While it is always a joy to be asked to return to CLOC, there is something very special about this time around. For the past year and a half, we have been unable to gather like this and share a story with one another. I can think of no place better than CLOC to help signal the return of live theatre and no better piece than the hysterically funny Very Good Eddie to remind us that sometimes we must go through the greatest trials to get the greatest rewards.
Very Good Eddie (1915) was quite groundbreaking in its time because it was one of the very first musicals to emphasize placing its comic characters in real situations and for the show’s humor to come out of their behavior and reactions, as opposed to having pre-existing vaudeville pieces placed in the show. What Very Good Eddie created was not only the inspiration for many librettos to follow but the basis for television’s situation comedies. We can clearly draw a line from Eddie Kettle to Barney Fife, or from Percy Darling to Thurston Howell III; the plot line of the show (a man and a woman pretend they are married so as not to cause a social scandal) could easily be used on any episode of Frasier, Blackish, or The Office.
Even though Very Good Eddie premiered in 1915 we have moved the story up a few years to 1919. It was at this time that Americans began to see the optimism and joy that would pervade the country between the end of World War One and the beginning of the Great Depression. Our citizens had just emerged from their first pandemic and took solace in the beauty of the Hawaiian Craze, embraced Vernon and Irene Castle’s book Modern Dance, and looked forward to the soon to be ratified 19th Amendment.
We know that these past few months have been quixotic but for now we ask you to leave your troubles in 2021 and board the Hudson River Dayliner for a madcap adventure filled with love and laughter!
-Robert W. Schneider, Stage Director
