Music, Lyrics and Book by George M. Cohan, Adapted by Alfred Uhry.
Little Johnny Jones, George M. Cohan’s first full-length musical, features some of Cohan’s most memorable songs, including “Give My Regards To Broadway” and “Yankee Doodle Boy.” The title character was inspired by the famous jockey Tod Sloan.
A brash, patriotic American jockey, Johnny Jones, goes to England to ride his horse, Yankee Doodle, in the English Derby. Jones falls in love with Goldie Gates, a San Francisco copper heiress, who follows him to Britain, disguising herself as a man to discover if Jones really loves her. Anthony Anstey, an American who runs a Chinese gambling establishment in San Francisco, offers Jones a bribe to lose the race deliberately, but he refuses. After Jones loses, Anstey spreads rumors that he threw the race intentionally. Jones' detective, pretending to be a drunkard, searches for evidence to clear Johnny's name and finds out that it was Anstey that framed Jones. Jones tells his friends who are returning to America, "Give My Regards to Broadway," but he stays in London to try to regain his reputation. Jones returns to America with his name cleared, eager to propose marriage to Goldie, but he finds that Anstey has kidnapped her. He and his detective search for her in San Francisco's Chinatown, eventually finding her.
Little Johnny Jones opened on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre on November 7, 1904, and returned to Broadway three more times within a decade. This revised version of the classic musical originated at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1982 and transferred to Broadway at the Alvin Theatre, starring Donny Osmond in the title role.
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