''Lost, Strayed or Stolen'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

in four acts with music by

Woolson Morse Henry Woolson Morse (February 24, 1858 – May 3, 1897), 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 ...

and words by J. Cheever Goodwin, adapted from the French farce ''Le baptême du petit Oscar'' by

Eugène Grangé Eugène Grangé (16 December 1810 – 1 March 1887) was a French playwright, librettist, chansonnier and goguettier. Biography The son of Pierre-Joseph Basté and Louise-Thérèse Grangé, Pierre-Eugène Basté was born in rue Beautreillis ...

and Victor Bernard. The story concerns a missing child and its nursemaid, three competing potential godfathers and an opera diva. It was produced at the

Fifth Avenue Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In 1877, ...

in New York City on September 16, 1896, and ran with success. It was directed by Ben Teal, the musical director was John McGhie and dances in act 4 were arranged by Rose Becket. The show was made into a 1908 film of the same name.

Background

One of the first shows created for the

Theatrical Syndicate Starting in 1896, the Theatrical Syndicate was an organisation that in the United States that controlled the majority of bookings in the country's leading theatrical attractions. The six-man group was in charge of theatres and bookings. Beginnin ...

, it had its premiere in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on June 15, 1896. Jennie Goldthwaite was originally scheduled to play the female lead, Rose D'Ete, but she became indisposed and was relieved by

Georgia Caine Georgiana Caine (October 30, 1876 – April 4, 1964) was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in more than 80 films in her 51-year career. Early career Born in San Francisco, California in 1876, the daughter of two Shak ...

, who had been assigned the role of the nursemaid. After Caine replaced Goldthwaite, Florence Thornton was hired to play the nursemaid. Subsequent to its New York run, the musical toured, opening at the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Theatre, on April 12, 1897. It eventually returned to New York at the

Harlem Opera House Harlem Opera House was a US opera house located at 211 West 125th Street, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by architect John B. McElfatrick, it was built in 1889 by Oscar Hammerstein; it was his first theater ...

in December 1897. It also played in London, at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in 1897, featuring

Decima Moore Lilian Decima, Lady Moore-Guggisberg, CBE (11 December 1871 – 18 February 1964), better known by her stage name Decima Moore, was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Compa ...

, with dances by

John D'Auban Frederick John D'Auban (1842 – 15 April 1922) was an English dancer, choreographer and actor of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he is best remembered as the c ...

Plot

Act 1, in Bidart's parlor salesrooms

The musical opens with the christening of a baby boy, son of Bidart, a Parisian florist. He has invited a relative to be the godfather. Unknown to him, his wife and mother-in-law have also invited people to be the godfather. To further complicate matters, the child's nurse, while strolling in the park with the baby, was speaking to an admirer while a policeman took the child away, and now returns tearfully revealing the child is missing. The act ends with all going to search for the child.

Act 2, in the 22nd barracks at Pepinière

Since the nursemaid was speaking to a policeman, Bidart and company have arrived at the barracks of the 22nd Regiment. Circumstances force Bidart and his party to wear uniforms, where they are mistaken for undisciplined members of the regiment. Unseen, one of the policemen returns the baby to the nursemaid and they depart. This occurs before Bidart and party realize, and they continue their search. Meanwhile, one of the potential godfathers drops out.

Act 3, in the boudoir of Rose d'Ete

The nursemaid is the employee of Rose d'Ete, a famous Parision

opera bouffe Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

prima donna, who supposedly now has the child. When Bidart and his party enter to search for the baby, their identities are confused with those of Rose d'Ete's paramour; when the paramour arrives they pretend they are workmen. They finally learn that the baby has been taken back to the park where he was originally lost. The second of the potential godfathers drops out.

Act 4, in a corner of the gardens of the Luxembourg

The child has been traced to the gardens of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. While Bidart searches, the remaining potential godfather gets into trouble by claiming and endeavoring to kidnap a baby and pretend it is the missing one. The climax occurs at the entrance of the christening procession: to the surprise of the three potential godfathers, the baby has been found and christened in their absence.

Cast

*Bidart, a florist: Louis Harrison *Chachignon, from the south of France: M. A. Kennedy *Courte Botte de Roquencourt, of the ''ancien régime'': Joseph Herbert *Galampois, the family notary: Claude Brooke *Jolivet, a poor relative: John Gilroy *Honorine Girardin, the godmother: Fannie Bulkeley *Catherine, a wet nurse: Rose Beaudet *Pauline: Caroline Leigh *Gaston de Champignol, an aristocratic conscript: Cyril Scott *Captain Latour, a military martinet: Edward Wilks *Corporal Bridoux, a victim of circumstances: Dan Packard *Achille, a rebellious recruit: David Torence *Rose D'Ete, opera bouffe prima donna:

*Julie, lady's maid to Rose: Florence Thornton *Cerise, a soubrette *Mlle. Doucy, a

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

*Esteban Pacheco, a jealous Cuban: Henry Bergman *Papa Pantin, a Napoleonic veteran: Edward Wilks *Papa Bigot, a companion-at-arms: Max Rosen *Renaud, a gendarme: Horace Sparks *Françoise, a downtrodden nursemaid: Irene Verona *Ninette, fond of the military: Sue Meade *Louise, another nursemaid: Emma Janvier

Songs

*A Kiss in the Dark *Buy a Balloon *Jean and Jaque were Twins *Ootchey Coochy *Our Hearts They are Light (Christening Song) *Two Heads are Better than One *When I joined the Army *When It's a Boy

Critical reception

A review in ''

The Illustrated American ''The Illustrated American'' was a weekly American periodical published from 1890 until 1900. It primarily covered current events (with illustrations), but also contained other miscellaneous content and some fiction.

'' commented: "Cheever Goodwin, clever at adaptation, at times a most dexterous manipulator in stagecraft, has been singularly successful in this latest venture. Starting of a delightfully humorous set of complications, woven logically together, he has made an honest translation and obtained a genuinely absurd farce which he carries through four acts, sustaining the interest to the end.""Lost, Strayed or Stolen", ''

'', November 14, 1896, p. 662

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Lost, Strayed or Stolen
vocal score
at the Internet Archive
''Chicago Tribune''
review 1896 musicals Broadway musicals