The original Broadway production of A Connecticut Yankee opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 3, 1927, after tryouts in Stamford and Philadelphia. Directed by Alexander Leftwich and choreographed by Busby Berkely, the production starred William Gaxton, Constance Carpenter and June Cochrane.

The show was a commercial and critical success, playing an impressive 418 performances. Gilbert W. Gabriel of the New York Sun wrote, “They – and who else but that irrepressible young trinity, Fields, Rodger sand Hart? – have made a fresh and abundant lark of a musical comedy.” Walter Winchell of the New York Graphic called the show “rollicking entertainment” and “a smart, saucy and sophisticated song-and-stepping soirée.”

A Connecticut Yankee introduced two Rodgers and Hart standards, “Thou Swell,” which Winchell called “a blazing foxtrot… which will probably rock the city,” and “My Heart Stood Still,” which Robert Benchley of Life Magazine called “the loveliest musical comedy song in recent years.”