Glen MacDonough
Encyclopedia
Glen MacDonough was a US American writer, lyricist and librettist. He was the son of theater manager Thomas B. MacDonough and actress/author Laura Don. Glen MacDonough married Margaret Jefferson in 1896 in Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, USA.
MacDonough is best-remembered today as the librettist of Victor Herbert's
operetta, Babes in Toyland
(1903). MacDonough started out as a feature/human interest journalist in New York City, and according to one source (Atlanta Constitution, Feb. 4, 1894), "...four years ago [MacDonough] was a reporter earning 15 to 20 dollars a week...but was rapidly advanced in salary and prominence. In one year on the New York Advertiser, he wrote 1,008 short stories...He [then] determined to abandon journalism and turn to the drama for a livelihood..."
The Prodigal Father (1892) is MacDonough's first work that received any note in reviews of the day. It was a comedy with songs, a form generally called "musical extravaganzas" at the time. His second work, The Algerian, (1993), was a collaboration with prominent songwriter, Reginald DeKoven. Much of the 1890s were taken up with writing farces and comedies or the book and song lyrics to a string of musical comedies. These musical comedies include Miss Dynamite (1894), Delmonico's at 6 (1895) and a number of others. MacDonough's name is associated with more than two dozen plays and musical works. Most of them have become obscure with the passage of time, but some—besides Babes in Toyland—are worthy of mention and present certain points of historical interest.
That is: He wrote the lyrics for the operetta, Chris and the Wonderful Lamp
(1899), with music by march king, John Phillip Sousa, a work that undergoes periodic revival even today. MacDonough was also one of the many lyricists called to help out in the first musical production of Frank Baum
's The Wizard of Oz
(1902). Between 1896 and 1909, MacDonough collaborated with Victor Herbert on three other operettas besides Babes in Toyland: It Happened in Nordland (1905), Wonderland
(1905), and The Rose of Algeria (1909). MacDonough was also the American adapter of Johann Strauss'
last work, Vienna Life (1901), and of Franz Lehar's
The Count of Luxembourg
(1912).
Glen MacDonough wrote continuously until the year before his death. His last work was in 1923, within Four Walls, a play.
ISBN-13:978-0-19-533533-0
The Cambridge Companion to the Musical, 2nd Edition, Publication date: May 2008. ISBN 9780521862387
The Atlanta Constitution, January 1, 1894; February 4, 1894.
The Decatur Review. October 19, 1892.
Cedar Rapids Evening Gazzette, December 16, 1892.
The Bost0n Daily Globe, October 3, 1893; September 29, 1894.
Newark Daily Advocate, March 3, 1995.
MacDonough is best-remembered today as the librettist of Victor Herbert's
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
operetta, Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Babes in Toyland is an operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough , which wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a Christmas-themed musical extravaganza. The creators wanted to cash in on the extraordinary success of The Wizard of Oz,...
(1903). MacDonough started out as a feature/human interest journalist in New York City, and according to one source (Atlanta Constitution, Feb. 4, 1894), "...four years ago [MacDonough] was a reporter earning 15 to 20 dollars a week...but was rapidly advanced in salary and prominence. In one year on the New York Advertiser, he wrote 1,008 short stories...He [then] determined to abandon journalism and turn to the drama for a livelihood..."
The Prodigal Father (1892) is MacDonough's first work that received any note in reviews of the day. It was a comedy with songs, a form generally called "musical extravaganzas" at the time. His second work, The Algerian, (1993), was a collaboration with prominent songwriter, Reginald DeKoven. Much of the 1890s were taken up with writing farces and comedies or the book and song lyrics to a string of musical comedies. These musical comedies include Miss Dynamite (1894), Delmonico's at 6 (1895) and a number of others. MacDonough's name is associated with more than two dozen plays and musical works. Most of them have become obscure with the passage of time, but some—besides Babes in Toyland—are worthy of mention and present certain points of historical interest.
That is: He wrote the lyrics for the operetta, Chris and the Wonderful Lamp
Chris and the Wonderful Lamp
Chris and the Wonderful Lamp is an operetta in four acts by John Philip Sousa with libretto and song lyrics by Glen MacDonough . Of the nine operettas that Sousa wrote between 1885 and 1909, Chris and the Wonderful Lamp is number 7, chronologically...
(1899), with music by march king, John Phillip Sousa, a work that undergoes periodic revival even today. MacDonough was also one of the many lyricists called to help out in the first musical production of Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...
(1902). Between 1896 and 1909, MacDonough collaborated with Victor Herbert on three other operettas besides Babes in Toyland: It Happened in Nordland (1905), Wonderland
Wonderland
-Literature:*Wonderland , the setting of Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*Wonderland , a 1971 novel by Joyce Carol Oates...
(1905), and The Rose of Algeria (1909). MacDonough was also the American adapter of Johann Strauss'
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
last work, Vienna Life (1901), and of Franz Lehar's
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based loosely on the German original, entitled "Der Graf von Luxemburg", which had premiered in Vienna in 1909....
(1912).
Glen MacDonough wrote continuously until the year before his death. His last work was in 1923, within Four Walls, a play.
Sources
Hischak, Thomas S. The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. Oxford University Press. USA.ISBN-13:978-0-19-533533-0
The Cambridge Companion to the Musical, 2nd Edition, Publication date: May 2008. ISBN 9780521862387
The Atlanta Constitution, January 1, 1894; February 4, 1894.
The Decatur Review. October 19, 1892.
Cedar Rapids Evening Gazzette, December 16, 1892.
The Bost0n Daily Globe, October 3, 1893; September 29, 1894.
Newark Daily Advocate, March 3, 1995.
External links
- http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=5921 at the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....