Home | Vaudeville | The Cocoanuts
This play opened at the Lyric and ran for 375 performances on Broadway as well as two years on the road.
With a successful run of "I'll Say She Is!" underway at the Casino Theatre, Sam Harris began preparing the Marxes' new show, with book by George S. Kaufman and music by Irving Berlin. Kaufman soon regretted it. Rehearsals were outrageous and the brothers made a shambles of Kaufman's script.
The Philadelphia opening was an absolute washout. Lines that read hilarious got no laughs at all. The following two weeks consisted of nightly performances with rehearsals all day and writing sessions all night, for which Morrie Ryskind had been brought in to help the ailing script. With the best talents in the business working on the show, the Marxes would have no excuse for failure on Broadway.
They shouldn't have worried. Lines that fell flat in Philly were uproarious to the New York audiences. On December 8, 1925, "The Cocoanuts" opened at the Lyric Theatre and was another instant smash.
Theater program
Cast:
| New York cast: | |||
| Zeppo Marx | Jamison | ||
| Georgia Hale | Eddie | ||
| Margret Dumont | Mrs. Potter | ||
| Henry Whittemore | Harvey Yates | ||
| Janet Velie | Penelope Martin | ||
| Mabel Whitee | Polly Potter | ||
| Jack Barker | Robert Adams | ||
| Groucho Marx | Henry W. Schlemmer | ||
| Chico Marx | Willie the Wop | ||
| Harpo Marx | Silent Sam | ||
| Basil Ruysdael | Hennessey | ||
| Frances Williams | Frances Williams |
| Written by (uncredited) | Morrie Ryskind | ||
| Lyrics and Music by | Irving Berlin | ||
| Produced by | Sam H. Harris | ||
| Directed by | Oscar Eagle | ||
| Musical numbers staged by | Sammy Lee | ||
| Settings by | Woodman Thompson | ||
| Premiere | 1925-12-08 |
Musical numbers
| Performed by | Comments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 view | A Little Bungalow Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | In the preview-length print of The Cocoanuts, Groucho sang this number while courting Margaret Dumont. In the play it had been "the inevitable duet" (according to Alexander Woollcott), sang by characters Polly Potter and Robert Adams but Woollcott also found it "clever, insidious, engaging". ♬ | |
 view | Florida By The Sea Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (also listed as "New summer edition") ♬ | |
 view | We Should Care Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | the music is an excerpt taken from another piece of sheet music for this show | |
 view | The Monkey Doodle-doo Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (also listed as "New summer edition") ♬ | |
 view | Lucky Boy Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (also listed as "New summer edition") ♬ | |
 view | Tango Melody Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (also listed as "New summer edition") ♬ | |
 view | Five O'Clock Tea Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (also listed as "New summer edition") | |
| Minstrel Days | |||
| My Family Reputation | |||
| A Hit With The Ladies | |||
| When We're Runnning A Little Hotel Of Our Own | |||
 view | Why Do You Want To Know Why? Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (marked "New summer edition") | |
 view | Ting-a-ling The Bells'll Ring Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (marked "New summer edition") | |
| Everyone In The Word Is Doing The Charleston Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (marked "New summer edition") | ||
| Gentlemen Prefer Blonds Music and lyrics by: Irving Berlin | (marked "New summer edition") | ||
| The Tale Of A Shirt | Ruysdael, Company | ||
| The Tale Of A Shirt "Piano Speciality" | Chico Marx | ||
| The Tale Of A Shirt "Harp Speciality" | Harpo Marx |
