The musical was produced by Lee Shubert and J. J. Shubert and staged by J. C. Huffman and J. J. Shubert. After a tryout in New Haven, Connecticut, the Broadway production opened on February 14, 1918 at the Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 164 performances. The cast included Jolson (in blackface), Kitty Doner, Constance Farber and Forrest Huff. This show was a “musical comedy” with little purpose other than to provide a vehicle for Jolson, who sang specialty songs that were written for him by himself and others, while Romberg's songs held the show together. As with Jolson's previous shows, songs were interpolated during the run and for the national tour, which ran for nearly two years.[1][2]
Synopsis
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At a Long Island country club, Nan Van Decker, a wealthy socialite, struggles to choose which of two men to entrust with a financial matter. She consults a crystal ball, and the ball reveals to her exotic Arabian scenes and people, including Inbad the porter and a middle-eastern version of the Long Island valet, Gus. Fantasy sequences follow, and Inbad meets a series of characters from the Arabian Nights, including Sinbad the Sailor.
Songs
Music by Romberg and lyrics by Atteridge, except as otherwise indicated:
Act 1
On Cupid's Green – Mildred and Boy and Girl Golfers
A Little Bit of Every Nationality – Patricia De Trait and Our Allied Beauties
Our Ancestors – Prince Stubb Talmage, Princess Audrey Van Decker and Cave Men and Girls
A Thousand and One Arabian Nights – A Cobbler, A Slave Girl and Van Rennsellar Sinbad
Where Do They Get Those Guys? – Tessie Verdear
Beauty and the Beast – A Court Lady, Winter Garden Blue Ribbon Girls and Meehan's Leaping Hounds
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