The Straw Hat Revue

The Straw Hat Revue started life as a 1939 summer theatre revue at Camp Tamiment, Bushkill, PA. It was discovered by the Broadway producer, Harry Kaufman, and reorganized into a Broadway show produced by Mr. Kaufman and Messrs. Shubert (Lee and J.J.).[1] The Straw Hat Revue premiered on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on September 29, 1939, and closed on December 2, 1939, after 75 performances.[2] It was conceived and staged by Max Liebman with choreography by Jerome Andrews, and settings by Edward Gilbert. The orchestra was under the direction of Edward A. Hunt.[3] The cast included Imogene Coca, Danny Kaye, Alfred Drake, Jerome Robbins, Mata & Hari, and James Shelton[4]

Act I

• “Crashing Thru” (by Sylvia Fine) – Entire Company
• “Four Young People” (by James Shelton) – Alfred Drake, Dorothy Bird, Jerome Andrews, Albia Kavan
• “Anatole of Paris” (by Sylvia Fine) – Danny Kaye and Models
• “Tramping on Life” (by Max Liebman and James Shelton; special music by Glenn Bacon) – Robert Burton, Imogene Coca, James Shelton
• “The Swingaroo Trio” (by Sylvia Fine) – Imogene Coca, Robert Burton, Danny Kaye
• “The Great Chandelier” (by Sylvia Fine) – Robert Burton, Herbert Shepard, James Shelton, Danny Kaye, Imogene Coca, Lee Brody, Boys and Girls

Act II

• “Crazy Cactus” (by Sylvia Fine) – Alfred Drake
• “Our Town” (by James Shelton) – James Shelton and several others
• “Soused American Way” – Alfred Drake
• “Finale” (lyrics by Sylvia Fine) – Entire Company

Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times said, “. . . a cheerful lark very much worth holding over into the felt hat season. . . . Put it down as the first pleasant surprise of the season. . . . written, acted and staged with skill and relish.” [5]

• Mantle, Burns (ed.), “The Best Plays of 1939-40”, Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1940, p. 400

• ​The Straw Hat Revue​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• ​The Straw Hat Revue​ at the Playbill Vault