This is a rare piece of sheet music for the song "I CAN ALWAYS FIND A LITTLE SUNSHINE IN THE Y.M.C.A." written by IRVING BERLIN for the Original Broadway production of the Military Musical Revue "YIP-YIP-YAPHANK" at the Century Theatre in New York City. (The production opened August 19th, 1918 at the Century Theatre, transferred on September 2nd, 1918 to the Lexington Theatre and closed September 14th, 1918 after 32 performances.) ..... Historical background: "YIP-YIP-YAPHANK" is a 1918 musical revue by Irving Berlin. He wrote and produced the show during World War I, after he was drafted into the United States Army and was serving in the 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. The military revue was performed by the soldiers of Camp Upton. It moved to Broadway after a brief tryout at the camp. The commanding officer at Camp Upton had wanted to build a community building on the grounds of the army base, and thought that Sgt. Berlin could help raise the $35,000 needed for its construction. Berlin's song, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," an everyman song for soldiers, was the basis of a revue full of army recruits — a source of manpower available for him to use. He called his friend and co-worker Harry Ruby to join him in writing down the flurry of songs that Berlin created, including "God Bless America", which Berlin eventually omitted from the play for being too stick. In July 1918, Yip Yip Yaphank had a tryout run at Camp Upton's little Liberty Theatre, before moving on to Central Park West's Century Theatre in August. The show was typical of revues and follies, featuring acrobatics, dancers, jugglers, and featured a demonstration by Lightweight Boxing Champion Benny Leonard. Included with the performances were military drills choreographed to music by Berlin. The show had comedy, including males dressed as Ziegfeld girls, and Sgt. Berlin as the reluctant soldier not wanting to join in reveille during the "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" skit. The finale, "We're On Our Way to France", was the replacement for "God Bless America". During this act, the whole company wore their full gear, and marched out of the theater, down the aisles and out to the street. During the Century Theatre run, the "performers" stayed at an armory downtown, and usually marched right back to the armory after the evening show. In September 1918, the production had to move to the Lexington Theatre, where it eventually ended its run. On the final night, the audience saw the usual ending, with the battle-ready men marching off to "war" but with a slight diversion. After the main performers marched through the aisles, Sgt. Irving Berlin and the rest of the crew were similarly dressed and marched out of the theater. This time, the men were going off to war, actually heading to France. The play earned the U.S. Army $80,000 ($1.6 million in 2022 dollars) for Camp Upton's Community Building, though the army never had it built. Irving Berlin didn't go to France, and was listed among other great songwriters and playwrights of the time, well up to the next great war. (Wikipedia) ..... CREDITS: Book, Music and Lyrics by IRVING BERLIN ("Annie Get Your Gun", "Music Box Revues", the Marx Brothers' "The Cocoanuts", "Louisiana Purchase", "This is the Army", "Miss Liberty", "Call Me Madam", "Mr. President"); Additional Songs by H. P. DANKS and EBEN REXFORD; Staged by WILLIAM H. SMITH and J. FRANKLIN BELL; Produced by UNCLE SAM ..... DETAILS: The oversized six page piece of sheet music measures approx. 10 5/8" X 13 5/8" inches and is copyrighted 1918 by Irving Berlin, Inc., New York City ..... CONDITION: (Please Note!) There are tape repair along the inside seam and considerable edge wear to the covers. Despite these flaws, this rare piece of sheet music will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.