''Marriage a la Carte'' is a three-act

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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, movement ...

composed and written by

C. M. S. McLellan Charles Morton Stewart McLellan (1865–1916) was a London-based American playwright and composer who often wrote under the pseudonym Hugh Morton. McLellan is probably best remembered for the musical '' The Belle of New York'' and drama ''L ...

and scored by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later ...

. The play was staged by Austen Hurgon with musical direction provided by J. Sebastian Hiller and Carl H. Engel. ''Marriage a la Carte'' opened on January 2, 1911 at the Casino Theatre and had a run of 64 performances.

Synopsis

The play starred newcomer

Emmy Wehlen Emily "Emmy" Wehlen (1887–1977) was a German-born Edwardian musical comedy and silent film actress who vanished from the public eye while in her early thirties. Biography Wehlen was born in Mannheim, Germany, where, as a teenager, she recei ...

and was set in England. The plot revolves around Mrs. Ponsonby de Coutts Wragge, recently engaged to Lord Mirables, and her former husbands (Ponsonby de Coutts Wragge and Napoleon Pettingill) who reappear in her life after a long absence.

Reviews

''The New York Times,'' January 3, 1911:

''Marriage a la Carte'' has charm, distinction, humor, pretty music, pretty girls and clever comedians. What more could one want from a musical comedy? And that is what Marriage a la Carte is, a real musical comedy.

''Theatre Magazine,'' March, 1911:

“The title of the new musical comedy, "Marriage a la Carte," by C. M. S. McClellan, has in itself no meaning that we can discover, and there is nothing in the play itself to elucidate its meaning. The title is as silly and dull as the action which seeks in vain to unfold itself on the stage." The critic went on to comment on Wehlen's New York debut, ”A new face and a new force comes to us for the first time in the person of Miss Emmy Wehlen, trained in Germany mainly on the Munich stage, and for a year or so past active on the London stage. She is a blonde, blue-eyed person, with considerable grace and intelligence, who sings and dances well, and has charms that are distinctly individual and consequently new to us. Her best song is "Silly Cock-a-Doodle-Doo," which she dances with Dick (Mr. C. Morton Horne)."

Songs

*Thrifty Little Marel *Of All Her Sex a Paragon *For I'm Just I *Smile, Smile, Smile *Silly Cock-a-Doodle-Doo *Captain Dinklepop *Such a Bore *Oh, Rosalie *It's Not the Same at All *Pass it Along to the Frog *Marriage a la Carte (Finale)

Cast

*Marie Ashton - Euryanthe Bowers *Ida Barnard - Primrose Farmilow *Esther Bissett - Sheila Wragge *Norman A. Blume - Jimmy Wragge *Charles Brown - Cuthbert Coddington *

Cyril Chadwick Cyril Chadwick (11 June 1879 – 3 November 1955) was an English actor of the silent era. He appeared in 70 films between 1913 and 1938. He was born in Kensington, London. Partial filmography * ''Doc'' (1914) - Eastman * ''Mrs. Black Is Ba ...

- Ponsonby de Coutts Wragge *

Harry Conor Harry Conor (c. 1856 – April 1931) was an American comic actor, best known for playing the role of Welland Strong in ''A Trip to Chinatown''. Biography Conor grew up in Massachusetts, and began acting at an early age, appearing as a chil ...

- Napoleon Pettingill *Maria Davis - Mrs. Ponsonby de Coutts Wragge *Joe Doner - Thomas Bolingbroke Mullens *A. W. Fleming - Mr. Pink *Jack Hagner - Young Micklethorpe *Rosina Henley - Molly *Jack F. Henry - Eustace Haws * C. Morton Horne - Hon. Richard Mirables *Harry Kelly - Footman *Diane Otse - Elsie Tattleby *Frances Reeve - Iseult Punchum *Elsa Ryan - Daisy Dimsy * Quentin Todd - Aubrey Hipps *J. R. Torrens - Gerald Gifford *Harold Vizard - Lord Mirables *

- Rosalie Menu Marriage A Hit At The Casino- New York Times – January 3, 1911; p. 12 {{colend

References

1911 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals set in England