"Sugar Babies"

Performances: 1,208.
Open / Close: October 8, 1979 – August 28, 1982
Theater: Mark Hellinger Theatre.
Tony Awards: Like a lot of popular musicals, this one was nominated for 8. However, the Tonys in 1980 were dominated by “Evita” and whatever awards that show didn’t pick up, “Barnum” did. Earnest Flatt, who we discuss in the podcast, was nominated for both Best Direction and Best Choreography. Those would be his only Tony nominations, though he would go on to win Primetime Emmy Award for his work on “The Carol Burnett Show.”
Fun Fact: Norman Abbott, the nephew of Bud Abbott of Abbott and Costello, came up with the idea for the show. As we discuss in the podcast, he was promptly kicked off the production by Mickey Rooney. However, Abbott ended up finding plenty of success as a director, directing dozens of episodes of sitcoms such as Leave It to Beaver, Welcome Back, Kotter, The Munsters and Sanford & Son.

Podcast

Easter is this weekend and, while you might think I’m featuring the show “Sugar Babies” to make an allusion toward those sweet treats found in children’s Easter baskets, well, you’re right! BUT, thanks to my always incredibly knowledgeable guest, Phil Crosby, it came to light that this throwback vaudeville revue would also make sense to highlight because of Ann Miller’s star turn in the movie “Easter Parade.” Phil makes the astute point that Miller, who was the co-headliner of “Sugar Babies” with Mickey Rooney, was not often given her due as an excellent light comic actor. In “Easter Parade,” he says that she holds her own in a packed cast replete with stars light Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and more.

Miller was clearly a good foil and formidable match against Rooney and a large part of why “Sugar Babies,” which now seems outdated and a bit of an anachronism, was so popular. It’s a show that gives Phil and I the opportunity to dig into what vaudeville was, why it was so popular as a form early in the 20th century, why there was such a large audience eager to check out a show featuring it, and to explore the throughline from shows like “Sugar Babies” to variety shows like “The Carol Burnette Show.”

Miller and Rooney at the Tonys. This was the sketch they performed to promote the show most often. The slight variations in it each time are kind of fun to make note of.

This is a very bad bootleg of the whole show. While it’s a little annoying to watch, it one of the only ways to get a sense of how Miller and Rooney moved in and out of the show among the novelty acts.