page_title: Adele Astaire
section_title: Broadway career (1917–1932)
hierarchical_section_title: Adele Astaire / Broadway career (1917–1932)
caption_attribution_description: English: Adele Astaire and Tilly Losch in The Band Wagon (musical), 1931
context_page_description: Adele Astaire, was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville performer at the age of nine, Astaire built a successful performance career with her younger brother, Fred Astaire.
  The brother and sister act initially worked their way through vaudeville circuits, finally achieving a breakthrough with their first Broadway roles in 1917. Astaire became known for her talents as a skilled dancer and comedienne, starring in hit Broadway musicals such as Lady, Be Good!, Funny Face and The Band Wagon. The siblings took several of their more popular shows to Britain's West End during the 1920s, where they were soon international celebrities, meeting members of the British royal family and prominent figures from contemporary arts and literature circles.
  In 1932, after a 27-year partnership with her brother, Astaire retired from the stage to marry Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish, the second son of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire. The couple moved to the Cavendish estate of Lismore Castle in Ireland.
context_section_description: In 1917, after Fred carefully purchased a full-page advertisement on the back cover of Variety, the siblings landed a part in their first Broadway show, Lee Shubert's Over the Top. Adele was 21, while her brother was 18. The show opened on November 28, 1917, and the siblings received a weekly salary of $250 (equivalent to $5000 in 2019) for their assigned dance numbers and comedy skits. A critic from The New York Globe commented that the dancing of Adele and her brother was "one of the prettiest features of the show", and the production ran for 78 performances.
  The following year, Adele and Fred performed in The Passing Show of 1918, which ran for 125 performances. Astaire was given an opening solo, singing "I Really Can't Make My Feet Behave". In November 1919, the Astaires appeared in the operetta Apple Blossoms, beginning a professional relationship with Broadway producer Charles Dillingham. The show was successful, running for 256 performances. Fritz came to see his children perform. Their weekly salary was now $550, which rose to $750 (equivalent to $9300 & $9600 in 2019) when Apple Blossoms began its post-Broadway tour from September 1920 to April 1921. Unlike her brother, who struggled with shyness offstage, Astaire's outgoing personality made it easy for her to speak to reporters.
  Although their next show The Love Letter was a commercial flop, opening in October 1921 and running for only 31 performances, Astaire and her brother continued to garner appreciation from audiences, and here they introduced what would become one of their signature exit moves. the Runaround. Standing shoulder to shoulder at the end of a dance number, the siblings would put their arms out as if grasping the handlebars of bicycles, running around the stage together in ever-growing circles while the orchestra played "a series of oompahs". At last, Adele and Fred would disappear into the wings. Audiences loved it. Fred attributed the popularity of the Runaround to his sister's comedic timing and expressions, and the siblings subsequently found ways to incorporate the move into almost every other show throughout their career together. While visiting New York for the first time that year, English playwright Noël Coward saw The Love Letter and was impressed by the Astaires. He came to meet them backstage, urging them to consider taking their performances to London.
  In 1922, Adele and Fred landed their first proper speaking roles in the Broadway musical For Goodness Sake, playing the best friends of the lead characters. They received positive reviews from critics, and sang the hit song "The Whichness of the Whatness", concluding the piece with their increasingly popular Runaround exit. With the success of this show, Fred began taking more of a lead in choreographing their routines. The siblings finally received star billing in the short-lived The Bunch and Judy, earning $1000 (equivalent to $15300 in 2019) weekly. Drama critic Heywood Broun called the Astaires "the most graceful and charming young dancers in the world of musical comedy".
  As the siblings continued to rise professionally, Adele quickly became known for her comedic expressions and "adorably squeaky" soprano voice. She often ad-libbed onstage. She gave high-spirited performances, delighting audiences with her zany humor; Fred developed his own more understated style in response, dancing with a characteristic "pretence of nonchalance" that he would carry on using throughout his dancing career. Adele and her brother developed a dancing style involving complex steps performed rapidly and gracefully, often compared to "a whirlwind" by critics and audiences.
  After the idea of performing overseas was suggested, Adele and Fred agreed to take For Goodness Sake (renamed Stop Flirting) to the West End in London. On May 30, 1923, their show opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre and received a standing ovation. Stop Flirting ran for 418 performances. It moved to the Queen's Theatre, followed by the Strand Theatre. The Prince of Wales attended the show ten times, and both he and his brother the Duke
caption: Astaire (left) with The Band Wagon co-star Tilly Losch
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