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The Belle of New York (theatre)
Encyclopedia
The Belle of New York is a musical comedy
in two acts, with book and lyrics by Hugh Morton and music by Gustave Kerker
, about a Salvation Army
girl who reforms a spendthrift, makes a great sacrifice and finds true love.
Opening on Broadway
at the Casino Theatre on 28 September 1897, it ran for only 64 performances. It subsequently transferred to London
in 1898, where it was a major success, running for an almost unprecedented 674 performances, and became the first American musical to run for over a year in the West End
. The Standard
stated that the entire Broadway cast "numbering sixty-three persons" was brought over to London, "the largest stage troupe from the other side of the Atlantic that has ever professionally visited this country."
The show starred Edna May
, whose performance as Violet made her a star in New York and London. Postcards of her in costume became ubiquitous; more photographs of her were sold in London than of any other actress in 1898. In London, the piece opened on 12 April 1898, produced by J. C. Williamson
and George Musgrove
. The composer conducted at the opening night. The work had stiff competition in London in 1898, as other successful openings included A Greek Slave
and A Runaway Girl
.
Long runs in Paris
and Berlin
followed. There were nine West End revivals over the next four decades and a 1916 film adaptation, Salvation Joan. There was also a 1952 film version
with Fred Astaire
and Vera Ellen that replaced the original songs with a score by Johnny Mercer
and Harry Warren
. The musical was produced regularly by amateur groups from 1920 until about 1975.
In 1921, a rewritten version of the musical called The Whirl of New York
premiered on Broadway.
Ichabod Bronson is a weathy hypocrite who preaches virtue to the young, so as to leave more scope for dissipation among the old. His son, Harry, is a feather-brained spendthrift, engaged to Cora Angelique, the Queen of Comic Opera
. After a riotous stag night, Harry ends up with Fifi, the daughter of Fricot the confectioner. Ichabod discovers them together and disinherits Harry. Deserted by all but Fifi, Harry wanders into Chinatown in New York, where his fickle fancy is taken by a young Salvation Army woman, Violet Gray. She finds her vocation difficult because, though she tries to persuade men to follow her blameless ways, they persist in following her blameless figure. Ichabod discovers that Violet is the daughter of an old friend and announces his intention to leave his huge fortune to her.
Act 2
Harry has taken a job as a salesman in a candy store on Broadway. Violet and her Salvationist colleagues enter the shop, all decked out in short skirts. She knows that Harry is engaged to Cora and wants the couple to be happy. She tells Harry that she is going to change Ichabod's mind about leaving his money to her. On the beach at Narragansett
Casino, she sings a risqué French song, scandalising an audience including Ichabod. The effort of performing the song causes her to faint. Matters are further complicated by the persistent attempts of a German lunatic to kill people, particularly Ichabod, and by the quarrels of Portuguese twins, who keep trying to fight duels with one another. Harry has indeed been much influenced by Violet's virtue and has fallen for her. He explains to his father why Violet has behaved so uncharacteristically, and Ichabod forgives him his earlier sins on condition that he marries Violet, which he is now happy to do.
cast (listed below) was identical to the New York original.
Act 2
wrote, "The new burlesque, or extravaganza, at the Casino is as big and showy, as frank and noisy, as highly colored, glittering, and audacious as the best of its predecessors." It found the libretto "with no great attempt at original wit in the prose dialogue, but with a few characteristically happy turns in the lyrics," and the music "reminiscent of Offenbach
and Lecocq and Vasseur
and Sullivan
and David Braham
but it is always Kerkeresque."
The London press was welcoming but nonplussed by the piece. The leading theatrical paper The Era
wrote, "The Belle of New York is best described as bizarre. It is like nothing we have ever seen here, and it is composed of the oddest incongruities. … The music is decidedly above the average of musical play scores … it is the brightest, smartest, and cleverest entertainment of its kind that has been seen in London for a long time." The Standard also thought the music "much above the average" and "distinctly Offenbachian in melody and orchestration." The paper praised all the performers, particularly "the unctuous humour of Mr. Dan Daly as the elder Bronson, the adroitness of Mr. Harry Davenport as his scapegrace son, the chic of Miss Phyllis Rankin as the Parisian soubrette, and the sweet voice of Miss Edna May as the Salvation maiden."
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 two acts, with book and lyrics by Hugh Morton and music by Gustave Kerker
Gustave Kerker
Gustave Adolph Kerker was a German composer and conductor who made a career in London and America. He became a musical director for Broadway theatre productions and wrote the music for a series of musicals.-Life and career:...
, about a Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
girl who reforms a spendthrift, makes a great sacrifice and finds true love.
Opening on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Casino Theatre on 28 September 1897, it ran for only 64 performances. It subsequently transferred to 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 1898, where it was a major success, running for an almost unprecedented 674 performances, and became the first American musical to run for over a year in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. The Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
stated that the entire Broadway cast "numbering sixty-three persons" was brought over to London, "the largest stage troupe from the other side of the Atlantic that has ever professionally visited this country."
The show starred Edna May
Edna May
Edna May Pettie , known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian Musical Comedies.- Life and career :...
, whose performance as Violet made her a star in New York and London. Postcards of her in costume became ubiquitous; more photographs of her were sold in London than of any other actress in 1898. In London, the piece opened on 12 April 1898, produced by J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
and George Musgrove
George Musgrove
George Musgrove was an English-born Australian theatre producer.-Early life:Musgrove was born at Surbiton, England, the son of Thomas John Watson Musgrove, an accountant, and his wife, Fanny Hodson, an actress and sister of Georgiana Rosa Hodson who married William Saurin Lyster...
. The composer conducted at the opening night. The work had stiff competition in London in 1898, as other successful openings included 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...
and A Runaway Girl
A Runaway Girl
A Runaway Girl is a musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls. The composer was Ivan Caryll, with additional music by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Harry Greenbank...
.
Long runs in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
followed. There were nine West End revivals over the next four decades and a 1916 film adaptation, Salvation Joan. There was also a 1952 film version
The Belle of New York
The Belle of New York is a 1952 Hollywood musical comedy film set in New York circa 1900 and stars Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Alice Pearce, Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer...
with Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Vera Ellen that replaced the original songs with a score by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
and Harry Warren
Harry Warren
Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
. The musical was produced regularly by amateur groups from 1920 until about 1975.
In 1921, a rewritten version of the musical called The Whirl of New York
The Whirl of New York
The Whirl of New York is a Broadway musical that premiered at Winter Garden Theatre on June 13, 1921. It was an expanded and substantially re-worked version of The Belle of New York . The show was billed not as a revival but as "founded on The Belle of New York."...
premiered on Broadway.
Synopsis
Act 1Ichabod Bronson is a weathy hypocrite who preaches virtue to the young, so as to leave more scope for dissipation among the old. His son, Harry, is a feather-brained spendthrift, engaged to Cora Angelique, the Queen of 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...
. After a riotous stag night, Harry ends up with Fifi, the daughter of Fricot the confectioner. Ichabod discovers them together and disinherits Harry. Deserted by all but Fifi, Harry wanders into Chinatown in New York, where his fickle fancy is taken by a young Salvation Army woman, Violet Gray. She finds her vocation difficult because, though she tries to persuade men to follow her blameless ways, they persist in following her blameless figure. Ichabod discovers that Violet is the daughter of an old friend and announces his intention to leave his huge fortune to her.
Act 2
Harry has taken a job as a salesman in a candy store on Broadway. Violet and her Salvationist colleagues enter the shop, all decked out in short skirts. She knows that Harry is engaged to Cora and wants the couple to be happy. She tells Harry that she is going to change Ichabod's mind about leaving his money to her. On the beach at Narragansett
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 15,868 at the 2010 census, but there is a greater population in the summer. The nickname for the town is "Gansett". The town of Narragansett occupies a narrow strip of land running along the eastern bank...
Casino, she sings a risqué French song, scandalising an audience including Ichabod. The effort of performing the song causes her to faint. Matters are further complicated by the persistent attempts of a German lunatic to kill people, particularly Ichabod, and by the quarrels of Portuguese twins, who keep trying to fight duels with one another. Harry has indeed been much influenced by Violet's virtue and has fallen for her. He explains to his father why Violet has behaved so uncharacteristically, and Ichabod forgives him his earlier sins on condition that he marries Violet, which he is now happy to do.
Roles and cast
According to London press reports, the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
cast (listed below) was identical to the New York original.
- Ichabod Bronson (President of the Young Men's Rescue League and Anti Cigarette Society of Cohoes) – Dan Daly
- Harry Bronson (his son) – Harry Davenport
- Karl von Pumpernick (a polite lunatic) – J. E. Sullivan
- "Doc" Snifkins – Geo. K. Fortescue
- "Blinky Bill" McGuire (a mixed ale pugilist) – Frank Lawton
- Kenneth Mugg (low comedian of the Cora Angélique Opera Company) – Geo. A Schiller
- Count Ratsi Rattatoo (of Portugal) – William H. Sloan
- Count Patsi Rattatoo (his twin brother) – William Gould
- Billy Breeze – Edwin W. Hoff
- Mr. Twiddles (Harry's Private Secretary) – Frank Turner
- Mr. Snooper – Lionel Lawrence
- Mr. Peeper – D. T. Macdonald
- William – Albert Wallerstedt
- Violet Gray (a Salvation Army Girl) – Edna MayEdna MayEdna May Pettie , known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian Musical Comedies.- Life and career :...
(later Belle Harper) - Fifi Fricot (a little Parisienne) – Phyllis RankinPhyllis RankinPhyllis Rankin was a Broadway actress and singer from the 1880s until the 1920s. Her full name was Phyllis McKee Rankin.-Family:...
(later Toby Claude) - Kissie Fitzgarter (a music-hall dancer) – Mabel Howe
- Cora Angelique (the Queen of Comic Opera, Doc Sniffkins' daughter) – Helen Dupont
- Mamie Clancy (Bill McGuire's girl) – Paula Edwardes
- Pansy Pinns (a soubrette) – Hattie Moore
- Girls: Betty "The Bat", Myrtle Mince, Queenie Cake, Birdie Seed, Gladys Glee, Dorothy June, Marjorie May and Little Miss Flirt – Martha Franklin, Sylvia Thorne, Rose Witt, Grace Spencer, Irene Bentley, Emily Sanford, Ella Snyder and Rose Witt
- Drummer Boys – Nellie Loomis and Daisy Thompson
Musical numbers
Act 1- When a Man Is Twenty-One – Harry and Chorus
- Oh Naughty Mr. Bronson – Chorus
- When I Was Born the Stars Stood Still – Cora and Chorus
- Little Sister Kissie – Kenneth, Kissie and Blinky
- Teach Me How to Kiss, Dear – Fifi
- We Come This Way – Chorus
- The Anti-Cigarette Society – Ichabod
- Wine, Woman and Song – Harry and Chorus
- La Belle Parisienne – Fifi and Bridesmaids
- My Little Baby – Ichabod
- Pretty Little China Girl – Chorus and Corps de Ballet
- They All Follow Me – Violet and Chorus
- She Is the Belle of New York – Blinky
- She Is the Belle of New York (Reprise) – Ichabod, Harry, Violet and Chorus
Act 2
- Oh! Sonny! – Harry and Chorus
- When We Are Married – Fifi and Harry
- The Purity Brigade – Violet and Chorus
- I do, so there! – Violet, Ichabod and Chorus
- Take Me Down to Coney Island – Blinky and Mamie
- On the Beach at Narragansett – Ichabod and Others
- For the twentieth time we'll drink – Chorus
- Oh little Bo Peep – Chorus
- At ze naughty Folies Bergere – Violet
- 'For in the field – Principals
Critical reception
After the New York premiere, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "The new burlesque, or extravaganza, at the Casino is as big and showy, as frank and noisy, as highly colored, glittering, and audacious as the best of its predecessors." It found the libretto "with no great attempt at original wit in the prose dialogue, but with a few characteristically happy turns in the lyrics," and the music "reminiscent of Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
and Lecocq and Vasseur
Léon Vasseur
Félix Augustin Joseph Vasseur, known as Léon Vasseur , was a French composer, organist and conductor. While working as a cathedral organist, he turned to composing operettas and soon had a hit with La timbale d'argent . He wrote another thirty operettas but never repeated that early success...
and Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
and David Braham
David Braham
David Braham was a London-born musical theatre composer most famous for his work with Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart. He is considered as "the American Offenbach".- Early life :...
but it is always Kerkeresque."
The London press was welcoming but nonplussed by the piece. The leading theatrical paper The Era
The Era (newspaper)
The Era was a British weekly paper, published from 1838 to 1939. Originally a general newspaper, it became noted for its sports coverage, and later for its theatrical content.-History:...
wrote, "The Belle of New York is best described as bizarre. It is like nothing we have ever seen here, and it is composed of the oddest incongruities. … The music is decidedly above the average of musical play scores … it is the brightest, smartest, and cleverest entertainment of its kind that has been seen in London for a long time." The Standard also thought the music "much above the average" and "distinctly Offenbachian in melody and orchestration." The paper praised all the performers, particularly "the unctuous humour of Mr. Dan Daly as the elder Bronson, the adroitness of Mr. Harry Davenport as his scapegrace son, the chic of Miss Phyllis Rankin as the Parisian soubrette, and the sweet voice of Miss Edna May as the Salvation maiden."
External links
- The Belle of New York at the IBDB database
- Photos from The Belle of New York
- 1897 review of May's performance.
- Description of the later film version, Salvation Joan
- Listen to Edna May sing "They All Follow Me" and "The Purity Brigade" from 1900.
- The Belle of New York (starring Edna May) webpage with photo and information