The Band Wagon

By George S. Kaufman (with Howard Dietz, Moss Hart, and others)

The Plot:

"The Pride of the Claghorns" (The Band Wagon)
A Southern gentleman expresses outrage that the girl his son is about to marry is a virgin.

"The Great Warburton Mystery"  (The Band Wagon)
In a murder mystery spoof, the culprit is caught by the imprint of his bottom on a seat cushion.

"The Still Alarm"  (The Little Show)
A fireman practices his violin while an apartment burns around him.

"If Men Played Cards as Women Do"  (The Music Box Revue of 1923)
Four virile men play bridge with a suspiciously feminine line of conversation.

"Local Boy Makes Good"  (The Seven Lively Arts)
A stage hand auditions for a Broadway show, claiming he can make more backstage noise than anyone else.
"School for Waiters" (Inside U.S.A.)
Waiters learn how to perfect the art of ignoring customers.

About the Play:

Throughout his career, Kaufman made a fine art out of the revue sketch, the most popular theatrical form on Broadway in the 1920s and early 1930s. Several of his sketches are absolute classics and they can be singly or as part of a larger evening.  Certainly, they are among the most performed one-act comedies in American history.  Several will be featured in Encores!  Stairway to Paradise revue in the spring of 2007.

Stage history:

See above

Production details:

For a selection of Kaufman’s revue sketches, please contact:
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Strip Box:

The funniest revue sketches ever written; worth producing on their own, or as an evening of several sketches.