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This chapter examines a major turning point in Ziegfeld’s professional and personal life: creation of the Follies. A large part of the Follies consists of comical skits, yet Ziegfeld cannot hide his disdain for comedy and comedians. Still, Ziegfeld succeeds in mastering both the revue format and the book musical, producing his most successful book musical yet, Miss Innocence. His shows are manifesting evidence of what will become known as the “Ziegfeld touch”—meticulous attention to artistic detail and the presentation of songs in a creative manner. The Follies introduces the classic tune “Shine on, Harvest Moon,” sung by chorine Lillian Lorraine, with whom Ziegfeld becomes infatuated. The chapter also discusses Held’s relationship with her daughter from a previous marriage, who comes to live with her and Ziegfeld in New York. The chapter goes on to discuss the Follies of 1908 and how women increasingly dominate both the show (especially Nora Bayes) and Ziegfeld’s life. Held, not knowing the extent of Ziegfeld’s infidelity with Lorraine, remains loyal to him.

The chapter examines Mae Murray’s reluctance to associate herself with Florenz Ziegfeld, who gave her a break and furthered her career in musical comedy. The chapter examines her work in the Follies of 1908, Miss Innocence, The Young Turk, the Follies of 1909, and The Bachelor Belles. The chapter introduces the reader to playboy William M. Schwenker, the son of a millionaire, a stage-door Johnny, and Murray’s first husband. When Murray learns her new husband has no money of his own, the young dancer finds herself cooking on a small gas stove and surviving on $15 a week. The reader is introduced to some of the legendary luminaries of early New York theatre: Anna Held, Diamond Jim Brady, Lillian Lorraine, Nora Bayes, and Eva Tanguay.

More than in any other form of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century popular entertainment, vaudeville performers consistently reached out to make their audience feel like part of the show, appealing to them beyond the footlights with every technique they had at their disposal. Their sense of artistic legitimacy was derived from their understanding that an act depended on the audience’s approval; it was not something they achieved separately or even gained from rejecting or ignoring the audience’s response. Moreover, continuous vaudeville produced a highly self-consciousness and self-critical relationship between artist and audience, in which the success of an act was never fixed or given in advance, but emerged through constant revision and refinement. Thus, even the most successful of acts was always under review. Or to put it another way, an act was always to some degree incomplete or unfinished, because no performance was ever definitive. This chapter focuses on the central problems of vaudeville performance, especially those relating to a performer’s ability to respond to the changing tastes and expectations of his audience.

This chapter presents American composer and pianist Oscar Levant's comments on the music of George Gershwin. According to Levant, Gershwin began to impinge on his life even before he met or even heard of him. He recalled his first meeting with Gershwin in a show titled Ladies First starring Nora Bayes and his recording of his version of Gershwin's compositions including Rhapsody in Blue and Rialto Ripples. This chapter is based on an original article published in the November 1939 issue of Town and Country magazine.