Animal Crackers (musical)

Animal Crackers
Sheet Music for a song from the 1928 original Broadway production
Music	Bert Kalmar Harry Ruby
Lyrics	Bert Kalmar Harry Ruby
Book	George S. Kaufman Morrie Ryskind
Productions	1928 Broadway 1982 Washington, D.C. 1992 Connecticut 1993 New Jersey 1999 West End 2009 Chicago

Animal Crackers is a musical with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical starred the Marx Brothers.

Animal Crackers opened on Broadway on October 23, 1928 at the 44th Street Theatre, and closed April 6, 1929, running for 191 performances. The musical was produced by Sam H. Harris, staged by Oscar Eagle, and starred the four Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont in the Brothers' second Broadway hit. Hermes Pan appeared as a chorus boy.

The musical was filmed in 1930 with most of the principal leads repeating their roles from the stage production.

The musical was revived in 1982 at the Arena Stage, Washington, D.C., directed by Douglas C. Wager and choreographed by Baayork Lee.

It was also revived in 1992 by Goodspeed Musicals, Connecticut and in 1993 at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey.

It was produced in the U.K. by the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, where it was first mounted as part of the 1995-96 season, running from the 21st of December until the 3rd February. It was then revived at that theatre’s Swan Street Studio from 12 March to the 14th April 1998. It was taken on tour, and played the Sculpture Court of The Barbican Centre in a circus tent in June 1998; after further touring, it transferred to the West End at the Lyric Theatre, opening on March 16, 1999, and closing on May 15, 1999 (the run brought to an early close, having been booking until September). Starring were Ben Keaton (Spaulding), Toby Sedgwick (the Professor), Joseph Alessi (Emanuel Ravelli), and Jean Challis (Mrs Rittenhouse).