The fame (or perhaps infamy) of the night gboat from new York to Albany was so great during the peak years of the boat's service (the teens and early twenties) that even as late as 1938, lyricist Larry Hart used a reference to the fabled pleasure cruise as an in-joke for the above-quoted lyric in The Boys from Syracuse. A trip on the night boat could be a relaxing scenic tour, but more often it meant an evening of clandestine romance, safely away from prying wives, husbands or in-laws.

Jerome Kern and Anne Caldwell leapt at the chance to spoof the situation, and in so doing came up with the unqualified smash hit of 1920. The show was still selling out a year after opening, and the subsequent tour lasted nearly three years.

The team of Jerome Kern and Anne Caldwell (a famously prolific playwright who already had several hit shows and songs under her ample belt) had actually debuted in 1919 with the mildly successful She's a Good Fellow (in which a young man decides the perfect way to be near his sweetheart is to dress up as a girl and enroll at her convent shool.) Working with the affable Miss Caldwell was such a pleasant change for Kern (whose relationship with his Princess Theatre colleagues Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse had grown acrimonious) that they promptly decided to give it another go. Miss Caldwell suggested a story centered on a night boat excursion and they set to work.

The Night Boat was well-received during out of town try-outs, but the New York reception was nothing short of rapturous; the show quickly became the hot ticket on Broadway. The show's biggest song hits were "The Left All Alone Again Blues" and "Whose Baby Are You?" which were recorded by RCA. Critics also singled out "Good Night Boat" and the langorous -- and suggestive -- "Don't You Wan to Take Me?" There was also a delighted reaction to the novel appearance of the "Plot Demonstrators," who came out to up-date late-comers and later pass along the denouement for those who had to leave early to catch the 11:30 train.

Louise Groody, in the role of Barbara Maxim, became the show's break-out star. Her stage personality shone so brightly that during the try-out tour, Kern re-assigned the song "A Heart for Sale" -- written for the character of Hazel -- to her. (Following The Night Boat, Miss Groody -- best budy of the tragic dramatic star Jeanne Eagels -- went on to star in the title role of No, No, Nanette and in Hit the Deck! before giving up the theatre for marriage in 1927.

The team of Kern and Caldwell continued through several more shows, but as the twenties wore on, Kern began to work more often with Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein. Miss Caldwell wrote with Vincent Youmans, and then made her way to Hollywood, where she ended her career writing for motion pictures (including RKO's Astaire/Rogers series.)

When she died in 1937 at the age of sixty, Anne Caldwell was the most prolific and successful female writer of musical comedies ever (a record she still holds.) Although one could hardly call The Night Boat an advance in musical comedy writing style -- the show never matches the sophisticated wit of Kern's earlier work with Wodehouse -- Miss Caldwell's blithely fey humor and engaging lyrics are still charming today. The Night Boat has been produced only once since the twenties (The New Amsterdam Theatre Co. -- 42nd St. Moon's prototype -- presented a revival in N.Y. in the early eighties.) We are delighted to give San Francisco audiences a peek at one of Jerome Kern's earliest hits.

SAN FRANCISCO (12 September 1996) -- A lively ride on the notorious nightboat to Albany, New York is in store for audiences at 42ND ST. MOON's production of Jerome Kern's 1920's smash hit, THE NIGHT BOAT, presented in a staged concert version, October 3 - 20, at the New Conservatory Theatre Center. A blithe and hilarious tale of mixed identities and romantic escapades, THE NIGHT BOAT, directed by Dave Sikula, kicks off a special 42ND ST. MOON mini-"Jerome Kern Festival," as part of the Lost Musical Series.

THE NIGHT BOAT was the second in a series of successful collaborations between composer Jerome Kern and librettist/lyricist Anne Caldwell, the most successful female writer of Broadway musicals ever. Launched at New York's Liberty Theatre on February 2, 1920, THE NIGHT BOAT quickly became one of the season's smash hits, racking up 313 performances in New York and establishing new house records as sales soared through the roof, fueled by RCA Victor's back-to-back recordings of the rousing hits "Left Alone Again Blues" and "Whose Baby Are You?" which became national best-sellers in May.

For several weeks running in New York, Variety reported the show to be "the hottest ticket in town." Closed prematurely by an incoming show booked for that theatre (which incidentally failed), THE NIGHT BOAT moved to Boston where it again set house records, and continued to tour successfully for three seasons.

Taken from a farce by French writer Alexandre Bisson, THE NIGHT BOAT follows the zany exploits of Bob White, a man who pretends to be the captain of an

Albany night boat (a haven for illicit lovers) in order to secure evenings away from home. Fantasy life is turned on its head when his suspicious mother-in-law and her daughters book passage on the ship. The real captain also intercedes, providing for a good dose of hilarity as identities are turned topsy-turvy when the husband suddenly finds himself at the apex of two love triangles. The philandering Bob White will be portrayed by Jon di Savino, who made his 42ND ST. MOON debut this season as Boroff in SILK STOCKINGS and most recently appeared as the Archbishop in GOODTIME CHARLEY. In the role of his left-alone wife Hazel will be Susan Powers in her 42ND ST. MOON debut. Powers has previously performed with TheatreWorks as Clara in PASSION and has performed numerous leads in musicals, including OKLAHOMA, CAROUSEL, and CAMELOT, in the Washington D.C. area.

Dyan McBride will play Hazel's sister, Barbara, and Judy Rae Whiting will hit the boards as her prying mother, Mrs. Maxim. Brett Owen will play Barbara's beau, Freddie Ides, with Sean Sharp as the real night boat captain. The company is rounded out by Amy McClurg, Nancy Gibbs, Beth Rubens, Dane Miller, and James Phillips. Dave Sikula, in his 42nd St. Moon directorial debut, will helm THE NIGHT BOAT, with Scrumbly Koldewyn, of the popular singing group "The Jesters," providing musical direction and accompaniment.

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