The
Shubert Brothers engaged
Al Jolson for his first Broadway appearance in
La Belle Paree, which was the first show to play at their new Winter Garden Theatre. The piece concerned Bridgeeta McShane, a wealthy American widow visiting Paris for her health, who meets a number of suitors and eccentric characters, including Erastus Sparkler, played by Jolson. Jolson soon converted this supporting role into a star vehicle, and he would make a dozen further Broadway appearances (often at the Winter Garden) in his varied career. The first performance was overlong and dragged in places, continuing until almost 1:00 am, and some of the audience left before the end. The reviews were mixed, and Jolson was disappointed with his own performance. Jolson was scheduled late in the program, as
La Belle Paris followed most of the companion pieces. Jolson played a phony "colored aristocrat", the boyfriend of Bridgeeta's Black maid, played by Mayhew. He wore
blackface, and together they sang
Jerome Kern's
coon song Paris is a Paradise for Coons, about the freedoms African-Americans supposedly enjoyed living in Paris rather than in "Yankee Land". They also sang another song together, Jolson gave a monologue and sang a third song during the evening. Many of the critics had already left before Jolson came on, to make their publication deadlines, but the critics that mentioned Jolson and Mayhew, including
The New York Times, praised them. During the second performance, Jolson interrupted the performance to talk to the audience about the poor reviews, and then asked them if they would rather hear him sing. When they agreed, Jolson launched into a series of his own numbers. This time the reviews were very positive, and the show played for the rest of the season to solid audiences. ==Full cast==