The run closed January 29, 1927
- Opened
- December 28, 1926
- Closed
- January 29, 1927
- Performances
- 39
- Previews
- —
- Theatre
- New Amsterdam Theatre
Of the 2,148 productions we hold that opened in the 1920s and record a performance count, this is the 1,103rd longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.
Other stagings of Betsy 1 more that season
| 1911 | Herald Square Theatre Original · Edward Elsner | 32 perf. |
Who was in it16 named
Ed Hickey
Pauline Hoffman
Jimmy Hussey
Vanita la Nier
Beatrice Perkins
Phil Pyley
Jack White
Ralph Whitehead
8 of these 16 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 8 are set from the identifier in the cast list, which is a slug of the name — so hyphens and full stops are lost and a few come out wrong. We hold nothing else about them. Nobody here is matched to a character: the cast list records who was in the company and not what they played.
Creative team
- Director
- William Anthony McGuire
- Choreographer
- Sammy Lee
A producer is one string on this record, however many people or companies it names. Directors and choreographers are held both as text and as identifiers; where an identifier exists the name links to a page.
Around this production
Though the Rodgers and Hart score was mostly overlooked, Irving Berlin interpolated the song 'Blue Skies' for star Belle Baker, which became one of the biggest hits of the decade. The show itself was a commercial failure, running only 39 performances.
Belter Belle Baker, about to open in the mediocre BETSY, called Berlin for help. He pulled Blue Skies out of the trunk, fixed it up, and Baker interpolated it on opening night (much to Richard Rodgers’s displeasure). The show flopped —but the song sure didn’t! Show Tunes the Songs Shows and Careers of Broadway S Suskin Steven Suskin Steven, p. 77
- The show was the fourth of five Rodgers and Hart musicals that were presented on Broadway during 1926; the fifth, Betsy, opened just one night after Peggy-Ann. Broadway Musicals Show By Show Green Stanley Green Kay 5th Ed Rev and Updated By, p. 78
- Berlin’s next smash hit song was contributed to the musical Betsy (12/28/26; 39 performances); the song was “Blue Skies.” He returned to the Ziegfeld Follies in 1927 with a score that included “Shaking the Blues Away,” sung by Ruth Etting. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 89
- BETSY December 28, 1926 New Amsterdam Theatre 39 performances Music mostly by Rodgers (see Berlin) Lyrics mostly by Lorenz Hart Show Tunes 1905 1985 the Songs Shows and Careers of Steven Suskin 1st Ed New Yor, p. 23
- 'Sing’—originally used in BETSY [December 28, 1926]; also used in LADY LUCK [April 27, 1927] Show Tunes 1905 1985 the Songs Shows and Careers of Steven Suskin 1st Ed New Yor, p. 197
- Hart's next show. Betsy. opened the day after Show Boat. Broadway Musicals the 101 Greatest Shows of All Time Bloom Ken 1949 Vlastnik Fra, p. 86
Passages naming this production, found by keyword across 178 books. Where it turns up in the literature, not curated notes about it.
What this page does not know
- No photograph of this staging. 48 of 13,459 productions hold one.
- No character names. We can say who was in the company and not who they played.
- No recording is held for Betsy at all.
- Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.