''The Whirl of Society'' was a satirical

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 ...

that played 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 ...

from March 5 to June 29, 1912.

Louis Hirsch Louis Achille Hirsch, also known as Louis A. Hirsch and Lou Hirsch (November 28, 1887 – May 13, 1924), was an American composer of songs and musicals in the early 20th century. Life and career Hirsch was born in New York City. In his senior ...

composed the music with lyrics by

Harold 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 seve ...

, to a book by Harrison Rhodes. The production also featured songs by

Arthur Fields Arthur Fields (August 6, 1884 – March 29, 1953) was an American singer (baritone) and songwriter. Biography He was born Abraham Finkelstein in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but grew up mainly in Utica, New York. He became a professional ...

. ''The Whirl of Society'' was part of a production also featuring '' Sesostra'' and '' A Night with the Pierrots'', for 136 productions. The musical is set in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and takes place in the drawing room and ball room of Mrs. Dean (portrayed by

Stella Mayhew Stella Mayhew (born Izetta Estelle Sadler; November 19, 1874 – May 2, 1934) was an American actress and vaudeville performer. Early life Stella Mayhew was born Izetta Estelle Sadler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,Johnson Briscoe"November 19: St ...

in the original production). The production also toured the country. It was performed with ''A Night with the Pierrots'' in Washington DC in November 1912.

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

was in the musical in 1912, when it was listed as a Shubert production. It also featured

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, 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-bi ...

, one of five musicals he was in with the Shubert empire, in which "the producers recognized his escalating value to their business empire".

Featured songs

''The Whirl of Society'' featured songs including " Waiting for the Robert E. Lee", "Row, Row, Row" and "Snap Your Fingers", performed by Al Jolson, and Irving Berlin's "Society Bear", sung by

References

External links

* Broadway musicals 1912 musicals Musicals set in New York City Musicals by Harold Atteridge Musicals by Louis Hirsch {{musical-theat-stub