Music in the Air

Music in the Air
Original Broadway Opening Night Playbill
Music	Jerome Kern
Lyrics	Oscar Hammerstein II
Book	Oscar Hammerstein II
Productions	1932 Broadway 1933 West End 1934, 1937, 1944, 1951 St. Louis, Missouri 1951 Broadway revival

1932 Broadway

Music in the Air is a musical written by Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and book) and Jerome Kern (music). It introduced songs such as "The Song Is You", "In Egern on the Tegern See" and "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star". The musical premiered on Broadway in 1932, and followed on the team's success with the musical Show Boat from 1927.

The original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on November 8, 1932, moved to the 44th Street Theatre on March 31, 1933 and closed on September 16, 1933 after 342 performances. It was directed by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, and featured in the cast Reinald Werrenrath (Cornelius), Natalie Hall (Frieda Hatzfeld), Tullio Carminati (Bruno Mahler), Katherine Carrington (Sieglinde Lessing), Al Shean (Dr. Walter Lessing), Walter Slezak (Karl Reder), Nicholas Joy (Ernst Weber), and Marjorie Main (Anna). The music was orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett.

The musical opened in the West End at His Majesty's Theatre on May 19, 1933 and ran for 199 performances. The musical was staged at The Muny outdoor musical theatre, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1934, and again in 1937, 1944 and 1951.

The 1934 film version starred Gloria Swanson, John Boles, Douglass Montgomery, June Lang, and Al Shean. The director was Joe May and the screenplay was by Howard Irving Young and Billy Wilder. It was released by Fox Film Corporation. This is, so far, the only film ever made of Music in the Air, although it contains several famous songs. The 1934 film, however, omitted the show's best-known number, The Song is You, which has become a classic. The song was filmed, but deleted from the final release print at the last minute.