Sweet Adeline 1929

Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics and Book by Oscar Hammerstein II

Directed by Mark D. Kaufmann
Musical Director: Lauren Mayer
Choreography: Susan Main
Company Manager: Steven F. Sutherland

PlayBill Notes

Sweet Adeline was written as a vehicle for Helen Morgan to follow up her success as Julie in Showboat. The show opened in Spetember, 1929 to rave reviews but the Stock Market crash ended its run after only a few months.

Although the two songs to become standards were "Why Was I Born?" and "Don't Ever Leave Me," most critics acclaimed the unusual "Some Girl Is On Your Mind" as the highlight of the score.

In 1935 a film version was released starring Irene Dunne. Only three other productions of Sweet Adeline have been mounted since it's premiere: in 1946 in St. Louis, in 1978 at the Goodspeed Opera House (Connecticut); and, most recently, in a 1985 concert version starring Judy Kaye in New York.

Plot Summary

The story, set in the Gay 90s, concerns a Hoboken, New Jersey girl who, unlucky in love, becomes a Broadway star.