''Gay New York'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

in two acts with both book and lyrics by Maurice Hegeman and music by Harry Trappert.Bloom, p. 363 The musical was adapted from an unidentified German-language

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

.Dietz, p. 346

Plot

Set on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

in Manhattan and on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, ''Gay New York'' is a musical farce in which the New York tailor Herman Schultz splurges on a night out on the town to the chagrin of his wife Bertha. A comedy of errors, all sorts of misadventures occur; including a series of mistaken identities involving three men with nearly identical names: Walter Brook Jennings, the owner of a Swedish massage parlor; Supreme Court Justice W. B. Jennings; and Wilbur Jennings, the son of the judge. Schultz is accompanied on his adventures by the recent Vassar College graduate Dr. Marie Darcey; the messenger boy Swifty; the famous woman golfer Donna Dean; and the celebrated dancer Mlle. Florizell. When trouble arises, the policeman Officer Ketchim becomes involved.

Performance history

''Gay New York'' was a successful "road musical" created as a starring vehicle for Dan Mason. The production was initially organized by the theatrical impresario Gus Hill and began touring the MidWest and Eastern portions of the United States in the autumn of 1905.Eckhardt, p. 49 However, by the time the touring production reached Broadway's

Murray Hill Theatre The Murray Hill Theatre is a Christian music venue located in Jacksonville, Florida. It is an independent, 501(c) non-profit charitable organization that is not affiliated with any church or denomination. It first opened as a west side movie t ...

in February 1906 there was no mention of Hill's involvement and Charles E. Barton was listed the show's producer and M. L. Heckert as director. ''Gay New York'' played only eight performances at the Murray Hill Theatre from February 5, 1906, through February 10, 1906, and then continued on its national tour elsewhere. The Broadway cast included Dan Mason as Herman Schultz; Louise Sanford as Bertha Schultz; Kathryn Bartlett as Marie Darcey, M.D.; Dan W. Mack as "Swifty"; Lillian Hoerlein as Mlle. Florizell; Ed Brennan as Walter Brook Jennings; Theodore S. Peters as the Honorable W. B. Jennings; Edward B. Adams as Wilbur Jennings; Violet Rio as Donna Dean; William Butler as Officer Ketchim; Leah Keinz as Julia Schultz; Lulu Lee as Dolly Van Tassel; Charles E. Foreman as Frank Swift; Nellie Cameron as Marjorie Darje; Joseph F. Willard as Sam; and Bessie Bartell as Polly Primrose. The show's sets were designed by

Ernest Albert Ernest Albert, born Ernest Albert Brown, (August 15, 1857 – March 25, 1946) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, and scenic designer. He was a prolific scenic designer, first in St. Louis and Chicago and then on Broadway. He is conside ...

and C. W. Valentine, and the costumes were designed by Will R. Barnes, Frank Hayden and J. Henry Rowley.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*{{IBDB show, id=414527 1905 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals set in New York City