Stage Production Notes
A revue of topical and irreverent songs featuring British writers and performers Michael Flanders and Donald Swann.
Flanders and Swann were a popular British comedic duo whose work, as described by The Daily Telegraph, “epitomised English nonsense humour in the good-natured tradition of Punch.” The overwhelming tone used to describe the men was how affable they were were. Despite their mismatched outward appearances, Flanders the tall and bearded one, Swann the bespectacled short one, article after article describes their delightfully quirky personas, intelligence, and warmth. American writer George Oppenheimer surmised, “Flanders and Swann are the two greatly engaging, highly civilized and infinitely comic gentlemen…” In describing their brand of comedy Swann stated, “We’re confectioners, not butchers.”
Michael Flanders as a young man was, by all accounts, athletic, charming, and a promising actor. He was educated at Westminster School and Oxford College, before joining the Royal Navy in 1941. In 1943, at the age of 21, Flanders contracted polio. He spent six months in an iron lung, and another year in hospital, and as a result, became a wheelchair user.
Many sources refer to Flanders being “wheelchair bound,” or “confined to a wheelchair.” Given that Flanders later became an advocate for better accessibility in the theatre for people with disabilities, I have chosen to use the phrase “wheelchair user” instead of the older terms. The ableism in reviews and notes about Flanders is hard to read today. Christopher Driver, in a review for The Guardian even went as far to state that Flanders never left his wheelchair, “though surely he could.”
Donald Swann was born in Wales in a multicultural and highly cultured household. His parents were both born in Russia, though his father was a British national, and his mother was a Muslim from southern Russia in what is now Turkmenistan. HIs parents met whilst both serving in medical units in Kiev, and fled Russia in 1919 following the revolution. Swann was educated at Dulwich preparatory school and Westminster School, and he also studied piano and composition at the Royal College of Music. During the war, Swann registered as a conscientious objector and served with the Friends' Ambulance Unit in Egypt, Palestine, and Greece, forming a lifelong passion for the music and culture of the latter.
The unlikely pair first met at Westminster School (also attended by Peter Brooks, Peter Ustinovm and, later, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Helena Bonham Carter) in 1940 where they wrote their first revue, Go to it!. According to later program notes, upon leaving school Flanders and Swann staged a revue during the Blitz, which “Except for the Windmill [was] the only show in London.”
Between 1949 and 1956, Flanders and Swann collaborated on several revues directed by Laurier Lister including the Gilbert and Sullivan parody Oranges and Lemons (1950), Penny Plain (1951), Airs on a Shoestring (1953) and Pay the Piper (1954).
Flanders and Swann first performed their own work together in 1950 at the Whistler’s Ballroom, though it wasn’t until 1956 that they decided to write and perform their own full stage show. The title, At the Drop of a Hat, reportedly came from their keen willingness to perform their material at parties.
At the Drop of a Hat opened at a London fringe venue, the New Lindsey, marking the professional acting debut for both men. Flanders was reportedly nervous about performing in a wheelchair, but the response to the show was incredibly warm. The revue was simple, featuring only the two men, a piano, and a lamp.
Songs from the revue included “A Transport of Delight,” “Song of Reproduction,” “The Youth of the Heart” (lyric by Sydney Carter), “Greensleeves,” “Sea Fever,” “A Gnu,” “Too Many Cookers,” “Vanessa,” “Je Suis Le Tenebreux” (lyric by Gérard de Nerval), “Song for Our Time,” “A Song of the Weather,” “The Reluctant Cannibal,” “Mopy Dick” “Design for Living,” “Tried by the Centre Court,” “Misalliance,” two Greek songs - “Miranda” and “Kokoraki,” “Madeira, M’Dear?” and “The Hippopotamus.”
Michael Flanders later noted that although the program was planned out, the pair avoided using a set script in order to keep the show spontaneous.
At the Drop of a Hat transferred to the West End where it opened at the intimate Fortune Theatre in 1957 and ran for two years, playing 733 performances. It was attended by members of the Royal Family, and George Martin recorded the 50th performance live for an album which became a best-seller.
In 1959, At the Drop of a Hat played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival under the title At the Drop of a Kilt, before transferring to Broadway under its original title.
Produce by Alexander H. Cohen under the auspices of the Nine O’Clock Theatre, At the Drop of a Hat opened to rave reviews at Golden Theatre in October 1959 and ran for 216 performances.
Flanders and Swann toured the United States, performing in twenty-five states.
In 1961 At the Drop of a Hat was performed in Switzerland, and in the following two years, toured throughout the UK. In 1962, the revue was filmed at the BBC (see At the Drop of a Hat).
A sequel, At the Drop of Another Hat, premiered in London at the Royal Haymarket on October 2, 1963. The new revue featured material from the first show, along with “From Our Bestiary,” “P** P* B**** B** D******,” “Bilbo’s Song (lyric by J.R.R. Tolkein),” “Slow Train,” “Thermodynamic Duo,” “Sloth,” “More Songs for Our Time,” “In the Desert,” “Los Olividados,” “Motor Perpetuo,” “A Song of Patriotic Prejudice,” “All Gall,” “Horoscope,” “Armadillo Idyll,” “Twenty Tons of T.N.T.”, “Ill Wind (music by Mozart),” “Food for Thought,” “Prehistoric Complaint,” and “Twice Shy.”
Later, in discussing changes between the two shows in an interview for Melbourne’s The Age, Donald Swann quipped “When we opened our new show… we decided to refurbish. We put another word in the title…and a new cover on the lamp.”
Like its earlier incarnation, At the Drop of Another Hat garnered positive reviews. Critics noted the audiences’ adulation, and the charm of the performers, but also noted that the satirical humor sometimes did not have a particularly strong bite. Christoper Driver stated in The Guardian, “[the show] opened last night… to tumultuous and on the whole discriminating laughter …but by and large, their targets are the ones which all of us grumble about but never take further.” Mike Shulman in the Evening Standard described the show as “mild, pleasant, but basically innocuous entertainment” and noted “Swann-Flanders devotees like best what they already know. They should be very pleased by this bland mixture of what they had before.”
In 1964, Flanders and Swann toured a combination of the two shows in Australia (where At the Drop of a Hat had previously aired on television), New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Jospehine O’Neill, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, noted “Flanders and Swann create their ingratiatingly witty pieces in a way that is their own.”
At the Drop of Another Hat opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on December 27, 1966. As in London, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. George Oppenheimer noted, “In a season largely devoid of merriment and mainly dedicated to mediocrity, the bearded Flanders and the bespectacled Swann provide an oasis complete with palms that ache from applauding.”
Walter Kerr exalted in The New York Times “The two…couldn’t be more welcome, they couldn’t be more delightful, they couldn’t be more wanted and needed in this naughty world and this (so far) negligible season.” An uncredited review in London’s Evening Standard described it as “One of the wittiest shows of any Broadway season.”
After 105 performances, At the Drop of Another Hat closed on April 9, 1967.
It is often reported that the final Broadway performance was also the duo’s final performance together, and that after a partnership of 11 years and 1700 performances Flanders and Swann decided to “stop while they were ahead.” However, the pair reunited shortly after in May 1967 to tape the show for CBS (see Filmed Production Notes below).
Michael Flanders continued to work successfully in broadcasting until he passed away suddenly from a brain hemorrhage in 1975 at the age of 53.
Donald Swann continued composing and writing prolifically, though did not have the success he had had with Flanders. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1992, Swann died in 1994.
1994 proved to be a year of reviving interest in the pair. A “best of” compilation album, “Flanders & Swann” was released, and PBS featured rare of the duo footage from 1962 and 1967 in their August pledge drive. PBS also released Flanders & Swann, a VHS documentary featuring footage from the 1967 Broadway run. A tribute show to Flanders and Swann, Under Their Hats, played at the King’s Head Theatre in August 1994.
The 50th West End performance of “At the Drop of a Hat” was released on LP by EMI and Angel Records in 1957. The final West End performance, also recorded live, was released on LP in 1959 and again in 1960.
At the Drop of Another Hat was recorded live at the Haymarket Theatre in October 1963 and released on LP by Parlophone PMC in 1964 and Angel Records in 1966.
The Complete Flanders & Swann, a combination of At the Drop of a Hat, At the Drop of Another Hat, and The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann was released on CD in 1991.
Hat-Trick: Flanders & Swann Collectors Edition, which included both live shows along with private tapes and outtakes was released on CD in 2007.
A detailed listing of audio recordings can be found at www.donaldswann.co.uk.
A revue of topical and irreverent songs featuring British writers and performers Michael Flanders and Donald Swann.
Flanders and Swann were a popular British comedic duo whose work, as described by The Daily Telegraph, “epitomised English nonsense humour in the good-natured tradition of Punch.” The overwhelming tone used to describe the men was how affable they were were. Despite their mismatched outward appearances, Flanders the tall and bearded one, Swann the bespectacled short one, article after article describes their delightfully quirky personas, intelligence, and warmth. American writer George Oppenheimer surmised, “Flanders and Swann are the two greatly engaging, highly civilized and infinitely comic gentlemen…” In describing their brand of comedy Swann stated, “We’re confectioners, not butchers.”
Michael Flanders as a young man was, by all accounts, athletic, charming, and a promising actor. He was educated at Westminster School and Oxford College, before joining the Royal Navy in 1941. In 1943, at the age of 21, Flanders contracted polio. He spent six months in an iron lung, and another year in hospital, and as a result, became a wheelchair user.
Many sources refer to Flanders being “wheelchair bound,” or “confined to a wheelchair.” Given that Flanders later became an advocate for better accessibility in the theatre for people with disabilities, I have chosen to use the phrase “wheelchair user” instead of the older terms. The ableism in reviews and notes about Flanders is hard to read today. Christopher Driver, in a review for The Guardian even went as far to state that Flanders never left his wheelchair, “though surely he could.”
Donald Swann was born in Wales in a multicultural and highly cultured household. His parents were both born in Russia, though his father was a British national, and his mother was a Muslim from southern Russia in what is now Turkmenistan. HIs parents met whilst both serving in medical units in Kiev, and fled Russia in 1919 following the revolution. Swann was educated at Dulwich preparatory school and Westminster School, and he also studied piano and composition at the Royal College of Music. During the war, Swann registered as a conscientious objector and served with the Friends' Ambulance Unit in Egypt, Palestine, and Greece, forming a lifelong passion for the music and culture of the latter.
The unlikely pair first met at Westminster School (also attended by Peter Brooks, Peter Ustinovm and, later, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Helena Bonham Carter) in 1940 where they wrote their first revue, Go to it!. According to later program notes, upon leaving school Flanders and Swann staged a revue during the Blitz, which “Except for the Windmill [was] the only show in London.”
Between 1949 and 1956, Flanders and Swann collaborated on several revues directed by Laurier Lister including the Gilbert and Sullivan parody Oranges and Lemons (1950), Penny Plain (1951), Airs on a Shoestring (1953) and Pay the Piper (1954).
Flanders and Swann first performed their own work together in 1950 at the Whistler’s Ballroom, though it wasn’t until 1956 that they decided to write and perform their own full stage show. The title, At the Drop of a Hat, reportedly came from their keen willingness to perform their material at parties.
At the Drop of a Hat opened at a London fringe venue, the New Lindsey, marking the professional acting debut for both men. Flanders was reportedly nervous about performing in a wheelchair, but the response to the show was incredibly warm. The revue was simple, featuring only the two men, a piano, and a lamp.
Songs from the revue included “A Transport of Delight,” “Song of Reproduction,” “The Youth of the Heart” (lyric by Sydney Carter), “Greensleeves,” “Sea Fever,” “A Gnu,” “Too Many Cookers,” “Vanessa,” “Je Suis Le Tenebreux” (lyric by Gérard de Nerval), “Song for Our Time,” “A Song of the Weather,” “The Reluctant Cannibal,” “Mopy Dick” “Design for Living,” “Tried by the Centre Court,” “Misalliance,” two Greek songs - “Miranda” and “Kokoraki,” “Madeira, M’Dear?” and “The Hippopotamus.”
Michael Flanders later noted that although the program was planned out, the pair avoided using a set script in order to keep the show spontaneous.
At the Drop of a Hat transferred to the West End where it opened at the intimate Fortune Theatre in 1957 and ran for two years, playing 733 performances. It was attended by members of the Royal Family, and George Martin recorded the 50th performance live for an album which became a best-seller.
In 1959, At the Drop of a Hat played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival under the title At the Drop of a Kilt, before transferring to Broadway under its original title.
Produce by Alexander H. Cohen under the auspices of the Nine O’Clock Theatre, At the Drop of a Hat opened to rave reviews at Golden Theatre in October 1959 and ran for 216 performances.
Flanders and Swann toured the United States, performing in twenty-five states.
In 1961 At the Drop of a Hat was performed in Switzerland, and in the following two years, toured throughout the UK. In 1962, the revue was filmed at the BBC (see At the Drop of a Hat).
A sequel, At the Drop of Another Hat, premiered in London at the Royal Haymarket on October 2, 1963. The new revue featured material from the first show, along with “From Our Bestiary,” “P** P* B**** B** D******,” “Bilbo’s Song (lyric by J.R.R. Tolkein),” “Slow Train,” “Thermodynamic Duo,” “Sloth,” “More Songs for Our Time,” “In the Desert,” “Los Olividados,” “Motor Perpetuo,” “A Song of Patriotic Prejudice,” “All Gall,” “Horoscope,” “Armadillo Idyll,” “Twenty Tons of T.N.T.”, “Ill Wind (music by Mozart),” “Food for Thought,” “Prehistoric Complaint,” and “Twice Shy.”
Later, in discussing changes between the two shows in an interview for Melbourne’s The Age, Donald Swann quipped “When we opened our new show… we decided to refurbish. We put another word in the title…and a new cover on the lamp.”
Like its earlier incarnation, At the Drop of Another Hat garnered positive reviews. Critics noted the audiences’ adulation, and the charm of the performers, but also noted that the satirical humor sometimes did not have a particularly strong bite. Christoper Driver stated in The Guardian, “[the show] opened last night… to tumultuous and on the whole discriminating laughter …but by and large, their targets are the ones which all of us grumble about but never take further.” Mike Shulman in the Evening Standard described the show as “mild, pleasant, but basically innocuous entertainment” and noted “Swann-Flanders devotees like best what they already know. They should be very pleased by this bland mixture of what they had before.”
In 1964, Flanders and Swann toured a combination of the two shows in Australia (where At the Drop of a Hat had previously aired on television), New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Jospehine O’Neill, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, noted “Flanders and Swann create their ingratiatingly witty pieces in a way that is their own.”
At the Drop of Another Hat opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on December 27, 1966. As in London, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. George Oppenheimer noted, “In a season largely devoid of merriment and mainly dedicated to mediocrity, the bearded Flanders and the bespectacled Swann provide an oasis complete with palms that ache from applauding.”
Walter Kerr exalted in The New York Times “The two…couldn’t be more welcome, they couldn’t be more delightful, they couldn’t be more wanted and needed in this naughty world and this (so far) negligible season.” An uncredited review in London’s Evening Standard described it as “One of the wittiest shows of any Broadway season.”
After 105 performances, At the Drop of Another Hat closed on April 9, 1967.
It is often reported that the final Broadway performance was also the duo’s final performance together, and that after a partnership of 11 years and 1700 performances Flanders and Swann decided to “stop while they were ahead.” However, the pair reunited shortly after in May 1967 to tape the show for CBS (see Filmed Production Notes below).
Michael Flanders continued to work successfully in broadcasting until he passed away suddenly from a brain hemorrhage in 1975 at the age of 53.
Donald Swann continued composing and writing prolifically, though did not have the success he had had with Flanders. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1992, Swann died in 1994.
1994 proved to be a year of reviving interest in the pair. A “best of” compilation album, “Flanders & Swann” was released, and PBS featured rare of the duo footage from 1962 and 1967 in their August pledge drive. PBS also released Flanders & Swann, a VHS documentary featuring footage from the 1967 Broadway run. A tribute show to Flanders and Swann, Under Their Hats, played at the King’s Head Theatre in August 1994.
The 50th West End performance of “At the Drop of a Hat” was released on LP by EMI and Angel Records in 1957. The final West End performance, also recorded live, was released on LP in 1959 and again in 1960.
At the Drop of Another Hat was recorded live at the Haymarket Theatre in October 1963 and released on LP by Parlophone PMC in 1964 and Angel Records in 1966.
The Complete Flanders & Swann, a combination of At the Drop of a Hat, At the Drop of Another Hat, and The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann was released on CD in 1991.
Hat-Trick: Flanders & Swann Collectors Edition, which included both live shows along with private tapes and outtakes was released on CD in 2007.
A detailed listing of audio recordings can be found at www.donaldswann.co.uk.
Filmed Production Notes
In May 1967, shortly after the Broadway run closed, At the Drop of Another Hat was filmed in its entirety before a live audience in Studio 50 at the newly re-named Ed Sullivan Theater.
The taping was produced by Jacqueline Babbin of Talent Associates, who reportedly noted the difficulties of filming a stage production for television, stating “The idea was to keep everything simple but to give visual movement to an essentially static show.”
The revue was filmed in color with 5 cameras, and whilst the stage show’s set had featured only a piano and a lamp, the set for television included “one wing chair, one end table, four hatracks, one hat stand, and two potted palms.”
The audience was reportedly “hand-picked” for the taping, “chosen with the aid of British Information Services, local schools and publishing houses.”
Material that was deemed “too special” or “too British” was cut from the CBS special, and Flanders and Swann were given control of the cut material.
The full recording was rare, as, according to friend and fellow musician John Amis, Flanders “had a phobia about TV… He thought it would ruin their material.”
The hour-long CBS special aired in the US on December 15, 1967, and in the UK on ITV on April 30, 1968.
Reviewer Kay Gardella noted the special was “a rare hour of civilized humor, which offered something for everybody,” and that Flanders & Swann “exude a quiet inner warmth as they gracefully take you along on a tour of their incredible world of whimsy, literate lunacy and skillful satire.” Dick Du Brow was less enthusiastic, stating the “casual musical revue” was “alternately funny and flat,” whilst also claiming that “CBS-TV is to be praised for offering this decidedly different entertainment” that stood out from the “deadly dull and blandly smooth variety hours,” and spent the rest of his review praising the duo’s charm.
Footage from the 1962 BBC taping, and the 1967 CBS taping were used in pledge drive for PBS in August 1994.
At the Drop of Another Hat was released on VHS under the title The Only Flanders & Swann Video by Picture Music International in 1992. The video has been uploaded to YouTube where it is currently available to view.
In May 1967, shortly after the Broadway run closed, At the Drop of Another Hat was filmed in its entirety before a live audience in Studio 50 at the newly re-named Ed Sullivan Theater.
The taping was produced by Jacqueline Babbin of Talent Associates, who reportedly noted the difficulties of filming a stage production for television, stating “The idea was to keep everything simple but to give visual movement to an essentially static show.”
The revue was filmed in color with 5 cameras, and whilst the stage show’s set had featured only a piano and a lamp, the set for television included “one wing chair, one end table, four hatracks, one hat stand, and two potted palms.”
The audience was reportedly “hand-picked” for the taping, “chosen with the aid of British Information Services, local schools and publishing houses.”
Material that was deemed “too special” or “too British” was cut from the CBS special, and Flanders and Swann were given control of the cut material.
The full recording was rare, as, according to friend and fellow musician John Amis, Flanders “had a phobia about TV… He thought it would ruin their material.”
The hour-long CBS special aired in the US on December 15, 1967, and in the UK on ITV on April 30, 1968.
Reviewer Kay Gardella noted the special was “a rare hour of civilized humor, which offered something for everybody,” and that Flanders & Swann “exude a quiet inner warmth as they gracefully take you along on a tour of their incredible world of whimsy, literate lunacy and skillful satire.” Dick Du Brow was less enthusiastic, stating the “casual musical revue” was “alternately funny and flat,” whilst also claiming that “CBS-TV is to be praised for offering this decidedly different entertainment” that stood out from the “deadly dull and blandly smooth variety hours,” and spent the rest of his review praising the duo’s charm.
Footage from the 1962 BBC taping, and the 1967 CBS taping were used in pledge drive for PBS in August 1994.
At the Drop of Another Hat was released on VHS under the title The Only Flanders & Swann Video by Picture Music International in 1992. The video has been uploaded to YouTube where it is currently available to view.
At the Drop of Another Hat PRODUCTION CREDITS
Theatre: Studio 50, Ed Sullivan Theater
Producer: Alexander H. Cohen, David Susskind; Television: Jacqueline Babbin for Talent Associates Ltd
Music: Donald Swann
Book and Lyrics: Michael Flanders
Director: uncredited Television: Ted Kotcheff
Design: Ralph Alswang Television: Tom John
Lighting Design: Ralph Holmes
Editor: George Hartman
Stage Manager: Mortimer O’Brien
Cast:
Michael Flanders and Donald Swann
Theatre: Studio 50, Ed Sullivan Theater
Producer: Alexander H. Cohen, David Susskind; Television: Jacqueline Babbin for Talent Associates Ltd
Music: Donald Swann
Book and Lyrics: Michael Flanders
Director: uncredited Television: Ted Kotcheff
Design: Ralph Alswang Television: Tom John
Lighting Design: Ralph Holmes
Editor: George Hartman
Stage Manager: Mortimer O’Brien
Cast:
Michael Flanders and Donald Swann
Sources
Books
Articles
Websites
Other
- Dan Dietz, The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals, Rowman & Littlefield (2014)
- Thomas S. Hischak, The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage, Rowman & Littlefield (2020)
- Donald Swann, Recorded and edited by Lyn Smith, Swann’s Way: A life in Song, Heinemann (1991)
Articles
- John Amis, “Obituary: Donald Swann,” The Independent (March 25, 1994)
- D.T. Baker, “Flanders & Swann: A Transport of Delight,” Edmonton Journal (Sept 4, 1994), p. 49
- Stephen Bradshaw, “Obituary: Claudia Flanders,” The Independent (Aug 24, 1997)
- Mary Campbell, “Two British masters of music that amuses,” South Florida Sentinel (Aug 27, 1998), p.59
- Joan Crosby, “English Comics in Special,” The Ithaca Journal (Dec 16, 1967), p.35
- Barbara Delatiner, “Emmy Show Rates Emmy for Award Show,” Newsday (May 23, 1962) p.97
- Christoper Driver, “AT THE DROP OF ANOTHER HAT at the Globe,” The Guardian (Sept 30, 1965) p.9
- Dick Du Brow, “British Satirists Present ‘Different’ Musical Revue,” The Shreveport Journal (Dec 19, 1967) p.8
- Milt Freudenheim, “N.J. Standard Oil Rare Television Sponsor: It’s Quality Programs are Designed to Sell Nothing But Goodwill,” The Herald-News (June 18, 1962), p.12
- Pamela Fox, “The comic linguist,” The Age (Aug 19, 1964) p. 2
- Kay Gardella, “Smooth Sailing at Cape, Reports ABC Newscaster,” Daily News (May 23, 1962), p.66
- Kay Gardella, “Satirists Flanders & Swann Drop Another Hat Via TV,” Daily News (Dec 20, 1967) p.347
- Jack Gould, “TV: ‘At the Drop of a Hat’: Flanders and Swann Offer Revue on ‘Festival of the Performing Arts,” New York Times (May 23, 1962), p.91
- Ben Gross, “Susskind Says He’d Like to Take on Kkrushy Again,” Daily News (May 27, 1962) p.13
- Harry Harris, “Phila. Missing Superb Fare,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (June 19, 1962), p.19
- Patrick Hayward, “Remembering The Intimate Revue with Flanders & Swann,” Overtures (Nov 9, 2020)
- John Horn, “Television and Radio: ‘At the Drop of Another Hat,’” The Marion Star (April 28, 1967), p.14
- John Horn, “Taping British Satire was no ‘Drop of Hat,’” The Philadelphia Inquirer (Dec 18, 1967) p.23
- Lyn John, “Donald Swann,” Treftadaeth Cymuned Llanelli ~ Llanelli Community Heritage (undated)
- Walter Kerr, “Theater: Put-Out Zanies; Flanders and Swann Drop Another Hat,” New York Times (Dec 28, 1966), p.30
- Albin Krebs, “Michael Flanders Is Dead at 53; Humorist‐Star of ‘Drop of a Hat’” New York Times (April 16, 1975), p.41
- Gareth Lloyd Evans, “At the Drop of Another Hat at Coventry,” The Guardian (Sept 11, 1963), p.7
- George Maksian, “‘Bells’ Out: ‘Accent’ In,” Daily News (April 30, 1962), p.19
- George Maksian, “View of the Week,” Daily News (May 20, 1962), p.14
- Michael Meyer, “Flanders, Michael Henry (1922–1975), actor and lyricist.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (2004)
- New York Associated Press, “Nine o’Clock Pays Off Its Backers,” The News Tribune (June 10, 1962), p.61
- Josephine O’Neill, “Laughter from a Wheelchair: Hit shows on a bare stage with a piano,” Sydney Morning Herald (Aug 2, 1964) p.128
- Josephine O’Neill, “The comedy that grows so slowly,” Sydney Morning Herald (Nov 22, 1964) p.99
- George Oppenheimer, “Two Gifts from England,” Newsday (Jan 14, 1967) p.95
- Tim Overton, “Biography,” Flanders & Swann Online, (undated)
- Maurice Richardson, “White nights and first nights,” The Observer (June 24, 1962) p,21
- Milton Shulman, “Hysterics—At the Drop of a Familiar Joke…”, Evening Standard (Oct 3, 1963, p.4
- Dan Sullivan, “Flanders and Swann at the Drop of a Decade,” New York Times (Jan 2, 1967), p.24
- Uncredited, “Television Programmes,” Radio Times (May 31, 1957), p.13
- Uncredited, “Television Programmes,” Radio Times (Dec 6, 1957), p.11
- Uncredited, “Michael Flanders and Donald Swann: At the Drop of a Hat,” Radio Times Issue 2014, (June 16, 1962)
- Uncredited, “Television Notes,” Oakland Tribune (June 24, 1962), p.98
- Uncredited, “At the Drop of Another… Hit,” Evening Standard (Dec 28, 1966), p.13
- Uncredited, “British Satirists Plan December Hour Special,” The Shreveport Journal (Nov 24, 1967), p.42
- Uncredited, “Flanders and Swann: ‘At the Drop of Another Hat’,” Valley Times (Dec 15, 1967) p.59
- Uncredited, “Donald Swann; Obituary,” The Times (March 25, 1994), p.21
- John Warrack, “Swann, Donald Ibrahim (1923–1994), composer and pianist.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)
- Alex Witchel, “Alexander H. Cohen, Producer of 101 Theatrical Hits and Flops, Dies at 79,” New York Times (April 23, 2000), p.36
Websites
- Flanders & Swann Online, Accessed via: https://web.archive.org/web/20141129213114/http://www.nyanko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/fas/hatshow.html
- The Donald Swann Website, Accessed via: http://www.donaldswann.co.uk/hatshow.html
- Playbill, “At the Drop of Another Hat,” Accessed via: https://www.playbill.com/production/at-the-drop-of-another-hat-booth-theatre-vault-0000001715
Other
- At the Drop of a Hat programme, Accessed via: https://web.archive.org/web/20150926173936/http://www.nyanko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/fas/hatscans1.html
- The Alexander H. Cohen Papers, *T-Mss 1969-001. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Written by Luisa Lyons (July, 2021; updated Oct 2021)