http://www.filmsite.org/toph2.html The stylish backdrop for the number is suggestive of a Parisian street with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The chorus struts and lunges back and forth, and then separates in two for Jerry, who makes his way forward to the front of the stage. The chorus closes behind him as he begins the title song by reading the telegram invitation to a formal party, pretending it is a prop for his number:
I've just got an invitation through the mail.
Your presence requested this evening is formal
Top hat, white tie, and tails.
He acts out dressing for the formal affair, putting on his top hat, straightening his white tie, and brushing off his tuxedo tails, as the chorus line of top-hatted men behind him stands at a slight angle watching him:
Oh I'm puttin' on my top hat
Tyin' up my white tie
Brushin' off my tails...
I'm steppin' out, my dear
To breathe an atmosphere
That simply reeks with class
And I trust
That you'll excuse my dust
When I step on the gas
Jerry and the chorus pace to one side, and then to the other. When they pause behind him, he lets go a tap dance barrage, whirls, and then waits for the chorus to repeat the movement. Then, the chorus disappears from the stage in three directions (to the rear and two sides), leaving him to solo tap dance with his tapping cane, circling around it, and using it in creative gestures and moves. The music slows and stops, and the lights are lowered. Suddenly, he becomes a lonely man threatened by his strange and darkened, shadowy environment. He expresses many different emotions and feelings, snapping from one to another: friendliness, wariness, startled surprise, crouching to express readiness in the presence of menace, confidence.