Strike up the Band

Strike up the Band (1930), a musical comedy by Morrie Ryskind, George S. Kaufman (book), George Gershwin (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics). [Times Square Theatre, 191 perf.] Horace J. Fletcher ( Dudley Clements) wants his country to go to war over a Swiss tariff on chocolates. He is even willing to underwrite the war, so long as it is called the Horace J. Fletcher Memorial War. But when his daughter's fiancé, Jim Townsend ( Jerry Goff), threatens to reveal that Fletcher uses Grade B milk in his chocolates, Fletcher becomes an ardent pacifist. However, by then the war is out of control and only won when the Americans decode the Swiss yodeling signals. Delighted with the outcome, the Americans decide to go to war with Russia over a tariff on caviar. Notable songs: I've Got a Crush on You; Soon; Strike Up the Band. Originally produced in 1927, the musical was withdrawn after its tryout. Ryskind rewrote Kaufman's original book, softening many of the original script's sharpest barbs and framing the story as a dream. Much of the fun came from the antics of Bobby Clark and his sidekick Paul McCullough, although their roles were not crucial to the main plot.