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Jolson on Stage!
Below is a display of photographs and
descriptions of some of the many live shows Al Jolson appeared in.
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"The Serenaders" |
"Boo-Hoo Land" |
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Lew Dockstader's
Minstrels company
cir 1908-9
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Al Jolson appeared in Lew
Dockstader's Minstrels show from 1908 to 1909. He had been
blacklisted on the vaudeville circuit for two years and felt that this
was a way around it. He was given a solo in the show (the only one
besides that of Dockstader) , and he felt that this would give him
an
opportunity to best showcase his talents for any booking agents that
might be in the audience. During the 1908-9 season, Dockstader
decided to try something new and presented a "musical comedy in
blackface." He played a "Professor Hightower" and Jolson played his
assistant named "Acie."
The life of a minstrel
was not an easy one, involving as it did a lot of one-nighters in
small towns all across the United States.
Jolson left Dockstader’s Minstrels
for another opportunity, but later returned to work with them for a
time. |
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LA BELLE PAREE
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, New York
1911
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In Mar 1911, a new theatre on Broadway
opened, called the Winter Garden. This would be the New York theatre
that Jolson would most readily be identified with. Jolson was cast
in the first show ever performed at the Winter Garden ("La Belle Paree"), and this
would launch one of the greatest careers ever in the history of
Broadway. In "La Belle Paree," though Jolson was only tenth in importance
in the cast, by the third performance he began to become a legend. "La Belle Paree" (with music by
Jerome Kern), was a "jumble of jollity in two acts and eleven scenes,"
and ran from Mar 20-Jun 10, 1911. In this show, Jolson sang "Paris Is a
Paradise for Coons," and "That Lovin' Traumerei." |
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VERA VIOLETTA
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, New York
1912
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First New
York Times display ad for show (top) from Jan 26, 1912; a second
ad from Feb 18 of the same year. |
From the New York Times,
November 21, 1911:
"Lively Operetta at Winter Garden":
"There was Al Jolson, in the role of a colored waiter who
succeeded in rousing the audience into its first enthusiasm in
the early part of the evening, and kept them enthusiastic much
of the time afterwards..."
right:
Cast of "Vera Violetta", Nov 21,
1911, New York Times |
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THE WHIRL OF SOCIETY
(PRECEDED BY A NIGHT WITH THE PIERROTS)
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, New York
1912
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"The Whirl of
Society" was part of a "twin bill," preceded by "A Night With The
Pierrots." "The Whirl of Society" was a "musical satire of
up-t0-date society." It was a two-act satire about a recent visit of
the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
In this production,
Jolson played Gus, the blackfaced butler. "Gus" was a character that
Jolson often played during his stage career. Jolson sang "Snap Your
Fingers," "Row, Row, Row" and "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee." The
show was first performed in Albany, N.Y. for two days, followed by an
almost three month stay at the Winter Garden; the last show was at the
end of June. The show then went on the road from Sep 1, 1912 and
played through
Christmas.
"The Whirl of Society" was the first
time that Jolson used a runway that extended from the stage along
the theatre's center aisle. |
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THE HONEYMOON EXPRESS
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, New York
1913
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"The Honeymoon Express," after a two-day run at the Hyperion
in New Haven, CT, played at the Winter Garden Theatre in New
York City from Feb-Jun 1913.
The show then went on the road in Sept 1913 for six months, closing
in Minneapolis in Mar 1914.
In this "spectacular farce with music," Jolson sang, among
other songs, "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life," "You Made
Me Love You," and "Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle?"
To hear Jolson sing "Who Paid the Rent
for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle?" as sung cir 1913-4, click on the
earphones icon. |
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DANCING AROUND
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, New York
1914-5
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| "Dancing Around" was the first show
in which Al Jolson received top billing from the start. Saying that,
the show was considered to be weak, even with a score written by Sigmund
Romberg.
During the show Jolson sang an English novelty song named "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for
Soldiers" (a tongue twister), and he offered anybody in the audience
ten dollars if they could sing a chorus of the song without
stopping.
From New York Times,
October 11, 1914:
"Mr. Jolson is in fine form and as droll as ever, whether he is a
butler wearing a "gol-dum-yuh" in his buttonhole, the entire staff
of the Hotel Lavender, or a gondolier in distant Venice. For once,
this ebony trifler washes his face and appears as a mincing man
dressmaker ...He sings with great gusto and success, even if the
songs provided do not quite match some of his earlier favorites..."
Right, top: Display ad, New York
Times, Oct. 12, 1914. Right, bottom: Cast listing, New York
Times, Oct. 11, 1914.
Hear
Jolson sing "When the Grown Up Ladies Act Like Babies," which he sang
in the show. |
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"Robinson
Crusoe, Jr." (1916)
was a "musical extravaganza in
two acts and ten scenes." The music was by Sigmund Bromberg
and James F. Hanley. It opened in New Haven for three days of
performance before going to the Winter Garden in New York
City, where it opened on Feb 17, 1916. It ran there for
nearly four months before going on the road for another three.
In this show,
Al Jolson sang "Where the Black-Eyed Susans Grow."
Here a later
version of this song sung by Jolson by clicking on the
earphones
icon. |
| left: Jolson in
1916, probably in "Robinson Crusoe, Jr." |
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| "Sinbad"
(1918), a "spectacular extravaganza in two acts and fourteen
scenes," music by Sigmund Romberg and Al Jolson, after a
tryout in New Haven, Connecticut, opened at the Winter Garden
on Feb 14, 1918 and ran for nearly six months. One of the
songs that Jolson sang in this show was his popular
"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody."
The show went on the road for
nearly two years. Along the way, Jolson was given more songs
to sing, e.g. "Avalon" and "My Mammy."
"Sinbad" had its last
performance in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 25, 1921. |
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left and above:
Publicity photo for "Sinbad", 1918,
and Winter Garden Theatre marquee for the show.
To listen to "Swanee" as song by
Jolson in 1918, please click on the earphones icon. |
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"Bombo,"
a "musical extravaganza in two acts and fourteen scenes,"
played its first performance at the Globe in Atlantic City,
New Jersey, on Sept 28, 1921. It opened at Jolson's 59th
Street Theatre (the theatre had been named after Jolson.) a
week later. Again, Jolson played Gus once again and sang some memorable
songs, e.g. "April Showers," "Toot, Toot, Tootsie!" (in the
second production of "Bombo," which opened Sep 15, 1922),
and "California, Here I Come," included in the third production
that opened Oct 15, 1923.
To listen to Al Jolson sing
"California, Here I Come, " as recorded cir 1922-3, please
click on the earphones icon. |
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"Big Boy"
played at the New Winter Garden
Theatre, beginning Jan 7, 1925. The show ran here from Jan 7
till the 24th, followed by a lay-off, and then restarted at the
same theater on Feb 9 and ran until Mar 14. Presented here is part
of the program from the troupe's performance at the Winter
Garden. During
this time, Jolson sang "Keep Smiling at Trouble" and "If You
Knew Susie."
Above, right: This photo is from their performance at the
Forty-fourth Street Theatre, where they played later that
year, from Aug 24 - Dec 5, 1925. This was part of a second run
of "Big Boy." Here, Jolson sang "Miami" and "Nobody But
Fanny."
To hear Jolson sing "Miami," as
recorded in 1925, click on the earphones icon.
The second production of "Big Boy" ran from mid-Aug 1925 till the end of
Jan 1926. A third run began on the
road in Wilmington, Delaware on Sep 10, 1926 and ended in
Syracuse, New York on Dec 3, 1926. |
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THE WONDER BAR
1931
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"A Continental Novelty of European
Night Life in Two Sections..."
One of the songs Jolson sang in this production was
"Good Evening Friends," the song he later used to introduce
his shows during his radio broadcasts called "The Shell
Chateau" between 1935 and 1936.
To hear Jolson sing "The Cantor" (also
known as "Cantor on the Sabbath" and ""A Chazen auf
Shabbos,") click on the earphones icon.
In the bio pic "The Jolson Story," the scene where
Jolson (Larry Parks) sings this song, was cut out of the
final version of the film released to the public.
The
photo (left) was taken from the1934 film version of the
same name. |
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HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS
1940-1
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Over his long and illustrious stage
career, Al Jolson appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, minstrel shows,
legitimate stage productions, as well as many live appearances.
Jolson also entertained our
troops in many wars, i.e. the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and
II, as well as the Korean War.
The last stage production he
appeared in was "Hold On To Your Hats," a musical comedy in two acts
and thirteen scenes. His fellow actors included Bert Gordon and
Martha Raye, who had appeared with Jolson on his CBS Lifebuoy radio
program in the mid to late 1930s. The first production of "Hold On
To Your Hats" played from Jun 1940 until Feb 1941. The first cast of
this show had featured Jolson's third (ex-) wife Ruby Keeler, but
she left the show at the end of July 1940.
The show was recast and played once again, this time from Aug to Oct
1941.
To hear Jolson sing "Don't
Let it Get You Down" from "Hold Onto Your Hats," just click on
the earphones icon. |
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above: Jolson in group photo, date, production unknown
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