Thumbs Up! was a Broadway revue that opened at the St. James Theatre on December 27, 1934, and ran for 156 performances before closing on May 11, 1935. It belongs to the crowded field of Depression-era book-less revues, assembled from a patchwork of writers, lyricists and composers rather than a single authorial hand, and staged with the scenic and costume spectacle typical of the genre.
What is danced
The article does not describe any specific choreography, step vocabulary, or named dance numbers — it states only that the show 'was choreographed by Robert Alton' and lists a cast that included the tap dancer Paul Draper alongside comedy performers Clark & McCullough and Ray Dooley, plus the singing Pickens Sisters. Beyond the fact of Alton's authorship and the presence of a specialty dancer in the company, there is nothing in the source to establish what was actually danced, in which numbers, or how the choreography was structured across the two acts. A revue of this kind and era typically built its physical content around solo specialty spots, chorus production numbers and comic sketches, but the article gives no direct evidence for any of that here, so no such claim is made.
Context
1934 sits in the late flowering of the American book-less revue, a form built from interchangeable songs, sketches and specialty acts rather than a through-line plot, and the article's own note that there was 'very little in the way of plot' situates the show squarely in that tradition. Robert Alton was, in general, one of the choreographers who helped move Broadway revue and musical dance from loosely drilled chorus routines toward more athletic, precision-based staging in the years surrounding this production — but this is drawn from outside knowledge of Alton's career, not from anything stated in the article itself.
Staging history
The article documents only the original Broadway engagement: it opened December 27, 1934 at the St. James Theatre and closed May 11, 1935 after 156 performances. No revivals, transfers, or later restagings are mentioned.
How to watch it
No performance record or filmed document is cited, so there is nothing in this article to guide close viewing of the choreography itself. A reader coming to this entry should treat it as a documentary stub about a Robert Alton credit rather than a guide to specific stage business.