*Ziegfeld Follies 1912 - 1914*

Ziegfeld Follies 1912
Erlanger renamed the Music Hall (downstairs from the Jardin de Paris rooftop space) in Ziegfeld's honor for this autumn edition which critics and audiences acclaimed as the finest Follies yet. The performance began with several cast members planted in the audience, arguing over what sort of show it should be -- a surreal touch that caught audiences and critics off guard. Errol and Williams performed a \ taxicab sketch, and Elizabeth Brice (no relation to Fanny) scored singing "Row, Row, Row." The finale was an eye-popping "Society Circus Parade," with ponies and showgirls circling the stage. The volatile Lillian Lorraine returned to sing "Daddy Has a Sweetheart," but was fired by Erlanger for missing rehearsals. Though she would return to the series in 1918, this marked the last year that Lorraine figured in Ziegfeld's private life.

Ziegfeld Follies 1913
Acclaimed as Broadway's most sumptuous venue, the New Amsterdam Theatre served as the home for Ziegfeld's Follies from 1913 through 1927.
Diminutive dancer Ann Pennington's high kicks and dimpled knees proved a sensation. Eccentric comic Leon Errol danced a "Turkish Trot," with his pants falling down in the midst of a massive Julian Mitchell dance ensemble. Women calling for the right to vote were spoofed in "The Ragtime Suffragette," and a production number depicted the opening of the Panama Canal, with the Ziegfeld girls pouring forth as one of the locks opened. The finale was set in a "Satanic Cabaret."

Ziegfeld Follies 1914
Bert Williams introduced "Darktown Poker Club," a pantomimed poker game that became a personal trademark. He also clowned with Leon Errol on top of an unfinished skyscraper. Vaudeville comic Ed Wynn scored well in his Follies debut, appearing as "Joe King the Joke King." Several scenes referred to the latest dance craze, the Tango, including the finale – a lavish "Tangorilla" dance routine set in the jungles surrounding Ziegfeld's beloved Palm Beach.