''Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim'' (sometimes called ''Frankenstein, or The Model Man'') is a
musical burlesque in three acts written by
Richard Henry (a pseudonym of
Richard Butler and
Henry Chance Newton). The music was composed by
Meyer Lutz
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and Victorian burlesque, burlesques of well-known works.
Emigrating to the UK at the age o ...
. The piece is a burlesque loosely based on the 1818
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
novel ''
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus '' and the
Adelphi Theatre drama based on the novel.
Opening at the
Gaiety Theatre, London on 24 December 1887, the production was a flop, closing after a week. It starred
Nellie Farren as Dr. Frankenstein and
Fred Leslie as a monster who is in touch with his feminine side. The Victorian audiences found the piece too feminist in tone. In addition, the public was annoyed at George Edwardes, who had reduced the size of the inexpensive "pit" in favour of more "stalls". The piece also featured
Marion Hood as the doctor's love interest Tartina;
E. J. Lonnen as the vampire Visconti; Emily Cross as Mary Ann;
Sylvia Grey as Tamburina, goddess of the sun;
Sybil Grey as Vanilla; the dancer
John D'Auban as Demonico; and
Frank Thornton
Frank Thornton Ball (15 January 192116 March 2013), professionally known as Frank Thornton, was an English actor. He was best known for playing Captain Peacock in the TV sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' and its sequel '' Grace & Favour'' (''A ...
as Schwank.
Plot
''Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim'' features a convoluted plot with Act I featuring a
golem
A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...
like creature who kidnaps Frankenstein in Germany; Act II featuring Frankenstein as a prisoner of Spanish bandits who eventually becomes their leader; and Act III beginning in the Vampire's Club and then after several misadventures ultimately concluding in the
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
with a scene of dancing sailors and bears; one of whom is Frankenstein in disguise.
Background
This type of work, the
Victorian burlesque
Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...
, was popular in Britain at the time. Other examples include ''
The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole'' (1877), ''Blue Beard'' (1882), ''Ariel'' (1883, by
F. C. Burnand), ''
Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed'' (1883), ''
Little Jack Sheppard'' (1885), ''
Monte Cristo Jr.'' (1886), ''
Miss Esmeralda'' (1887), ''Mazeppa'', ''
Faust up to Date'' (1888), ''
Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué'' (1888), ''
Carmen up to Data'' (1890), and ''Don Juan'' (1892, with lyrics by
Adrian Ross
Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific English writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th ...
).
John Hollingshead had managed the Gaiety Theatre from 1868 to 1886 as a venue for variety, continental
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
, light comedy, and numerous musical burlesques composed or arranged by the theatre's music director,
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz. Hollingshead called himself a "licensed dealer in legs, short skirts, French adaptations,
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, taste and musical glasses."
[Arthur Lloyd Music Hall site (on Gaiety) ''Cuttings'']
accessed 01 Mar 2007 In 1886, Hollingshead ceded the management of the theatre to George Edwardes, whom he had hired in 1885. Edwardes expanded the burlesque format from one act to full-length pieces with original music by Lutz, instead of scores compiled from popular tunes, and choreography by the theatre's dance-master,
John D'Auban.
Nellie Farren, as the theatre's "principal boy," and
Fred Leslie starred at the Gaiety for over 20 years. Leslie wrote many of its pieces under his pseudonym, "A. C. Torr". In the early 1890s, as Burlesque went out of fashion, Edwardes changed the focus of the theatre from musical burlesque to the new genre of
Edwardian musical comedy.
[Ganzl, Kurt, "Musicals", London: Carlton (1995), p. 56 ; Hyman, Alan, "The Gaiety Years", London: Cassell (1975), p. 64 ]
Notes
References
Information about versions of ''Frankenstein'', including this burlesque*Hollingshead, John. ''Good Old Gaiety: An Historiette & Remembrance'' (1903) London:Gaity Theatre Co
*Hollingshead, John. ''Gaiety Chronicles'' (1898) A. Constable & co.: London (available onlin
here
External links
Information about Burlesque from the PeoplePlay UK websitePoster and further information from the PeoplePlay UK website
{{Frankenstein
Musicals by Meyer Lutz
1887 musicals
West End musicals
Musicals set in Germany
Musicals set in Spain
Musicals set in the Arctic
Musicals based on Frankenstein