A Trip to Chinatown
Encyclopedia
A Trip to Chinatown is a musical comedy
in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt, that became a silent film
featuring Anna May Wong
half a century later. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another during the run, as was fashionable for musicals of the era. The story concerns a widow who accidentally maneuvers several young suburban couples into a big city restaurant and brings romance to them and herself, as in Hello, Dolly!
After almost a year of touring, the musical opened at Broadway’s Madison Square Theater on November 9, 1891 and ran for 657 performances, or just short of two years. This was the longest-running Broadway musical in history up to that time (although London had seen a few longer runs), and it held that record until Irene
in 1919. The show was such a hit that several road companies played it throughout the country simultaneously with the Broadway production, and at one point a second company was even opened in New York while the original company was still performing on Broadway. The cast included Trixie Friganza
and Harry Conor, who introduced "The Bowery"
.
(USA) in 1859. In the 1870s, Hoyt became musical and dramatic critic of the Boston Post
. Beginning in 1883, he began a career as a playwright
, producing a series of twenty farcical comedies
(roughly one per year until his death) and a comic opera
. Hoyt had his own theater, the Madison Square Theater, where A Trip to Chinatown was performed.
A Trip to Chinatown was Hoyt's 10th play. Hoyt's plays emphasized individualized characters drawn from the everyday experiences of ordinary people. Most of his plays were non-musical farces. Two of the songs from the show are still known, "The Bowery" and "Reuben and Cynthia." There were many interpolations of songs into A Trip to Chinatown due to the many touring companies, the most famous being Charles K. Harris
's "After the Ball
," which was not part of the 1891 Broadway production but became a big hit and was later interpolated into Show Boat
to exemplify the 1890s style.
Versions of the script can be found in the 1941 Princeton University Press collection, Five Plays by Charles Hoyt edited by Douglas L. Hunt. In addition the George Washington University has microfiche copies of three versions of Hoyt’s script, which changed as the cast changed, and differed from tour to tour.
, starring Margaret Livingston
and featuring Anna May Wong
and Charles Farrell
. The screenplay was by Beatrice Van
, based on Hoyt's book, and the film was directed by Robert P. Kerr
.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt, that became a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
featuring Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
half a century later. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another during the run, as was fashionable for musicals of the era. The story concerns a widow who accidentally maneuvers several young suburban couples into a big city restaurant and brings romance to them and herself, as in Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
After almost a year of touring, the musical opened at Broadway’s Madison Square Theater on November 9, 1891 and ran for 657 performances, or just short of two years. This was the longest-running Broadway musical in history up to that time (although London had seen a few longer runs), and it held that record until Irene
Irene (musical)
Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney.Based on Montgomery's play Irene O'Dare, it is set in New York City's Upper West Side and focuses on immigrant shop assistant Irene O'Dare, who is introduced to Long Island's high society when...
in 1919. The show was such a hit that several road companies played it throughout the country simultaneously with the Broadway production, and at one point a second company was even opened in New York while the original company was still performing on Broadway. The cast included Trixie Friganza
Trixie Friganza
Trixie Friganza , born Delia O’Callaghan, began her career as an operetta soubrette, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act on the vaudeville circuit....
and Harry Conor, who introduced "The Bowery"
The Bowery (Song)
The Bowery is a song from the musical A Trip to Chinatown with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Charles H. Hoyt. The musical toured the country for several years, then opened on Broadway in 1891.-Description:...
.
Background
Hoyt was born in Concord, New HampshireConcord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
(USA) in 1859. In the 1870s, Hoyt became musical and dramatic critic of the Boston Post
Boston Post
The Boston Post was the most popular daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The Post was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G...
. Beginning in 1883, he began a career as a playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, producing a series of twenty farcical comedies
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
(roughly one per year until his death) and a comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
. Hoyt had his own theater, the Madison Square Theater, where A Trip to Chinatown was performed.
A Trip to Chinatown was Hoyt's 10th play. Hoyt's plays emphasized individualized characters drawn from the everyday experiences of ordinary people. Most of his plays were non-musical farces. Two of the songs from the show are still known, "The Bowery" and "Reuben and Cynthia." There were many interpolations of songs into A Trip to Chinatown due to the many touring companies, the most famous being Charles K. Harris
Charles K. Harris
Charles Kassel Harris was a well regarded American songwriter of popular music. During his long career, he advanced the relatively new genre, publishing more than 300 songs, often deemed by admirers as the "king of the tear jerkers"...
's "After the Ball
After the Ball (song)
After the Ball is a popular song written in 1891 by Charles K. Harris. The song is a classic waltz in 3/4 time. In the song, an older man tells his niece why he has never married. He saw his sweetheart kissing another man at a ball, and he refused to listen to her explanation...
," which was not part of the 1891 Broadway production but became a big hit and was later interpolated into Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
to exemplify the 1890s style.
Versions of the script can be found in the 1941 Princeton University Press collection, Five Plays by Charles Hoyt edited by Douglas L. Hunt. In addition the George Washington University has microfiche copies of three versions of Hoyt’s script, which changed as the cast changed, and differed from tour to tour.
Synopsis
A group of young people in San Francisco tell their wealthy guardian, Uncle Ben, that they are going sightseeing in Chinatown. They really plan a night out on the town. They have engaged a chaperone, Mrs. Guyer, but her letter of acceptance is received by Uncle Ben, who misinterprets it as an invitation to a rendezvous. At "The Riche", the restaurant mentioned in the letter, where the young people have booked a table, he gets drunk. He does not see the young couples or Mrs. Guyer and it turns out that he has forgotten his wallet, which leads to humorous complications. Ben is unable to scold the young people for deceiving him, as they point out that they know about his own night out.Roles and original Broadway cast
- Welland Strong (a man with one foot in the grave) - Harry Conor
- Ben Gay (a wealthy bachelor) - George A. Beane, Jr.
- Tony Gay (his ward) - Avery Strakosch
- Rashleigh Gay (his nephew) - Lloyd Wilson
- Norman Blood (chum of Rashleigh) - Arthur Pacie
- Willie Grow (a gilded youth - a trouser role) - Blanche Arkwright (later Queenie Vassar)
- Noah Heap (waiter) - Harry Gilfoil
- Slavin Payne (Ben's servant) - Harry Gilfoil
- Turner Swift (runs the ice crusher) - W. S. Lewis
- Isabel Dame (friend of the Gays) - Geraldine McCann
- Hoffman Price (manager of Cliff House) - Frank E. Morsk
- Mrs. Guyer (a widow) - Anna Boyd
- Flirt (Mrs. Guyer's maid) - Patrice
- Dancers
Musical numbers
- The BoweryThe Bowery (Song)The Bowery is a song from the musical A Trip to Chinatown with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Charles H. Hoyt. The musical toured the country for several years, then opened on Broadway in 1891.-Description:...
- Reuben and Cynthia
- The Widow
- Push Dem Clouds Away (an African cantata)
- The Chaperone
- Out for a Racket
- After the BallAfter the Ball (song)After the Ball is a popular song written in 1891 by Charles K. Harris. The song is a classic waltz in 3/4 time. In the song, an older man tells his niece why he has never married. He saw his sweetheart kissing another man at a ball, and he refused to listen to her explanation...
- The Sunshine of Paradise Alley
- Love Me Little, Love Me Long
- Do, Do, My Huckleberry, Do (the music and chorus to this song are lost)
- Keep A-Knockin’
- Riding on the Golden Bike
- Her Eyes Don’t Shine like Diamonds
- Only One Girl in the World for Me
- Then Say Good Bye!
- She’s My Best Girl
- Back among the Old Folks Once Again
- McGee’s Back Yard
1926 Film
A silent film adaptation of the musical was released in 1926, called A Trip to ChinatownA Trip to Chinatown (film)
A Trip to Chinatown is a 1926 silent film starring Margaret Livingston. The supporting cast includes Anna May Wong and Charles Farrell. The movie was scripted by Beatrice Van from Charles Hale Hoyt's hit Broadway musical of the same name and directed by Robert P. Kerr.Livingston played the "Woman...
, starring Margaret Livingston
Margaret Livingston
Margaret Livingston was an American film actress, most notable for her work during the silent film era....
and featuring Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
and Charles Farrell
Charles Farrell
Charles Farrell was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor...
. The screenplay was by Beatrice Van
Beatrice Van
Beatrice Van was an American silent film actress. She was also a screenwriter for both silent and sound films....
, based on Hoyt's book, and the film was directed by Robert P. Kerr
Robert P. Kerr
Robert P. Kerr was an American film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 41 films between 1917 and 1928.He was born in Burlington, Colorado and died in Porterville, California from a heart attack....
.
External links
- A Trip to Chinatown at the IMDB database
- Profile and poster of the musical
- List of longest-running plays