Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! Today, we’re continuing our series of alphabetically ordered posts on forgotten musicals from the ’10s – ’40s. Over the next 25 weeks (note that I will not be doing a post for the letter X), I’ll be covering a different forgotten musical. The only criteria, it has to begin with that specific letter of the alphabet. A was for Are You With It? (1945). B was for Best Foot Forward (1941). C was for The Cat And The Fiddle (1931). D was for Du Barry Was A Lady (1939). E was for Ever Green (1930). F was for Funny Face (1927). G was for Great Day! (1929). H was for Hot-Cha! (1932). I was for Irene (1919). J was for Jumbo (1935). K was for Knickerbocker Holiday (1938). L was for Leave It To Jane (1917). M was for Me And My Girl (1937). N was for The Night Boat (1920). O was for On Your Toes (1936). P was for Park Avenue (1946). Q was for Queen High (1926). R was for Red, Hot, And Blue! (1936). S was for Show Girl (1929). T was for Take A Chance (1932). U is for…  

U. Ups–A-Daisy (10/08/28 – 12/01/28)

Not surprisingly, U was the hardest letter for which to find a show. The few shows that actually do begin with U from this time period are even more obscure than our usual picks, and the show that I have selected, with a score by Lewis E. Gensler (who did the marvelous Queen High in 1926), Clifford Grey, and Robert A. Simon, has had only three of its numbers recorded. So this post, unfortunately, will be brief. (I encourage anybody who knows more about this show to post in the comments below!) Luella Gear played a woman who calls her husband’s bluff about his expertise on mountain climbing. (The husband was Bill Kent.) Meanwhile, romance was in the air for the real mountain-climbing expert and the couple’s niece. Also on hand was a young Bob Hope as the family butler. The show wasn’t nearly as successful as Queen High, but the songs seem almost as charming. (It’s hard to tell since we only have three numbers on which we’re basing our opinion, but even a score with three solid songs bares mentioning.) My favorite of the trio is the young lovers’ sweet “Will You Remember (Will You Forget)” This rendition is by the always divine Arden and Ohman.

Also by Arden and Ohman, here’s the routine, but perfectly listenable title tune. This number opened the show and was actually given to another peripheral couple. (Remember, our leads, while capable singers, were principally used for the comedy.)

And we’ll conclude today’s portion controlled post with a rendition by Pollack and Mering of “Hot.” It’s unfortunately lyric-less, but the melody does indeed deliver.

Come back next Monday for V! And tune in tomorrow for the best from the fourth season of All In The Family!