Music and Lyrics by Irving BerlinBook by George S. Kaufman
The “plot” is really more of a series of opportunities for the Marx Brothers to let loose their particular brand of insanity. But, for the record: in the midst of the Florida land boom, Mr. Schlemmer (Groucho) is trying desperately to run Cococanut Manor (“This is Cocoanut Manor, no snow, no ice. Well, get some onions, that’ll make your ice water.”) and put the moves on the wealthy Mrs. Potter. When Mrs. Potter’s necklace disappears, the suspects are drawn from Silent Sam (Harpo) and Willie (Chico), two vagabonds intent on stealing the hotel’s silverware, and a hotel clerk in love with Mrs. Potter’s daughter, Polly. More to the point, the show includes the classic “Why a Duck?” routine, and the classic auction scene.
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With a life that spanned more than 100 years and a catalogue that boasts over 1,000 songs, Irving Berlin (1888-1989) epitomized Jerome Kern’s famous maxim that “Irving Berlin has no place in American music – he is American music.” Berlin wrote scores to 13 Broadway musicals, ...
George S. Kaufman was born in Pittsburgh in 1889. During his early career as a reporter and drama critic , he began to write for the theatre. For 40 years, beginning in 1921 with the production of Dulcy, there was rarely a year without a Kaufman play — usually written in coll ...
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