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Strike Up The Band 

Full-Length Musical, Comedy  /  3w, 6m plus ensemble

Book by Morrie Ryskind
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

A riotous blend of Marx Brothers-style madness with a good poke to the ribs of the American military-industrial complex and political institutions, Strike Up the Band features a glorious Gershwin score, including the beloved standard “The Man I Love.”

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Strike Up The Band 

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 6m plus ensemble
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
In this zany political and social satire, an American tariff against Swiss cheese elicits such an angry response from Switzerland that Horace J. Fletcher, owner of the American Cheese Co., pushes the U.S. to declare war. Despite the brewing political turmoil, several romances bloom at Fletcher’s company, including the innocent courtship of youngsters Timothy and Anne, a passionate romance between pacifist Jim and Fletcher’s daughter, Joan, and the aggressive pursuit of Fletcher himself by Anne’s strong-willed mother, Mrs. Draper.
History
Strike Up the Band premiered on Broadway at the Times Square Theatre on January 14, 1930. Directed by Alexander Leftwich, the production featured Doris Carson, Jerry Goff, Margaret Schilling and Gordon Smith.
Keywords
Performing Groups

HORACE J. FLETCHER
JOAN FLETCHER
JIM TOWNSEND
MRS. DRAPER
ANNE DRAPER
TIMOTHY HARPER
COLONEL HOLMES
C. EDGAR SLOANE
GEORGE SPELVIN
A SOLDIER

  • Time Period 1930s
  • Setting The Horace J . Fletcher American Cheese Co. in Hurray, CT, and Switzerland. 1930.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Lively entertainment... goofy political chicanery [and] some of Broadway’s greatest songs.” – Variety

“Great fun... completely bonkers – but quite enjoyably so... the story certainly strikes a chord in 2019... [it’s] a show about America’s lust for war and obsession with putting its own interests first.” – Theatre Things

“Cheerily absurd... [this] cheese-war satire roasts the American whey.” – The Guardian

“Gorgeous Gershwin... songs ranging from playful Gilbert and Sullivan pastiches to heart-clutching ballads (most notably ‘The Man I Love’) woven into a goofy plot loaded with blatant anti-war, big-business satire.” – Backstage

Music

Music Samples

Act I

Overture – Orchestra
“Fletcher's American Cheese Choral Society” – Timothy, Sloane, Fletcher and Chorus
“17 and 21” – Timothy and Anne
“Typical Self-Made American” – Fletcher, Jim and Yes-Men
“Meadow Serenade” – Jim and Joan
“Unofficial Spokesman” – Fletcher, Holmes and Chorus
“Patriotic Rally” – Chorus
“The Man I Love” – Joan and Jim
“Yankee Doodle Rhythm” – Spelvin and Chorus
“17 and 21 (reprise)” – Mrs. Draper and Fletcher“Finaletto Act I” – Fletcher, Jim, Sloane, Holmes, Joan, Timothy and Chorus
“Strike Up the Band” – Timothy and Chorus

Act II

“Oh, This Is Such a Lovely War” – Soldiers and Swiss Girls
“Come-Look-at-the-War Choral Society” – Female Chorus
“Hoping That Someday You'd Care” – Jim and Joan
“Military Dancing Drill” – Timothy, Anne and Chorus
“How About a Man?” – Mrs. Draper, Holmes and Fletcher
“Finaletto Act II” – Fletcher, Jim, Sloane, Joan, Holmes, Spelvin and Chorus
“Homeward Bound/The Girl I Love (Reprise)” – Soldier and Male Chorus
“The War That Ended War” – Chorus
“Finale Ultimo” – Entire Company

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

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Authors

George Gershwin

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn on September 26, 1898, and began his musical training when he was 13. At 16, he quit high school to work as a "song plugger" for a music publisher, and soon he was writing songs himself. "Swanee," as introduced by Al Jolson, brought George ...

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Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin, the first songwriter to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, was born in New York City on December 6, 1896. In 1917 The Evening Sun published his first song (“You May Throw All The Rice You Desire But Please, Friends, Throw No Shoes”). Four years later, Ira enjoyed hi ...

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Morrie Ryskind

Morrie Ryskind

Morrie Ryskind, the librettist of Louisiana Purchase, was born in New York City in 1895 and graduated from the Columbia University School of Journalism. His principal collaborator in the theater was George S. Kaufman, with whom he wrote the Marx Brothers musical Animal Cracke ...

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