The Helen Morgan Page

Ziegfeld opened what became the final edition of his Midnight Frolic atop the New Amsterdam Theatre.

The Midnight Frolic of 1929 v. 1.0 ran only four weeks before Ziegfeld closed it for ten days to open up the old balcony and convert the space from a simple floorshow setup back to a theatre setting.

The Midnight Frolic of 1929 v. 2.0 ran and additional eleven and a half weeks, closing on April 27, 1929.

With the exception of Paul Whiteman, who led the orchestra, Helen Morgan stayed with the production the longest, bowing out on April 13 due to her legal troubles (but more on that later …)

Perhaps the prize for the shortest tenure in the cast goes to Eddie Cantor, who came upstairs from his hit show Whoopee to emcee the during the first week or so to help launch the enterprise.

In early 1929, Cantor filmed a short wherein he performed his act (WARNING – in blackface) in a studio mockup of the Frolic floorshow configuration.

Until someone invents a time machine, this rare footage will have to serve as our opportunity to get a taste of what the Midnight Frolic was like.

Again, he is in blackface throughout.

This site serves as a companion to Helen Morgan: The Original Torch Singer and Ziegfeld’s Last Star. Ask your local independent bookseller to stock it today!