Miss 1917 is a musical revue with a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, music by Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and others, and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, Otto Harbach, Henry Blossom and others. Made up of a string of vignettes, the show features songs from such musicals as The Wizard of Oz, Three Twins, Babes in Toyland, Ziegfeld Follies and The Belle of New York. Background In 1916, Charles Dillingham and Florenz Ziegfeld produced The Century Girl, with music by Irving Berlin. Despite mildly positive reviews, the show closed without recouping its investment. On their next production, which was to be called Miss 1917, they hired Jerome Kern and Victor Herbert to compose the score and Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse to collaborate on the book. Kern and Bolton had collaborated on the Princess Theatre musicals, including Very Good Eddie (1915). British humorist and playwright Wodehouse then joined them for several innovative musicals there, including Oh, Boy! (1917). Involvement of George Gershwin The show is mostly known today as George Gershwin's introduction to musical theatre. During rehearsals for Miss 1917, Gershwin conducted the pit orchestra and played the piano. He was hired in October 1917, being paid $35 each week. As the rehearsal period extended, Gershwin earned more money. He would later record Kern's "The Land Where the Good Songs Go", which was used in the revue, as a piano roll in January 1918. While working for the show, Gershwin and his brother Ira Gershwin befriended Herbert and Kern, keeping "in contact with some of the major figures on Broadway". Sunday night concerts held in New York City by the show's cast introduced Gershwin's "There's More to a Kiss Than the Sound" and "You-oo, Just You", both with lyrics by Irving Caesar. "Gershwin had begun work on Broadway as a rehearsal pianist for the Jerome Kern and Victor Herbert musical Miss 1917. Within months, his talent as a composer was noticed by everyone in the show and he was quickly put under contract by Harms Music. His involvement with Miss 1917 brought him to the attention of music producer Harry Askins, who in turn mentioned him to Max Dreyfus, "one of the giants of music publishing". 1917 Broadway production The producers of the show "had demanded extremely elaborate staging for the revue", so no out-of-town tryouts were held, and the show premiered directly on Broadway on 5