In 1915, Florenz Ziegfeld introduced the Midnight Frolic on the roof of the New Amsterdam Theater, the same building in which his famous Follies were staged below. In fact, after the Follies, patrons were encouraged to take a special elevator to the rooftop theater to enjoy the after-hours entertainment. It was a cabaret style revue, where guests ate, drank and smoked. There were intermissions for dancing. When it was time for the entertainment, the stage itself slid out over the dance floor.
Ziegfeld, as usual, spared no expense. He assembled a first class cast, including many of the stars from the Follies. Gene Buck and Dave Stamper wrote original material for the show, Ned Wayburn staged the production and the critics proclaimed that Joseph Urban’s gorgeous scenery alone was worth the price of admission, which was $1 for the balcony and $2 for a seat at a table on the dance floor. For Ziegfeld, however, the real cash cow was the bar, which cleaned up every night. The concept proved a spectacular success from the outset. It was, according to Variety, “as big a draw as anything in the city.” (Variety, January 9, 1915, p. 7)
The show itself was unlike any other production. There was a balcony level glass runway down which the acts made their entrances. Accordingly, the most in demand seats were those directly beneath the runway, prized for the views they afforded of the Ziegfeld girls as they made their multiple entrances during every performance. Each night, for one of their appearances, the Ziegfeld girls wore costumes adorned with balloons, which audience members were encouraged to pop with their lit cigars and cigarettes. Every table was provided with two small souvenir wooden mallet style hammers. Patrons were to express their appreciation for the entertainment by rapping on the tables with the little hammers. Ziegfeld insisted that the hands of those who made it to the late night show from the Follies would be too sore to applaud.
Eddie Cantor described the Frolic as “the supper club of the Four Hundred,” alluding to the social status of the crowd that made up the Frolic audience. It is where one could run into a Vanderbilt, a Whitney or an Astor. It is where a young F. Scott Fitzgerald entertained Ginerva King, the girl who served as the inspiration for Daisy Buchanan. On any night, there might have been as many celebrities and socialites in the audience as there were performers on stage.
Since joining the circus in 1915, Leitzel had been spending her off seasons in vaudeville, where she was attracting considerable attention. Flo Ziegfeld had been among those who were sufficiently impressed by her talents to be aggressively pursuing her services. In March of 1918, Leitzel agreed to join the Midnight Frolic until the circus season commenced. Her impact was immediate. She was, as one reviewer would later describe her, “a veritable wonder on the rope and rings.” (New York Morning Telegraph, December 11, 1918, p. 5) She was proving to be such a sensation that Ziegfeld was trying to buy out her contract from the Ringling Brothers.
The Ringling Brothers could ill afford to lose their star and refused all offers. Still, even after Leitzel returned to the circus, Ziegfeld continued to pursue her. Finally, after an offer that nearly doubled her circus salary, Leitzel agreed to return to the Frolic when the circus season concluded and her current Ringling contract expired. For the next two years, Leitzel spent her winters in the Frolic. She ended her association with Ziegfeld following the winter of 1919-1920. She could read the handwriting on the wall. The Frolic, which had been a phenomenal success since it had opened, lasted only one more year. It was a victim of Prohibition.
