Owen Hall
Encyclopedia
Owen Hall was the pen name of the Irish-born 19th and early 20th century theatre writer and theatre critic James Davis when writing for the stage. He wrote the librettos for several very successful musical comedies
, including Florodora
, A Gaiety Girl
, The Geisha
and A Greek Slave
.
in 1869. One of Hall's sisters, Julia Frankau
, was a successful novelist, under the name of "Frank Danby", and the mother of the author Gilbert Frankau
and the actor Ronald Frankau
, who appeared in London
in A Country Girl
(1914 revival), The Gay Princess (1931) and a long run of 1930s and 1940s revues. Another sister, Eliza Davis Aria was a writer, journalist and long-time lover of Henry Irving
.
After devoting some years to the practice of law as a solicitor
(1874-86), Davis abandoned it in favour of journalism. The Davis family became friends with Oscar Wilde
and his family, but Davis later became a harsh critic of Wilde. He published and edited a society newspaper, "The Bat" (1885-87), and assistant editor of Galignani
's Messenger in Paris (1888-90). Davis became interested in politics and ran against Dundalk
in the election of 1890.
The change of career from critic to librettist
came after he wrote a particularly caustic review of a George Edwardes
production. The producer challenged Davis to try to do better. The result was A Gaiety Girl
(1893). Hall's satirical book included lines that jabbed in the style of an upmarket gossip columnist. The smart society back-chat was very popular with audiences and has a claim to being the first true musical comedy. A Gaiety Girl was followed by An Artist's Model
(1895). Hall's book kept the snappy dialogue of the previous work, but twinned it with a romantic plot, tacked in at the last minute when Edwardes hired the prima donna Marie Tempest
, and a role was quickly written in for her. This lucky chance set up the formula for a series of successes by Hall at Daly's Theatre
.
An Artist's Model was succeeded by The Geisha
(1896), which became the biggest international hit in musical theatre history, playing for 760 performances in its original London run and enjoying extensive international runs. The next stop for Hall, Harry Greenbank
, and Sidney Jones
was perhaps their finest work, A Greek Slave
(1898). Despite Hall's success and high salary from Edwardes, he was always in financial trouble because of his gambling and extravagant entertaining of his friends; he declared bankruptcy at the age of 29. The pseudonym "Owen Hall" was an ironic nod ('owing all') towards his extensive debts. Another of his pseudonyms was "Payne Nunn". His sister Eliza Davis Aria wrote, "As a lawyer he gave advice freely to his friends; as a racehorse owner he indulged his prodigal proclivities in the world of hangers-on; during his editorial and play-writing epochs he was lavish in his hospitality. ... [He] voiced his belief that he 'had enjoyed every experience except death and solvency.'"
(1899), for producer Tom Davis, which was set to music by the successful songwriter, Leslie Stuart
, and became an unprecedented international hit. Hall wrote two more musicals for Davis: The Silver Slipper (1901) with Stuart, and the unsuccessful The Medal and the Maid (1903), with Jones. For Edwardes, he also wrote perhaps the most delightful of all his libretti, The Girl from Kays
(1902), and The Little Cherub (1906).
Hall's non-theatrical writings included a successful novel, The Track of a Storm (1896), a mystery, Jetsam (1897), and Hernando (1902). After 1899, Hall also edited a weekly paper, "The Phoenix."
He died in Harrogate
, England, one day short of his 54th birthday.
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
, including Florodora
Florodora
Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones...
, A Gaiety Girl
A Gaiety Girl
A Gaiety Girl is an English musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall , Harry Greenbank and Sidney Jones . It opened at Prince of Wales Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes, on 14 October 1893 and ran for 413 performances. The show starred C...
, The Geisha
The Geisha
The Geisha, a story of a tea house is an Edwardian Musical Comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Philip....
and A Greek Slave
A Greek Slave
A Greek Slave is a musical comedy in two acts, first performed on 8 June 1898 at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and ran for 349 performances. The score was composed by Sidney Jones with additional songs by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross. The...
.
Life and career
Davis was born in Dublin, Ireland, in a Jewish family, the son of Hyman Davis, a photograher, and his wife Isabella. He was educated at University College, London, where he took the degree of Bachelor of LawsBachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in 1869. One of Hall's sisters, Julia Frankau
Julia Frankau
Julia Frankau, née Julia Davis was a successful novelist under the name of Frank Danby.She was the sister of Owen Hall, Harrie Davis and Eliza Davis. She was home-schooled by Laura Lafargue, the daughter of Karl Marx.She married the cigar importer Arthur Frankau...
, was a successful novelist, under the name of "Frank Danby", and the mother of the author Gilbert Frankau
Gilbert Frankau
Gilbert Frankau was a popular British novelist. He was known also for verse including a number of verse novels, and short stories....
and the actor Ronald Frankau
Ronald Frankau
Ronald Frankau was an English comedian and musician from London who started in cabarets and made his way to radio and films.-Family:...
, who appeared in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in A Country Girl
A Country Girl
A Country Girl, or, Town and Country is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank, music by Lionel Monckton and additional songs by Paul Rubens....
(1914 revival), The Gay Princess (1931) and a long run of 1930s and 1940s revues. Another sister, Eliza Davis Aria was a writer, journalist and long-time lover of Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
.
Early career
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
(1874-86), Davis abandoned it in favour of journalism. The Davis family became friends with Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and his family, but Davis later became a harsh critic of Wilde. He published and edited a society newspaper, "The Bat" (1885-87), and assistant editor of Galignani
Giovanni Antonio Galignani
Giovanni Antonio Galignani was an Italian newspaper publisher born at Brescia.After living some time in London, he went to Paris, where he started in 1800 an English library, and in 1808 a monthly publication, the Repertory of English Literature...
's Messenger in Paris (1888-90). Davis became interested in politics and ran against Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
in the election of 1890.
The change of career from critic to librettist
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
came after he wrote a particularly caustic review of a George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
production. The producer challenged Davis to try to do better. The result was A Gaiety Girl
A Gaiety Girl
A Gaiety Girl is an English musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall , Harry Greenbank and Sidney Jones . It opened at Prince of Wales Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes, on 14 October 1893 and ran for 413 performances. The show starred C...
(1893). Hall's satirical book included lines that jabbed in the style of an upmarket gossip columnist. The smart society back-chat was very popular with audiences and has a claim to being the first true musical comedy. A Gaiety Girl was followed by An Artist's Model
An Artist's Model
An Artist's Model is a two-act musical by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones, with additional songs by Joseph and Mary Watson, Paul Lincke, Frederick Ross, Henry Hamilton and Leopold Wenzel. It opened at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and...
(1895). Hall's book kept the snappy dialogue of the previous work, but twinned it with a romantic plot, tacked in at the last minute when Edwardes hired the prima donna Marie Tempest
Marie Tempest
Dame Marie Tempest DBE was an English singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".Tempest became the most famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere...
, and a role was quickly written in for her. This lucky chance set up the formula for a series of successes by Hall at Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
.
An Artist's Model was succeeded by The Geisha
The Geisha
The Geisha, a story of a tea house is an Edwardian Musical Comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Philip....
(1896), which became the biggest international hit in musical theatre history, playing for 760 performances in its original London run and enjoying extensive international runs. The next stop for Hall, Harry Greenbank
Harry Greenbank
Harry Greenbank was an English author and dramatist best known for contributing lyrics to the successful series musicals produced at Daly's Theatre by George Edwardes in the 1890s.-Life and career:...
, and Sidney Jones
Sidney Jones
James Sidney Jones , usually credited as Sidney Jones, was an English conductor and composer, most famous for producing the musical scores for a series of musical comedy hits in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods....
was perhaps their finest work, A Greek Slave
A Greek Slave
A Greek Slave is a musical comedy in two acts, first performed on 8 June 1898 at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and ran for 349 performances. The score was composed by Sidney Jones with additional songs by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross. The...
(1898). Despite Hall's success and high salary from Edwardes, he was always in financial trouble because of his gambling and extravagant entertaining of his friends; he declared bankruptcy at the age of 29. The pseudonym "Owen Hall" was an ironic nod ('owing all') towards his extensive debts. Another of his pseudonyms was "Payne Nunn". His sister Eliza Davis Aria wrote, "As a lawyer he gave advice freely to his friends; as a racehorse owner he indulged his prodigal proclivities in the world of hangers-on; during his editorial and play-writing epochs he was lavish in his hospitality. ... [He] voiced his belief that he 'had enjoyed every experience except death and solvency.'"
Music from Leslie Stuart Leslie Stuart Leslie Stuart was an English composer of early musical theatre, best known for the hit show Florodora and many popular songs. Stuart began writing songs in the late 1870s, including songs for blackface performers, such as "Lily of Laguna"; songs for musical theatre; and ballads such as "Soldiers... and Owen Hall's Florodora Florodora Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones... (1899) |
Florodora and later years
Hall wrote a musical FlorodoraFlorodora
Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones...
(1899), for producer Tom Davis, which was set to music by the successful songwriter, Leslie Stuart
Leslie Stuart
Leslie Stuart was an English composer of early musical theatre, best known for the hit show Florodora and many popular songs. Stuart began writing songs in the late 1870s, including songs for blackface performers, such as "Lily of Laguna"; songs for musical theatre; and ballads such as "Soldiers...
, and became an unprecedented international hit. Hall wrote two more musicals for Davis: The Silver Slipper (1901) with Stuart, and the unsuccessful The Medal and the Maid (1903), with Jones. For Edwardes, he also wrote perhaps the most delightful of all his libretti, The Girl from Kays
The Girl from Kays
The Girl from Kays is an English musical comedy with music by Ivan Caryll, Paul Rubens, Wilhelm Meyer Lutz and Edward Jones, book by Cecil Cook and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Claude Aveling...
(1902), and The Little Cherub (1906).
Hall's non-theatrical writings included a successful novel, The Track of a Storm (1896), a mystery, Jetsam (1897), and Hernando (1902). After 1899, Hall also edited a weekly paper, "The Phoenix."
He died in Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, England, one day short of his 54th birthday.
External links
- Hall's Broadway credits at the IBDB database
- Kenrick, John. Profile of Hall at Musicals101.com