Wang (musical)
Encyclopedia
Wang is a musical
(the sheet music indicates "comic opera
") with music by Woolson Morse
and book and lyrics by J. Cheever Goodwin. It was first produced in New York in 1891 by DeWolf Hopper
and his company and featured Della Fox
.
The show mixed comic opera material with burlesque and was set in Siam. The music does not have "Oriental" color, except for the title character's first entrance – on a "full scale imitation elephant" – and the wedding and coronation marches. The show was termed an "operatic burletta
" because of the burlesque convention of having Fox wearing tights.
The show was revived at the Lyric Theatre
, running from April 18, 1904 through June 4, 1904, for 57 performances. The production was produced and directed by Sam S. Shubert
and again starred Hopper and Singer, with Madge Lessing as Mataya.
The song "The Man with an Elephant on his Hands" was later adapted into an unlicensed and short-lived 1905 comic strip series by Everrett E. Lowry.
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...
(the sheet music indicates "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...
") with music by Woolson Morse
Woolson Morse
Henry Woolson Morse , usually credited as Woolson Morse, was an American composer of musical theatre. Often working with librettist J. Cheever Goodwin, he produced several scores for Broadway productions in the 1890s....
and book and lyrics by J. Cheever Goodwin. It was first produced in New York in 1891 by DeWolf Hopper
DeWolf Hopper
William DeWolf Hopper was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. Although a star of the musical stage, he was best-known for performing the popular baseball poem Casey at the Bat. -Biography:...
and his company and featured Della Fox
Della Fox
Della May Fox was an American singing comedienne, whose popularity peaked in the 1890s when the diminutive Fox appeared opposite the very tall De Wolf Hopper in several musicals. She also toured successfully with her own company.-Biography:Fox was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of...
.
The show mixed comic opera material with burlesque and was set in Siam. The music does not have "Oriental" color, except for the title character's first entrance – on a "full scale imitation elephant" – and the wedding and coronation marches. The show was termed an "operatic burletta
Burletta
A burletta , also sometimes burla or burlettina, is a musical term generally denoting a brief comic Italian opera...
" because of the burlesque convention of having Fox wearing tights.
Production history
Wang premiered at the now-demolished Broadway Theatre, New York City, on May 4, 1891 and closed on Oct 3, 1891 after 151 performances. The cast featured Helen Beresford as Nannette, Della Fox as Mataya, DeWolf Hopper as Wang, Samuel Reed as Colonel Fracasse, and Marion Singer as La Veuve Frimousse.The show was revived at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (New York)
The Lyric Theatre was a prominent Broadway theatre built in 1903 in Manhattan, New York City in the 42nd Street Theatre District. It had two entrances, one at 213 West 42nd Street and another at 214-26 West 43rd Street and was one of the few New York houses that had two formal entrances. In 1934,...
, running from April 18, 1904 through June 4, 1904, for 57 performances. The production was produced and directed by Sam S. Shubert
Sam S. Shubert
Samuel S. Shubert was a Polish-born American producer and theatre owner/operator. He was the middle son in the Shubert family and was raised in Syracuse, New York.-Biography:...
and again starred Hopper and Singer, with Madge Lessing as Mataya.
Songs
The songs in Wang (according to the published music, which varies from the song list shown at the Internet Broadway Database listing for the 1891 production) are:- A Pretty Girl, A Summer Night – Mataya
- Are Then The Vows –
- Ask the Man in the Moon – Wang, Mataya and Colonel Fracasse
- Baby, Baby, Dance My Darling Baby
- Eminent Regent Wang – Wang and Chorus
- Every Rose Must Have Its Thorn
- If You Love Me As I Love You? (duet) – Wang and La Veuve Frimousse
- Kissing Quartet
- The Man With an Elephant On His Hands – Wang
- Mary! Mary! Why So Contrary? – Gillette and Girls
- No Matter What Others May Say (trio)
- To Be a Lone Widow – La Veuve Frimousse
- Where Are You Going My Pretty Maid? (duet) – Mataya and Marie
The song "The Man with an Elephant on his Hands" was later adapted into an unlicensed and short-lived 1905 comic strip series by Everrett E. Lowry.