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Joseph P. Beury had just purchased the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia and was eager to get a show going. Joseph M. Gaites had two sets of scenery which he desperately wanted to build a show around. Chico ran into Tom Johnstone to whom he explained the Marxes' sad state of affairs: that their decision to quit the Albee circuit in favor of the Shuberts had ended in disaster with the Shuberts quitting vaudeville entirely. Now Albee wouldn't have them back and they were at liberty. Johnstone grabbed Chico and dragged him to Gaites' office. Chico and Gaites were both in a bind. Chico, because the money was running out; Gaites, because he had three weeks before a theater opening with two shows worth of scenery and no show. After brief negotiations it was decided to build a show around the Marx Brothers.
The brothers hastily put together a show using material from old vaudeville routines, as well as some new stuff by Will Johnstone. The music was contributed by Tom Johnstone and the Marxes had a show. After some dismal tryouts in Canarsie and Allentown, the boys brought the show to Philadelphia late in June of 1923. They were an instant success, and less than a year later they opened "I'll Say She Is!" on Broadway.
As fate would have it, Monday, May 19th, 1924 was a slow theater night. For this reason and Alexander Woollcott's inability to get anybody to cover for him, "I'll Say She Is!" brought the house down and caused rave reviews from Woollcott and others. The Marx Brothers' success on Broadway was assured.
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