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39-602: David Krause (a theater owner), Dr. George E. Lothrop (a physician who operated Boston's Howard Athenaeum ), and Al Singer (who mounted shows on the Columbia wheel) incorporated the MBA in 1922. Most of the franchisees and producers came from the American Wheel, a subsidiary of the Columbia circuit that played less prestigious venues and went bankrupt. Isidore Herk, who had been president of the American Wheel, left to establish

78-520: A book, but Dr. Allen realized it would be much more fun to put on a show. He wrote a revue, based on the sketches, which was performed at the University of Tennessee. Some time later, Dr. Allen gave a talk in New York at a conference on early-20th-century popular entertainment. As part of his lecture, he read the script of his revue. Afterward, he was approached by a member of the audience, Mr. Rigby,

117-470: A few vice raids. Other entertainers who appeared at the Howard include Abbott & Costello , Jimmy Durante , Fred Allen , W. C. Fields , Jackie Gleason , Al Jolson , Buster Keaton , Bert Lahr and Jerry Lewis . Boxers John L. Sullivan and Rocky Marciano gave boxing demonstrations on the stage. During this era of burlesque and variety, the Howard would advertise: "There is always something doing at

156-636: A fire in June 1961. Of all the theaters founded in Boston, the Howard Athenæum was one of the most famous as well as the most lamented. Popular throughout New England, the theater was affectionately called "The Old Howard." Built in 1843 as a church by the Millerite sect, the flimsy tent-like structure housed a small but loyal congregation who eventually abandoned the site following disappointment with

195-399: A leak in the bathtub?... Well, go ahead! You paid for the room! The Sugar Babies score contains standards such as " Don't Blame Me " and "I Feel a Song Comin' On", and newly created musical numbers, including "The Sugar Baby Bounce". The show had burlesque "tropes" such as the swing number, the sister act, the fan dance, the vaudeville dog act. "It was all fast and funny and it ended with

234-486: A limit on the 'dirt' stuff, producers and comics went beyond it when on the road. Everybody made plenty of coin." Billboard claimed that Mutual "polluted public morals", but Herk defended it as the "jazz of American entertainment," and asserted that his shows were "clean, working class entertainments". Mutual thrived for most of the 1920s. At its peak, up to 50 self-contained Mutual shows rotated through as many affiliated theaters each season. (A season ran from Labor Day to

273-577: A medical doctor), had bought a ticket through the mail for the Donizetti opera, Don Pasquale , but, upon arriving, refused to sit in a segregated section for the show. She was forcibly removed and pushed down a flight of stairs. She eventually won a desegregation lawsuit against the managers of the Howard Athenaeum and received $ 500 in a settlement. By the late 1860s, however, the theater had lost much of its audience to its more popular rivals

312-416: A modern Broadway musical combining all the elements of burlesque. He then came to the conclusion that the only person alive who could pull this off as a headliner was Mickey Rooney. - Richard Lertzman and William J. Birnes , in "The Life and Times of Mickey Rooney" After two weeks of rehearsals, however, Rooney clashed with Abbott, who was directing the show. Rooney, who insisted on taking a hand in staging

351-767: A producer. In 1977, at a "scholarly four‐day conference to study the History of American Popular Entertainment " at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts , Ralph G. Allen , a theater professor and historian fascinated with burlesque, presented a lecture, from a prior College of Fellows of the American Theatre Address, with pieces of a revue he wrote, that borrowed material from long-forgotten burlesque routines, "At My Mother's Knee (and Other Low Joints)". Rigby

390-439: A production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan 's The School for Scandal . For the first four months of its life, the Howard seemed to enjoy a blessed existence, until on February 25, 1846, during a performance of Pizzaro , a ball of fire representing the sun set the scenery on fire and the building burned to the ground. However, the theatre reopened on October 5, 1846, with Richard Sheridan's The Rivals . During its early period,

429-492: A soubrette, a talking woman, a boy and girl dance team, two comics, a straight man, a singing juvenile, twelve or fourteen chorus girls, a musical conductor, three stage hands, and an assortment of cats, dogs, monkeys etc. (the actors' pets). In other words, a minimum of 26 people—plus all of the [wardrobe], scenery and props." With Mutual as legitimate competition, a bitter rivalry developed between Herk and his former boss, Sam Scribner , and Mutual and Columbia. But early in 1928,

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468-574: A vaudeville circuit with the Shubert organization. When that failed, Herk returned to burlesque the following year, replaced Singer, and eventually became Mutual's president. Mutual producers included Hurtig and Seamon, Al Reeves , Ed Rush, Ed Daley, John G. Jermon and Billy (Beef Trust) Watson . Many performers and producers abandoned Columbia, which was seen as behind the times, for the new wheel, which took inspiration from fast-paced and sometimes risque Broadway revues like Earl Carroll's Vanities and

507-520: A young John Wilkes Booth , who played Hamlet. The playhouse soon became famous for its opera productions: Verdi's Ernani , which had its American premier at the Howard in 1847, may have been Boston's first exposure to Italian bel canto opera. A program for the Ernani performance at the Howard is owned by the Boston Athenæum , which has a very small but interesting collection of programs from

546-528: The Ziegfeld Follies . Yet it was a 1925 Columbia show, "Powder Puff Revue," that was the first burlesque show to follow the precedent set by Ziegfeld and Carroll and feature female nudity in static tableaux. In Herk's obituary, Variety recounted, "With the initial season of the MBA, Herk learned that burlesque fans still wanted rough shows. So he obliged with plenty of bumps and strip-teasing, naughty blackouts and stag jokes. Although Herk had placed

585-547: The Boston Museum and the Boston Theatre and had begun presenting variety shows. In 1869, The Howard Athenaeum introduced an era of vaudeville with "Lydia Thomson and Her British Blondes.", By the end of the 19th century, the theatre had completely switched over to burlesque with performers such as Ann Corio , Sally Rand , Gypsy Rose Lee , and comedians including Fanny Brice , and Sophie Tucker , and "Tillie

624-480: The Boston Museum relied heavily on its great stock company, the Howard became the home of leading touring actors. In an 1860 playbill, the Howard Athenaeum proudly announced that it hosted performances of "opera, tragedy, comedy, burlesque, vaudeville, minstrels, and magicians." Among the great names regularly appearing at the Howard were Edwin Booth , Charlotte Cushman and other stellar performers of that era, including

663-524: The Emerson Umbrella in Concord, Massachusetts. 42°21′33″N 71°03′37″W  /  42.35917°N 71.06028°W  / 42.35917; -71.06028 Sugar Babies (musical) Sugar Babies is a musical revue conceived by Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby , with music by Jimmy McHugh , lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Al Dubin and various others. The show is a tribute to

702-568: The Follies, Girls of the U.S.A., Happy Hours, Hello Paree, High Flyers, High Life, Hollywood Scandals, Kandy Kids, Jazztime Revue, Laffin' Thru, Moonlight Maids, Naughty Nifties, Nite Hawks, Nite Life in Paris, Parisian Flappers, Pretty Babies, Record Breakers, Red Hot, Social Maids, Speed Girls, Step Lively Girls, Stolen Sweets, Sugar Babies, and Tempters. Some titles were used year after year, although with different casts and content. ( Sugar Babies

741-493: The Howard Athenaeum played host to many performing superstars, among them was the eminent comedian William Warren , who was for years considered the top comedian in the nation. Scandal also surfaced when, on May 4, 1853, the Howard Athenaeum found itself under unfavorable national scrutiny. Sarah Parker Remond , a black anti-slavery activist and lecturer with the American Anti-Slavery Society (and later

780-488: The Howard's early years dating from 1847 to 1848. On opening night, the Boston Courier for October 13, 1845, had this to say: "The Howard Athenaeum, a new candidate for patronage of the public, will be open tonight with a capital bill. The old tabernacle has been transformed into a very convenient and handsome theatre and it would sadly puzzle a Millerite to imagine himself at home in its now tasteful interior. Of

819-509: The Old Howard." As the burlesque performances got more risqué with each year, the Boston vice squad made the Old Howard the object of their attention. The Boston Vice squad made a 16 mm film during one of their raids in 1953 and captured on film the performance of "Irma the Body" (real name: Mary Goodneighbor). This film footage resulted in an indecency hearing which eventually led to

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858-640: The Tassel." From its fashionable grand opera days in the mid-19th century, the Old Howard had become a tawdry establishment especially beloved by Harvard undergraduates for its strip-tease acts. President Kennedy was allegedly a regular patron of the Old Howard in his Harvard days (The Harvard class of 1937 even made Ann Corio an honorary member.) The Boston Phoenix for February 17, 2007, said: "the Howard hosted everyone in show biz from John Wilkes Booth to Phil Silvers to Minsky’s Burlesque star Ann Corio to an 'exotic Indian dancer' named Princess Lahoma." There were also

897-411: The building had a small but not devastating fire. Though many people supported the push for a complete renovation, the city tore the building down promptly after the fire before anybody could protest. This controversial incident occurred at the height of Boston's urban renewal initiative and not much was considered historic except colonial-era structures. A sign from The Old Howard is preserved today in

936-500: The closing of the Old Howard in 1953. Due to the indecency charges, the city of Boston refused to renew the Old Howard's license in 1953, so the auditorium was dark for nearly a decade. In 1960 the Howard National Theatre and Museum Committee was formed to raise $ 1,500,000 to refurbish “ Boston's most celebrated theatre ” and restore it to the legitimate fold. However, before the committee could realize its ambition,

975-405: The comedy scenes himself, told Abbott, "This isn't going to work out." Abbott was fired as director, and although he didn't have a contract, he sued producer Harry Rigby and received a six-figure settlement. ( Ralph G. Allen ) visited theaters around the country, sitting with elderly comics and taking down their routines. He amassed a collection of some 5,000 comedy sketches. He considered writing

1014-413: The company, we can better speak after having seen one of their performances but the names of several old favorites warrant us in expecting good things. That the house will be crowded tonight to the utmost strength of its capacity may be considered certain." Ballet, opera and serious drama would be the main fare at the Howard for the next twenty years and, on that first night, the Howard Athenaeum opened with

1053-465: The following April or May.) Ann Corio recalled in her 1968 book, This Was Burlesque , "Most people may imagine a burlesque company to consist of only a few strippers, a couple of comics and a straight man; but in the days of the Mutual Wheel, a burlesque company was as big—or bigger—than most touring Broadway musicals of today. This was a typical company of the day: a striptease star, a prima donna,

1092-475: The minister's promise that the world would end in 1844. After Armageddon failed to materialize, the founder of the sect, William Miller , an ex-Deputy Sheriff from Poultney, Vermont , was discredited and the Millerites moved on. The temple was then rebuilt as a playhouse in 1845, only to burn to the ground a few months later. In 1846 a new structure was designed by Isaiah Rogers in a Gothic-like style that

1131-595: The old burlesque era. (The show's name is taken from one of many shows on the old Mutual Burlesque wheel of the Roaring Twenties.) First produced in 1979 on Broadway and running nearly three years, the revue attracted warm notices and was given subsequent touring productions. Sugar Babies opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on October 8, 1979 and closed on August 28, 1982 after 1,208 performances. Staging and choreography

1170-495: The original stars left, successors included Juliet Prowse , Anita Morris , Joey Bishop , Eddie Bracken , Jeff Dunham and Rip Taylor .Maxie Furman The revue subsequently had a short-lived National tour which starred Carol Channing and Robert Morse , from August through November 1980. The 1982 Bus and Truck Tour starred Eddie Bracken and Jaye P. Morgan (who was succeeded by Mimi Hines ). The 2nd National Tour, in 1984 and 1985, reunited Rooney and Miller. A revival of

1209-432: The show, "Sugar Babies 2", which would have starred Jerry Lewis , Chita Rivera and Rip Taylor , was planned for the fall of 1991, but ultimately did not happen. Norman Abbott , nephew of famed straight man Bud Abbott , inherited his uncle's "treasure trove of burlesque material, including written gags, props, music, and posters." Inspired, the younger Abbott and his wife had an idea: Norman and his wife conceived of

Mutual Burlesque Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-555: The spring of 1931, Herk pared the circuit down to 10 shows in as many weeks and theaters. This strategy was not successful in keeping Mutual afloat, and on June 9, 1931, Variety declared, "Mutual Officially Dead." Herk joined forces with the Minskys and organized a new wheel of 25 shows and theaters called the New Columbia Burlesque Circuit, but it, too, eventually crumbled. Large, organized wheel burlesque

1287-1192: The two circuits were each losing customers to racier local stock burlesque shows like those of the Minskys . Columbia and Mutual merged to form the United Burlesque Association, but the new circuit was still referred to as Mutual, with Herk in charge. Mutual shows rotated through the following theaters during the 1927-28 season (alphabetically by city): Grand, Akron; Gayety, Baltimore; Howard , Boston; Gayety, Brooklyn; Star, Brooklyn; Garden, Buffalo; Empress, Chicago; Empress, Cincinnati; Empire, Cleveland; Lyric, Dayton; Garrick, Des Moines; Cadillac, Detroit; Mutual, Indianapolis; Gayety, Kansas City; Gayety, Louisville; Gayety, Milwaukee; Gayety, Minneapolis; Gayety, Montreal; Lyric, Newark; Hurtig and Seamon's 125th Street , New York; Gayety, Omaha; Orpheum, Paterson; Trocadero , Philadelphia; Academy, Pittsburgh; Corinthian, Rochester; Garrick, St. Louis; Gayety, Scranton; State, Springfield; Empire, Toledo; Hudson, Union City; Strand, Washington, D.C.; Gayety, Wilkes-Barre; and Plaza, Worcester. Shows were not routed around

1326-514: The wheel in this order, and the list was subject to slight change each year. Some of these venues had previously been associated with the Columbia Wheel . Almost all have been demolished. Mutual's shows for the 1927-28 season included Band Box Revue, Banner Burlesquers, Bathing Beauties, Big Revue, Bowery Burlesquers, Carrie Finnell's Show, Follies of Pleasure, French Models, Frivolities of 1928, Ginger Girls, Girls from Happyland, Girls from

1365-486: Was by Ernest Flatt , with sketches directed by Rudy Tronto, musical direction by Glen Roven , scenic and costume design by Raoul Pene Du Bois , lighting design by Gilbert Vaughn Hemsley Jr. , vocal arrangements and lyrics by Arthur Malvin , additional vocal arrangements by Hugh Martin , Ralph Blane , and orchestrations by Dick Hyman . The revue starred Mickey Rooney in his Broadway debut, Ann Miller , and featured Ann Jillian , Peter Leeds and Jerry Orbach . After

1404-448: Was in the audience and approached Allen about the material, and together they wrote the book for the show. Sugar Babies debuted two years later. The show consists of old burlesque blackout gags and sketches, interspersed with song and dance numbers, and vaudeville specialty acts. Typical of the risqué jokes was this one in the "Broken Arms Hotel" sketch: DESK CLERK (on the telephone): Broken Arms Hotel... What's that? You say you got

1443-456: Was replaced by stock burlesque, some with smaller, localized circuits. Howard Athenaeum The Howard Athenæum (1845–1953), also known as Old Howard Theatre , in Boston, Massachusetts , was one of the most famous theaters in Boston history . Founded in 1845, it remained an institution of culture and learning for most of its years, finally closing in 1953. It was demolished in 1962 after

1482-579: Was unique among American theaters. The new building, made of Quincy granite and capable of seating 1,360 patrons, was rushed to completion with the aid of funds from a local brewery. It reopened October 5, 1846, at 34 Howard Street in Scollay Square , the area that is now occupied by Boston's Government Center . For the first several decades of its existence, it successfully vied with the Boston Museum as that city's leading playhouse. While

1521-400: Was used as the title of an unrelated burlesque musical produced on Broadway in 1979.) After the 1929 stock market crash , Mutual began a precipitous decline as its working-class audience became and remained unemployed and the number of stock (local independent) burlesque theaters multiplied. Herk cut salaries, budgets and casts, but many shows did not complete their routes in 1930 and 1931. In

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