with another song and dance number, which changed over the life of the show. During its Broadway run, the song performed was called "A Bit of Tango Jazz". The eight gentleman suitors then enter with The Beauty. The Beauty tells them that the contest is over. She has found the greatest thrill in life, and that thrill is love. And she has found the thrill of love with The Chief. Characters and original cast Adolph Arthur Marx as The Beggarman Herbert Marx as The Doctor Julius Henry Marx as The Lawyer Leonard Marx as The Poorman Lotta Miles as The Beauty Edward Metcalfe as The Richman Frank J. Corbett as The Chief Philip Darby as The Merchant Edgar Gardiner as The Thief Ledru Stiffler as Gold Man Harry Walters as Hop Merchant Cecile D'Andrea as White Girl Alice Webb as Nanette Hazel Gaudreau as Hazel Marcella Hardie as Marcella Martha Pryor as Martha Bunny Parker as Office Girl Crissie Melvin as Office Girl Evelyn Shea as Pierrot Jane Hurd as Pierrot Roger Pryor Dodge as Chinaman Ruth Urban as Chinese Boy Florence Arledge as Chinese Boy Mildred Joy as Street Gamins Gertrude Cole as Street Gamins The Bower Sisters as Street Gamins The Melvin Sisters as Pages Performances and aftermath The show debuted at Lyric Theatre in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before opening in nearby Philadelphia in May 1923. It opened at the Casino Theatre in New York City on May 19, 1924. Legend has it that the first-string critics for the New York papers were slated to see a different show premiering at the Winter Garden Theatre the same night, and only came to I'll Say She Is when the other show was postponed at the last moment. However, as both the Winter Garden and the Casino were part of the Shubert chain, it seems more likely that the openings were deliberately set for different dates to avoid competing with each other. In any case, the critics, notably Alexander Woollcott, who was only at the show because his other engagements were canceled, raved about the show, especially Harpo's performance, and the Marx Brothers became first-rank stars virtually overnight. Despite the fact that the Marx Brothers were the stars of this show, because it was a revue, they are absent from significant parts of the performance. They are almost entirely absent from the musical numbers and do not appear at all in