I’ll Say She Is! (1924): The ‘laugh-a-minute revue’ that made the Marx Brothers

This brief examination of the 1924 Broadway revue I’ll Say She Is! describes the process of constructing it, analyses its contents, and addresses the importance of the show in the careers of its stars, the Marx Brothers. This show is an example of the revue as a composite structure, constructed out of a combination of new and recycled material to feature three expected types of entertainment: music, comedy and spectacle. Resembling both a musical and a vaudeville bill, this revue is held together by the unifying construct of a plot. The most important sources in this examination are the unpublished diaries of the show’s writer, Will B. Johnstone. These diaries contain details of the construction process of a revue that add to our store of knowledge on the revue in the 1920s.