Directed by Bretaigne Windust, the cast starred Alfred Lunt (Harry Van) and Lynn Fontanne (Irene), with Sydney Greenstreet as Dr. Waldersee and Francis Compton as Achille Weber.
The Pulitzer jury wrote: "We are absolutely in complete agreement in recommending 'Idiot's delight' ...It is a first-rate play, full of dramatic invention, and one or two of the comedy scenes have a Molierian richness.
The guests trapped in the hotel by the sudden onset of hostilities are from Germany, France and the United States, including a British couple on their honeymoon.
Sherwood's love of a good time and his anxiety about world affairs result in one of his most likable entertainments…Already it is widely known as the show in which Alfred Lunt plays the part of a third-rate hoofer and Lynn Fontanne wears an exotic blonde wig.
His leg show and frivolity in Idiot's Delight is played against the background of cannon calamity, and it concludes with a detonation of airplane bombs.