The musical opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on November 1, 1951, and closed on October 4, 1952, after 350 performances.

The original cast co-starred Rose Marie, Lindy Doherty, Jack Albertson, Bob Scheerer and Ted "Sport" Morgan.

As part of his campaign to court Sally, Jerry gets Cliff Lane, the tenor of his TV company, to sing to her over the phone.

"[2] The Life magazine reviewer wrote that "On Broadway today 'Top Banana' is the name of a new rough-and-tumble musical show, which has catapulted Phil Silvers into the small, exalted company of great stage zanies.

"[4] Ethan Mordden wrote that Silvers "took four of the funniest minutes in musical comedy history trying to teach a bewildered ingenue how to pull off a commercial, cajoling, hectoring, professorial, puerile, in audition, in tirade.