''Princess Charming'' is an

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 ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Albert Szirmai Albert Szirmai (sometimes credited as Albert Sirmay) (2 July 1880 –15 January 1967) was a Hungarian operetta composer and music editor. Szirmai was a graduate of the Budapest Academy of Music, studying piano and composition (with Hans Koessl ...

. It was first presented in Hungarian in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

as ''Alexandra''. The English libretto by

Arthur Wimperis Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

and

Lauri Wylie Lauri Wylie (25 May 1880 – 28 June 1951), originally Maurice Laurence Samuelson Metzenberg, was a British actor and author. He is primarily remembered as the author of the play "Dinner for One", the 1963 screen adaptation of which went on to be ...

is based on the Hungarian libretto by

Franz Martos Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

. The story concerns a young princess who accepts a proposal of marriage from the elderly king of a neighboring country as protection against an uprising by her own subjects. Captain Torrelli, a military officer sent by the king, fears imminent danger to the princess and marries her himself. The officer then escorts her to his king for an annulment, but the couple fall in love and elope. The operetta premiered in London in 1926 and was revived on Broadway and elsewhere. A 1934 film adaptation was made, starring

Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie M ...

and

Henry Wilcoxon Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associat ...

Productions

The operetta premiered on London's West End on 21 October 1926. It ran for a very successful 362 performances at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

. The production starred Winnie Melville as Princess Elaine of Novia, John Clarke as Captain Torrelli,

W. H. Berry William Henry Berry (23 March 1870 – 2 May 1951), always billed as W. H. Berry, was an English comic actor. After learning his craft in pierrot and concert entertainments, he was spotted by the actor-manager George Grossmith Jr., and appeared ...

as Albert Chuff,

Alice Delysia Alice Henriette Lapize (3 March 1889 – 10 February 1979), better known by her stage name, Alice Delysia and sometimes Elise Delisia, was a French actress and singer who made her career in English musical theatre. After performing in the cho ...

as Countess Wanda Navaro and

George Grossmith, Jr. George Grossmith Jr. (11 May 1874 – 6 June 1935) was an English actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies. Grossmith was also an important inn ...

as King Christian II of Sylvania. It was produced by

Robert Courtneidge Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera ''Tom Jones (Edward German), Tom Jones'' (1907) and the producer of ''The Arc ...

. The production then toured in Britain. After a rewrite of the book by

Jack Donahue John Donahue (c. 1806 – 1 September 1830), also spelled Donohoe, and known as Jack Donahue and Bold Jack Donahue, was an Irish-born bushranger in Australia between 1825 and 1830. He became part of the notorious "Wild Colonial Boys". Early l ...

, with additional lyrics by producer

Arthur Swanstrom Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

and additional music by

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on Novem ...

, the work was presented on

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 ...

at the

Imperial Theatre The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed fo ...

on October 13, 1930, closing after 56 performances on November 29, 1930. The production starred

Jeanne Aubert Jeanne Aubert (born Jeanne Perrinot, February 21, 1900 – March 6, 1988) was a French singer and actress. Biography Aubert was born in Paris, France, to a single mother, Augustine Marguerite Perrinot, who pushed her daughter into a career in ...

as Wanda Navarro, Grossmith as King Christian II of Elyria, and

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

as Irving Huff. Two up-and-coming entertainers were in smaller roles,

Howard St. John Howard St. John (October 9, 1905 – March 13, 1974) was a Chicago-born character actor who specialized in unsympathetic roles. His work spanned Broadway, film and television. Among his best-remembered roles are the bombastic General Bullmoose i ...

as the king's aid and Ernest McChesney as the second footman. The show was also produced by the J. C. Williamson company in Australia. It was adapted as a film in 1934, starring Grossmith,

Yvonne Arnaud Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (20 December 1890 – 20 September 1958) was a French-born pianist, singer and actress, who was well known for her career in Britain, as well as her native land. After beginning a career as a concert pianist as a child, Ar ...

, Max Miller and

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...

Songs

;Act 1 *Take a Letter to the King – Baron Sigman, Marie and Girls *Palace of Dreams – Princess Elaine of Novia, Officers and Girls *The Panic's On – Lulu and Girls *I'll Be There – Wanda Navarro, Irving Huff and Rasch Ballet *Trailing a Shooting Star – Princess Elaine and Captain Torrelli *Here Is a Sword – Captain Torrelli and Sailors *I'll Be There (Reprise) – Wanda and Captain Torrelli *One for All – Ivanoff and Revolutionists *I Love Love (Lyrics by Walter O'Keefe, Music by Robert Emmett Dolan) – Wanda, Officers and Girls *You – Princess Elaine and Captain Torrelli ;Act 2 *A Wonderful Thing for the King – Christian II of Elyria, Lulu and Girls *Not Old Enough To Be Old – Albert Chuff *I'll Be There (Reprise) – Wanda and Christian II *I'll Never Leave You – Princess Elaine and Captain Torrelli *You (Reprise) – Princess Elaine *I'll Never Leave You (Reprise) – Princess Elaine and Captain Torrelli *Wings of the Morning – Rasch Ballet

Roles and original cast

*Wanda Navarro –

*Colette – Irene Bostick *Ivanoff –

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

*Marie – Betty Gallagher *Baron Sigman – Roy Gordon *Veronique – Yvonne Grey *Christian II of Elyria –

*Captain Torrelli of the Cruiser Elyria – Robert Halliday *Albert Chuff –

*Princess Elaine of Novia – Evelyn Herbert *Attorney General – Paul Huber *Lulu – Dorothea James *Anastasia – Frances Markey *Second Lieutenant – Ernest McChesney *Irving Huff –

*Marguerite – Wilma Roeloff *Aide de Camp to the King –

Critical response

The ''Time Magazine'' review noted "The fact that it has sparkle and distinction is almost entirely attributable to blithe, blonde, beauteous Jeanne Aubert. As the Princess, Evelyn Herbert ... is luscious-looking, hits good rich notes but experiences difficulty in making the lyrics intelligible." Steven Suskin wrote that the operetta "was not especially distinguished, though it contained one song hit – the snappy, interpolated 'I Love Love'".Suskin, Steven. ''Show tunes'' (2000), Oxford University Press US, , p. 39

References

External links

*
Pathe film of a scene from the operetta
{{Arthur Schwartz Hungarian-language operettas 1926 operas 1926 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Arthur Schwartz