''The Night Boat'' (1920) is a musical in three acts, based on a farce by Alexandre Bisson, with a book and lyrics by

Anne Caldwell Anne Marsh Caldwell (August 30, 1867 – October 22, 1936), also known as Anne Caldwell O'Dea, was an American playwright and lyricist. She wrote both pop songs and Broadway shows, sometimes working with composer Jerome Kern. Biography Anne Ma ...

and music by Jerome Kern. The story lampoons the notorious New York City-to- Albany night boat, on which clandestine romances were common. After out-of-town tryouts, the musical was produced on

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 ...

Charles Dillingham Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway shows. Biography Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868 in Hartford, Connecticut to Edmund Bancroft D ...

, where it opened on February 2, 1920 at the

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnersh ...

under the direction of Fred G. Latham and Ned Wayburn, with music direction by

Victor Baravalle Victor Baravalle (1885–1939) was an Italian born composer, music director, and conductor, best known for his work on both the stage and film productions of the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II musical, ''Show Boat''. Baravalle worked as mu ...

. ''The Night Boat'' had a successful initial run of 313 performances, closing on October 30, 1920Burns Mantle Yearbook 1920, pp. 421–422 and opening for a new run in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

soon afterwards, followed by successful tours.MacKellan, Greg
''Night Boat''
42nd Street Moon, 1996, accessed March 22, 2012

Background

The team that created the famous Princess Theatre musicals broke apart acrimoniously in 1918, and Kern was eager to work with the affable Caldwell. ''The Night Boat'' was an immediate hit in New York, and her role in the musical made Louise Groody a Broadway star, going on to play, among others, the title role in '' No, No, Nanette'' in 1925. Kern and Caldwell collaborated a few more times in the 1920s before each turned to other collaborators. Since the original run and tours, the show has never been revived in a full production. The New Amsterdam Theatre Company revived the show in concert in 1983 in New York, as did

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 ...

in 1996 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 California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Synopsis

*Act I. At the White's. *Act II. The Night Boat. *Act III. At the De Costa's. In order to enjoy romantic evenings or weekends away from home, Bob White has convinced his wife, Hazel, and his mother-in-law that he is the captain of an Albany night boat. Becoming suspicious, the mother-in-law directs an investigation which brings Bob's relatives down upon him during one of his trips. Bob borrows the real captain's uniform, but he must soon explain away two love triangles.

Musical numbers

;Act 1 *Some Fine Day – Barbara and Ensemble *Whose Baby Are You? – Barbara and Freddie *Left All Alone Again Blues – Hazel and Ensemble *Good Night Boat (lyrics by Anne Caldwell and

Frank Craven Frank Craven (August 24, 1875September 1, 1945) was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town''. Early years Craven's parents, John T ...

) – Bob, Hazel, Barbara, Freddie, Mrs. Maxim and Ensemble *I'd Like a Lighthouse – Barbara and Freddie ;Act 2 *Catskills, Hello – Ensemble *Don't You Want to Take Me? – Barbara and Freddie *I Love the Lassies (I Love Them All) – Captain White and Ensemble *The Quadalquiver – Dance **(By the) Saskatchewan (from '' The Pink Lady''; music by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later ...

; lyrics by C.M.S. McLellan) **On the Banks of the Wabash (''Far Away''; music and lyric by Paul Dresser) **Congo Love Song (from ''Nancy Brown''; music by J. Rosamond Johnson; lyrics by Bob Cole) **Row, Row, Row (from ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1912; music by James Monaco; lyrics by William Jerome) **Down by the Erie (from ''Hello, Broadway''; music and lyrics by George M. Cohan) **M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i (from ''Ziegfeld's Midnight Revue'' 1916; music by

Harry Tierney Harry Austin Tierney (May 21, 1890 – March 22, 1965) was an American composer of musical theatre, best known for long-running hits such as ''Irene'' (1919), Broadway's longest-running show of the era (620 performances), ''Kid Boots'' (1923) and'' ...

; lyrics by Bert Hanlon and Benny Ryan) *Good Night Boat (Reprise) – Company ;Act 3 *A Heart for Sale – Barbara and Boys *Girls Are Like a Rainbow – Freddie Ides, Betty, Susan, Molly, Jane and Chorus

Roles and original principal cast

*Bob White: John E. ("Jack") Hazzard *Mrs. Hazel White: Stella Hoban *Barbara Maxim (Hazel's sister): Louise Groody *Mrs. Maxim (Hazel's mother): Ada Lewis *Freddie Ides (Barbara's beau): Hal Skelly *Captain Robert White:

Ernest Torrence Ernest Torrence (born Ernest Torrance-Thomson, 26 June 1878 – 15 May 1933) was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including '' Broken Chains'' (1922) with Colleen Moore, '' Mantrap'' (1926) with Clara Bow a ...

*The Steward: Hansford Wilson *Dora de Costa: Lillian Kemble Cooper *Minnie: Marie Reagen *Inspector Dempsey: John Scannell *Florence de Costa: Betty Hale *Mrs. de Costa: Mrs. John Findlay *A Workman: Irving Carpenter *Little Miss Jazz: Isabel Falconer

Critical reaction

''The Forum,'' January, 1920, wrote: ''

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 d ...

'' noted the audience's enthusiasm for the new piece and praised Dillingham's showmanship, predicting that several of the songs would become popular."''The Night Boat'' Arrives"
''The New York Times'', February 3, 1920, accessed March 21, 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Night Boat 1920 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals set in the Roaring Twenties Musicals based on plays