''Animal Crackers'' is a

musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

with music and lyrics by

Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early age an ...

and

Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.George S. Kaufman and

Morrie Ryskind Morris Ryskind (October 20, 1895 – August 24, 1985) was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies who became a conservative political activist later in life. Life and career Ryskind was born in Brooklyn, ...

. The musical starred the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

and is set at the Long Island Home of Mrs. Rittenhouse; a character portrayed by

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...

in the 1928 production on Broadway. The lyrics and music of several songs in ''Animal Crackers'' entered the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

in the United States in 2024. The full script, copyrighted in 1929, entered the public domain in the United States in 2025.

Original production

''Animal Crackers'' opened 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 Stre ...

on October 23, 1928, at the

44th Street Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theater at 216 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It was originally named Weber and Fields' Music Hall when it opened in November 1912 as a resident ve ...

, and closed April 6, 1929, running for 191 performances. The musical was produced by Sam H. Harris, staged by Oscar Eagle, and starred the four

and

in the Brothers' second Broadway hit.

Hermes Pan Hermes Pan (born Hermes Joseph Panagiotopoulos, December 10, 1909 – September 19, 1990) was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s musical film, movie musica ...

appeared as a chorus boy. The play was filmed in 1930 with the Marx Brothers and most of the principal actors repeating their roles from the stage production, but with most of the musical numbers cut. After ''

The Cocoanuts ''The Cocoanuts'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical comedy film starring the Marx Brothers ( Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo). Produced for Paramount Pictures by Walter Wanger, who is not credited, the film also stars Mary Eaton, Oscar Shaw, ...

'' ran for almost three years at the Lyric Theatre, the "anarchic" ''Animal Crackers'' became the third and final Broadway show for the Marx Brothers (''

I'll Say She Is ''I'll Say She Is'' (1924) is a musical comedy revue written by brothers Will B. Johnstone (book and lyrics) and Tom Johnstone (music). It was the Broadway debut of the Marx Brothers ( Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo). The initial production p ...

'' was the first), after which they transitioned to making films.

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

's heyday was nearly over, as talking pictures were beginning to become popular. The Marx Brothers performed ''Animal Crackers'' on stage in the evenings, while during the day they were busy filming ''

'' at Paramount's

Astoria Studios The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The studio was constructed for Famous Players–Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Theater District. The property was ta ...

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

Song list

The song list for the show is as follows: ;Act I *Opening :Hives and Dancers :The Maids — The Sixteen Markert Dancers :The Guests — Ensemble *"News" — Wally Winston and the Sixteen Markert Dancers *"

Hooray for Captain Spaulding "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" is a song composed by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, originally from the 1928 Marx Brothers Broadway musical '' Animal Crackers'' and the 1930 film version. It later became well known as the theme song for the Grou ...

" — Hives, Jamison, Mrs. Rittenhouse, Captain Spaulding and Ensemble *"Who's Been Listening to My Heart" — Mary and John *"The Long Island Low-Down" — Wally Winston and Grace *"Go Places and Do Things" — Ensemble *Dance *"Watching the Clouds Roll By" — Mary and John *Piano speciality — Emanuel Ravelli ;Act II *"When Things Are Bright and Rosy" — Wally Winston and Arabella *Reprise — Mary and John *"Cool Off" — Grace and Ensemble *The Royal Filipino Band *Harp speciality — The Professor *"Four of the Three Musketeers" — Spaulding, Jamison, Ravelli, Professor *Finale — Company *" Three Little Words" † ‡ *"

Oh By Jingo! "Oh By Jingo!" (also "Oh By Jingo! Oh By Gee You're The Only Girl For Me"), is a 1919 in music, 1919 novelty song by Albert Von Tilzer with lyrics by Lew Brown. The song was featured in the Broadway theatre, Broadway show "Linger Longer Letty", a ...

" (by Lew Brown and Albert von Tilzer)† *"Show Me a Rose" ‡ *"The Social Ladder" † *"

I Wanna Be Loved by You "I Wanna Be Loved by You" is a song written by Herbert Stothart and Harry Ruby, with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, for the 1928 musical ''Good Boy''. It was first performed on September 5, 1928, by Helen Kane, who was the inspiration for the cartoon ...

" †† *"Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" †† *"The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me" ††† *"Everyone Says I Love You" ††† † added for Goodspeed production
‡ added for Arena Stage and Paper Mill productions
†† added for Paper Mill production
††† added for the Goodman production

Original 1928-9 Broadway cast

*Reprised the role in the film adaptation. **Character not in the film adaptation.

Later productions

The musical was revived in 1982 at the Arena Stage, Washington, D.C., directed by Douglas C. Wager and choreographed by

Baayork Lee Baayork Lee (born December 5, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author. Early life and career Lee was born in New York City's Chinatown, to an Indian mother and Chinese father. She started danci ...

. It was also revived in 1992 by

Goodspeed Musicals Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of t ...

, Connecticut. A production in 1993 at the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...

, New Jersey, was notable for being

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

's first professional role. It was produced in the U.K. by the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, where it was first mounted as part of the 1995–96 season, running from the 21st of December until the 3rd February. It was then revived at that theatre's Swan Street Studio from 12 March to the 14th April 1998. It was taken on tour, and played the Sculpture Court of The Barbican Centre in a circus tent in June 1998; after further touring, it transferred to the West End at the Lyric Theatre, opening on March 16, 1999, and closing on May 15, 1999 (the run brought to an early close, having been booking until September). Starring were Ben Keaton (Spaulding),

Toby Sedgwick Toby Sedgwick (born 16 August 1958) is a British movement director, actor and theatre choreographer. He achieved critical acclaim for his expressive " horse choreography" for life-size puppets used in '' War Horse'' (2007), which played at We ...

(the Professor), Joseph Alessi (Emanuel Ravelli), and Jean Challis (Mrs Rittenhouse). ''Animal Crackers'' was produced to open the 2009–2010 season at the

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, opening September 18, 2009, and closing on November 1. The revival starred

Joey Slotnick Joseph Slotnick (born October 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for roles in ''Twister'' (1996), '' Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Elevator'' (2011), '' The Single Guy'' (1995–1997), and '' Nip/Tuck'' (2003–2006). Life and career Slotnick ...

(Spaulding), Molly Brennan (the Professor), Jonathan Brody (Emanuel Ravelli), and Ora Jones (Mrs. Rittenhouse). In addition, with a cast of only nine, several of the roles were doubled up by actors. ''Animal Crackers'' also ran from May 6, 2011, to June 4, 2011, at

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston The Lyric Stage Company of Boston is Boston's oldest professional theatre company. Founded in 1974, the non-profit theatre is in the YWCA building at 140 Clarendon Street. It produces six plays and musicals each season and is known for its Step ...

. "Animal Crackers" opened the 2013 season at the

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

, running from June 26, 2013, to July 13, 2013.

References

External links

*
''Animal Crackers''
- whyaduck {{Marx Brothers 1928 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals set in the Roaring Twenties Original musicals Marx Brothers Musicals set on Long Island Musicals by Harry Ruby