Sweet Little Devil
Opened at the Astor Theatre, New York on January 21, 1924. 120 performances. Music by George Gershwin. Lyrics by B. G. DeSylva. Book by Frank Mandel and Laurence Schwab. Staged by Edgar MacGregor. Dances staged by Sammy Lee. Produced by Laurence Schwab. Cast included Constance Binney, Marjorie Gateson, Irving Beebe, Franklyn Ardell, Ruth Warren, and William Wayne.
SWEET LITTLE DEVIL was the show George Gershwin was working on when he was reminded by a newspaper article in the New York Herald that Paul Whiteman was expecting him to create a “jazz concerto” for his “Experiment in Modern Music” at Aeolian Hall on February 12, 1924. Juggling multiple projects was in Gershwin’s blood, so even this daunting prospect didn’t effect the quality of the work he created for SWEET LITTLE DEVIL, which was built around the talents of its star, Constance Binney.