Casino Theatre, Broadway and 39th Street, Manhattan - crop

''The Belle of Bohemia'' is an

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

in two acts which opened 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 ...

in 1900 before having a run on the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

in 1901. It was one of a series of musicals with ''Belle'' in the title that were popular on both sides of the Atlantic in the

Edwardian era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victor ...

Production

It had been intended that ''The Belle of Bohemia'' would open at the Hyperion Theatre in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

on 22 September 1900, but the day before its scheduled opening its producer

George Lederer George Washington Lederer (c. 1862, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania − October 8, 1938) was an American producer and director on Broadway from 1894 to 1931. He was the husband of actresses Reine Davies and Jessie Lewis and the father of Charles Leder ...

found himself in a legal dispute as a result of which four police officers were sent to the Hyperion to ensure the production would not leave New Haven. After some legal maneuvring the production was able to go to New York where it opened at the Casino Theatre on 24 September 1900 and closed on 10 November 1900, having a run of 55 performances.John Franceschina
''Harry B. Smith: Dean of American Librettists''
Routledge (2003) - Google Books Included in the cast were Lotta Faust,

Virginia Earle Virginia Earle (née Earl; August 6, 1873 – September 21, 1937) was an American stage actress remembered for her work in light operas, Edwardian musical comedies and vaudeville over the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century. Early ...

Sam Bernard Sam Bernard (born Samuel Barnett, 5 June 1863 – 16 May 1927) was an English-born American vaudeville comedian who also performed in musical theatre, comic opera and burlesque and appeared in a few silent films. Life and career Bernard was bor ...

as Adolph Klotz, and also featured

Trixie Friganza Trixie Friganza (born Delia O'Callaghan; November 29, 1870February 27, 1955) was an American actress. She began her career as an operetta soubrette, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act o ...

, Sol Solomon, D. L. Don, Fred Titus and John Hyams (all of whom went on to appear in the London production in the following year) with

Marguerite Clark Helen Marguerite Clark (February 22, 1883 – September 25, 1940) was an American theatre, stage and silent film actress. As a movie actress, at one time, Clark was second only to Mary Pickford in popularity. All but five of her films are co ...

making her Broadway début in the production. The musical was produced by

with music by

Ludwig Engländer Ludwig Engländer (October 20, 1853 Vienna, Austria – September 13, 1914) was an Austrian-born American composer of more than 30 musicals. He was born in Vienna, Austria.Passport application available in the series ''U.S. Passport Applications, ...

and Harry Truman MacConnellJohn Franceschina
''Incidental and Dance Music in the American Theatre from 1786 to 1923: Volume 3''
BearManor Media (2018) - Google Books to a book by Harry B. Smith and with lyrics by Harry B. Smith in a plot that borrows heavily from Plautus and Shakespeare. The case of mistaken identity in the New York version was helped by the fact that the two leading actors, Dick and

were brothers.''The Belle of Bohemia'' (1900)
- Internet Broadway Database Despite the fact that "the costumes were distinctly not up to the Casino average" and some of the road signs in the scenes were misspelt, the show was generally well received. ''The Belle of Bohemia'' was the first production to be staged at the new

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London on its opening night on 21 February 1901 and starred

Marie George Marie George (born Clara Marie Georg; 25 June 1876 – 15 July 1955) was an American actress, singer and stage beauty who had a successful career first in New York City and later in London, England during the Edwardian era. Early life Mari ...

Richard Carle Richard Carle (born Charles Nicholas Carleton, July 7, 1871 – June 28, 1941) was an American stage and film actor as well as a playwright and stage director. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1941. Carle was born in Som ...

and

Marie Dainton Marie Dainton (8 June c. 1881 – 1 February 1938) was an actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras who appeared regularly in both music halls and in dramatic theatre. Early career Dainton was born in Russia, apparently in 1881, but other so ...

.Opening night programme for ''The Belle of Bohemia'' - Arthur Lloyd.co.uk: The Music Hall and Theatre History Site dedicated to Arthur Lloyd, 1839 - 1904
/ref> The British premiere on 21 February caused some controversy as it was performed before an invited audience with the first public performance being on the next day - 22 February. This resulted in a small disturbance at the theatre's opening with ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' in particular refusing to write a review of the 'private' performance and went to that the next day explaining that "part of the duty of a newspaper in dealing with theatrical entertainments is to record their reception by the public, and this cannot, of course, be done when the ordinary paying public are not admitted." While ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented that "it is to be regretted that so elegant a building should have opened its doors to the public with an entertainment of such inferior calibre" During the run the show was 'overhauled with manifest advantage' resulting in ''The Belle of Bohemia'' managing a run of 72 performances until 10 May 1900.

Synopsis

Smith based ''The Belle of Bohemia'' on

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

's ''

Menaechmi ''Menaechmi'', a Latin-language play, is often considered Plautus' greatest play. The title is sometimes translated as ''The Brothers Menaechmus'' or ''The Two Menaechmuses''. The ''Menaechmi'' is a comedy about mistaken identity, involving a se ...

'' with its case of mistaken identity. *Act I – Klotz's Tin-Type Gallery at Coney Island *Act II: *Scene I – Dinkelhauser's Villa at Newport *Scene II – Garden of Same *Scene III: Chateau in Switzerland Adolph Klotz, a Coney Island photographer, is married to Katie, a singer. Klotz bears a striking resemblance to Rudolph Dinkelhauser, a prosperous brewer. When Klotz commits misdeeds while drunk Dinkelhauser is blamed in a case of mistake identity and is thrown in jail. Klotz manages to set himself up in Dinkelhauser's mansion in Newport. Each of the men pretends to be the husband of the other's wife, which causes confusion. Adding to this, local politician Phelim McDuffy and his 'matinee girl' daughter Geraldine try to cheat Dinkelhauser out of a Swiss chateau he has inherited from his uncle. When all the cast journey to Switzerland all the identities are corrected and Dinkelhauser saves his chateau.Gerald Bordman
''American Musical Theater: A Chronicle''
Oxford University Press (2001) - Google Books pg. 196

Musical numbers

*The Amateur Entertainer *Be Clever *Beer, Beautiful Beer *The Fairies Lullaby *The Girl Who Is Up to Date *The Matinee Girl *Never Again *Only in Dreams *My Lady in the Moon *What Eve Said to Adam – Katie *The Wishing Cap *He Was a Married Man' – Adolph Klotz *My Mobile Gal *She Never Loved a Man as Much as That The score consisted of waltzes, '

coon song Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they we ...

s', love songs and a wide range of other musical types.

New York cast

*Rudolph Dinkelhauser (A Brewer) – Dick Bernard *Adolph Klotz (A Wandering Photographer) –

*Algy Cuffs (A Matinee Idol, leading man at a popular New York Theatre) – Paul F. Nicholson Jr. *Yellowplush (Dinkelhauser's English Valet) – Frederick Solomon *Arris – Sol Solomon *Holligan – Fred Titus *Mrs. Muggins –

*Katie –

*Camembert – Otto HeiligDavid Stone
'The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive' (2002)
/ref> *Phelim McDuffy – D. L. Don *Geraldine McDuffy – Irene Bentley

London cast

*Rudolph Dinkelhauser (A Brewer) – Dave Lewis *Adolph Klotz (A Wandering Photographer) – D. L. Don *Dolphin Shark (An Influential Politician and Lawyer) – George A. Schiller *Yellowplush (Dinkelhauser's English Valet) – Charles A. Maynard *Chick Riley (The Pride of the Bowery) – John Hyams *Dr. Pilsbury (A Veterinary Surgeon) – James A. Furey *Ludwig Dollar (Solo Cornetist) – Sol Solomon *Holligan (Two of the Finest) – Fred Titus *Mulligan (Two of the Finest) – Joseph Sullivan *Algy Cuffs (A Matinee Idol, leading man at a popular New York Theatre) –

*Katie (Wife of Klotz, and a Serio-Comic Singer known as Mlle. Clarisse) –

*Paquita (Formerly Spanish Dancer, Wife of Dinkelhauser) –

*Angelica Shark (A Matinee Girl) – Anna Laughlin *Mamie (Otherwise La Sahara, a Snake Charmer and Fortune Teller) – Sylvia Thorne *Chloe (Nurse to Dinkelhauser) –

Matinee Girls: *Sadie Stuyvesant – Vashti Earle *Mamie Livingstone – Ruby Jay *Carrie Van Courtlandt – Lou Middleton *Daisy Manhattan – Cecilia Rohda *Laura Astergill – Jessie Banks *Hattie Van Tiviller – Lulu Shepherd *Nettie Rubygold – Don Kersley *Myrtle Claremont – Mildred Devere

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle of Bohemia, The 1900 compositions 1900 musicals Original musicals American musicals Broadway musicals British musicals