La Chauve-Souris (French: The Bat) was the name of a touring revue during the early 1900s. Originating in Moscow and then Paris, and directed by Nikita Balieff, the revue toured the United States and Europe. The show consisted of songs, dances, and sketches, most of which had been originally performed in Russia.[1]
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Balieff and La Chauve-Souris opened in Paris in December 1920, and appeared on Broadway six times, in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1927, and 1929 with one final show billed as New Chauve-Souris in 1931.[2] The 1922 and 1923 shows were presented by Morris Gest and F. Ray Comstock.
La Chauve-Souris inspired a parody called No Sirree! written and performed by Robert Benchley and other members of the Algonquin Round Table for one night only in April 1922.[3]
No Sirree! had its genesis at the studio of Neysa McMein, which served as something of a salon for Round Tablers away from the Algonquin Hotel. Acts included: "Opening Chorus" featuring Alexander Woollcott, John Peter Toohey, George S. Kaufman, Marc Connelly, Franklin P. Adams, and Benchley with violinist Jascha Heifetz providing offstage, off-key accompaniment; "He Who Gets Flapped," a musical number featuring the song "The Everlastin' Ingenue Blues" written by Dorothy Parker and performed by Robert Sherwood accompanied by "chorus girls" including Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Ruth Gillmore, Lenore Ulric, and Mary Brandon; "Zowie, or the Curse of an Akins Heart"; "The Greasy Hag, an O'Neill Play in One Act" with Kaufman, Connelly and Woollcott; and "Mr. Whim Passes By - An A. A. Milne Play."[4]
Part of the La Chauve-Souris revue was recorded by Columbia Graphophone Company (U.K.) AX 2717, 2719 - 9220, speed 80 rpm, under the title Chauves Souris:
Lee DeForest filmed Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (to the music Die Parade der Zinnsoldaten by Leon Jessel), a popular segment from the stage production performed by Nikita Balieff and La Chauve-Souris, in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on film process.
The short film premiered 15 April 1923 as part of a program of 18 Phonofilms at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, and then in England, Japan, and Australia. The film, shown under the title Parade of the Wooden Soldiers with two-color Technicolor sequences, is now in the Maurice Zouary collection of the Library of Congress.[5]