The Garrick Gaieties

JimThe Garrick Gaieties

The Garrick Gaieties


A musical revue with sketches by Benjamin M. Kaye, Arthur Sullivan, Morrie Ryskind, Louis Sorin, Sam Jaffe, Howard J. Green and Edith Meiser | Music by Richard Rodgers | Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

The first hit show by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, The Garrick Gaieties was a musical revue featuring topical sketches and hummable songs, including their hit tune “Manhattan.” Produced by The Theatre Guild, Gaieties returned to Broadway in two new editions: one in 1926, with songs by Rodgers & Hart, and another in 1930, with songs by a host of other writers, including Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg. The talented young casts for the 1925 and 1926 editions included Romney Brent, June Cochrane, Sterling Holloway, Libby Holman, Philip Loeb, Edith Meiser, Sanford Meisner, Betty Starbuck and Lee Strasberg. Directed by Philip Loeb, both editions were well received by critics and audiences. The 1926 production introduced one of Rodgers & Hart’s best-loved songs, “Mountain Greenery.”

Writer Margery Darrell wrote “everything about Garrick Gaieties was young, hopeful and spontaneous. It gave the impression of having been whipped up casually in a two-room apartment by a few kids having a party.”