Damned if I could find one photo of the original
Broadway production of The Cat and the Fiddle,
done in 1931,
with Odette Myrtle, Eddie Foy, Jr., and Lawrence Grossmith
(the son of George Grossmith, who was part of Gilbert & Sullivan's
popular D'Oyly Carte Company)
and with music by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach.
What I did find was a poster, and lots of pics
from the movie version, done in 1934,
starring Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro, below.
We'll hear "She Didn't Say No" sung by Elisabeth Welch
in a studio cast recording.
Louisiana Purchase is also a "challenge!"
Above is a playbill from the original Broadway production
(featuring William Gaxton, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore and Irene Borodoni)
and below, a promo photo from same...
but that's all I found!
Lots more from the movie version, done in 1941,
with Bob Hope, more Vera and more Moore!
Exactly why they are in these get-ups, is beyond me.
Though it IS set in New Orleans for the most part,
with Mardi Gras, etc...??
Below, Vera Zorina, a Norwegian ballerina
(of course! With THAT name, what else?)
who was married to choreographer George Balanchine for a time.
From this show, we'll hear "Change Your Luck"
and "Spinach".
The fabulous Judy Judy Judy...
will be on hand with a contribution to our mini Street theme.
"On The Sunny Side Of The Street"
Ray Bolger and Luella Gear
in the original production of On Your Toes, 1936.
A Rodgers and Hart show with George Abbott helping out with the book.
Ray played Phil Dolan III, and Luella had the
Peggy Porterhouse role.
Fred Astaire nixed the part of Phil,
saying it would hurt his classy image.
Above (with Ray kneeling) and below,
shots from the jazz ballet in "Toes,"
"Slaughter On Tenth Avenue."
Starring in the 1954 revival of On Your Toes was
Bobby Van and Vera Zorina (yes, AGAIN!)
(below, and please note swan-esque headboard)...
and Elaine Stritch as Peggy.
We'll hear the title song of the show, "On Your Toes",
"This Can't Be Love",
and a song stolen from an earlier Rodgers and Hart show
(Present Arms, 1928)
"You Took Advantage Of Me"
especially for Ms. Stritch.
Face The Music, 1932,
with an Irving Berlin score,
was the first time Berlin and Moss Hart
worked together.
It starred Mary Boland and Charles Lawrence.
Despite opening in the midst of the Depression,
it was a huge success with audiences,
thanks to songs like "Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee."
The New York Times called it a
"bountiful merry-go-round of songs and gibes."
If the name Mary Boland haunts you,
that may be because of her star turn
in The Women, 1939,
in which she played the Countess De Lave.
(Above center, with Paulette Goddard and Norma Shearer,
"on the train to Reno!")
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