias'"
broadwayworld.com, March 28, 2008

Plot
In Sprinkle,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, Chuckles, a chemist, accidentally discovers a poisonous gas that could dominate the world. Breezy Cunningham is a weapons manufacturer, and tries to get the formula; when Chuckles refuses, Breezy hires the famous and alluring spy Stephanie Stephanovich to tempt it from Chuckles. Chuckles does not give in to Stephanie's wiles but goes to the League of Nations Peace Conference in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
to try to sell his discovery, which has somehow turned into a "love" potion. Meanwhile, Breezy, Stephanie, and their cohorts try to obtain the formula for the poisonous gas.

Musical numbers
;Act 1 *Hooray For What! – Ensemble *God's Country – Breezy Cunningham, Specialty Act, Singing Ensemble and Dancing Ensemble - later featured in
Babes in Arms (film) ''Babes in Arms'' is the 1939 American film version of the 1937 coming-of-age Broadway musical of the same title. Directed by Busby Berkeley, it stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and features Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Gr ...
1939 *I've Gone Romantic on You – Breezy Cunningham and Annabel Lewis *Moanin' in the Mornin' – Stephanie Stephanovich and Singing Spies *Viva for Geneva – Ensemble *Life's a Dance – Benjamin Benedict *Napoleon's a Pastry – Breezy Cunningham and Annabel Lewis *
Down With Love ''Down with Love'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Peyton Reed. It stars Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor and is a pastiche of the early-1960s American "no-sex sex comedies", such as '' Pillow Talk'' and '' Lover Come Back ...
– Breezy Cunningham, Annabel Lewis, Stephanie Stephanovich and Ensemble ;Act 2 *A Fashion Girl – A Spy and Singers *The Night of the Embassy Ball – Stephanie Stephanovich *In the Shade of the New Apple Tree – Breezy Cunningham, Annabel Lewis, A Spy and Singers Note: One song cut from the final production, "I'm Hanging On to You", was later re-written with new lyrics to become " If I Only Had a Brain/a Heart/the Nerve" for a future Arlen-Harburg collaboration, the 1939 film adaptation of '' The Wizard of Oz''. "Napoleon's a Pastry" provided the title for a song in another Arlen-Harburg musical, 1957's ''
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
'' where it was sung by Lena Horne. It's a completely different number, however. The original song resurfaced in the
42nd Street Moon 42nd Street Moon is a professional theatre company in San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern Californi ...
production of ''Hooray for What!''

References
Anti-war plays 1937 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Harold Arlen Musicals by Lindsay and Crouse Plays set in Indiana {{Lindsay and Crouse