''The Merry Monarch'' is an 1890

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

that debuted at the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

in New York City. It is an English adaptation of the '' L'étoile'' with a book by J. Cheever Goodwin and new 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 ...

.(14 July 1890)
Notes
''New York Amusement Gazette'', p. 542Stubblebine, Donald J
Early Broadway Sheet Music
p. 154 (2002)

History

Presented by actor-manager Francis Wilson and his company, which also featured

Marie Jansen Marie Jansen (born Harriet Mary Johnson;"Made $500,000, Marie Jansen Went Through It All", ''Lowell Sun'', Lowell, Massachusetts, June 2, 1904, p. 11 November 18, 1857 – March 20, 1914At her death, ''The New York Times'' reported that Jansen wa ...

, ''The Merry Monarch'' debuted on August 18, 1890, and ran for 49 performances, through October 4. Though this was not considered a long run for the time, the show was turning large profits, and crowds were being turned away from every performance. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported on September 29 that the play was sure to gross at least $87,000 during the run, "the largest amount by many thousands ever taken at the theatre in the same period at regular prices."(29 September 1890)
"The Merry Monarch's" Reign
''

'' But the theatre had other contractual engagements that prevented a longer run,(28 September 1890)
"Notes of the Stage"
''

'' and it was announced that the production would return the following fall. The play immediately went on the road, also playing to packed houses.(6 October 1890)
Theatrical Gossip
''The New York Times'' (opened in Baltimore on October 6, 1890)(26 October 1890)
The Chicago Playhouses
''The New York Times'' (playing in Chicago in October 1890)(13 January 1891)
Theatrical Gossip
''The New York Times'' (reporting that run at the

Chestnut Street Theatre The Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first theater in the United States built by entrepreneurs solely as a venue for paying audiences.The Chestnut Street Theatre Project The New Theatre (First Chestnut Street Theatre) ...

started on December 22, 1890, and still going strong, and that the company next planned to go to Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and back to Chicago for two more weeks) The play returned after the long run of ''

Wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

'' concluded, and ran from October 5 through December 26, 1891, for 84 more performances. On the second run, a young

Lulu Glaser Lulu Glaser (June 2, 1874 - September 5, 1958) was an American actress and vocalist. She appeared on Broadway and later Vaudeville. Glaser's first appearance on the stage was at the Broadway Theatre in New York on December 30, 1891 in the play ...

served as the understudy for star

. It may have run longer, but Wilson was anxious to bring out his next play ''The Lion Tamer'', which immediately followed. The stage manager for the production was Richard Barker, and costume designs were by Percy Anderson. Wilson, Francis
Recollections of a Player
pp. 65-73 (1897)(19 August 1890)
"The Merry Monarch" (review)
''

'' Scenery was by Homer Emmons, Henry E. Hoyt, and Plaisted, and the orchestra conducted by Signore A. De Novellis(17 August 1890)
Notes of the week
''

'' Another English adaptation of ''L'étoile'' played at London's

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...

, called ''

The Lucky Star ''The Lucky Star'' is an English comic opera, in three acts, composed by Ivan Caryll, with dialogue by Charles H. Brookfield (revised by Helen Lenoir) and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Aubrey Hopwood. It was produced by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Com ...

'', with a score rewritten 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 N ...

and new lyrics by

Aubrey Hopwood Aubrey Hopwood (4 April 1863 – 25 October 1917) was a British lyricist of Edwardian musical comedy and a novelist and author of nonsense books for children. He co-wrote the lyrics for the musicals '' Alice in Wonderland'' (1886), ''A Runaway ...

.Traubner R. ''Operetta, a theatrical history.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford (1983)

Original Broadway cast

*King Anso IV by Francis Wilson *Siroco, by Charles Plunkett *Herisson by Gilbert Clayton *Kedas by Harry MacDonough *Tapioca by Willet Seaman *High Chamberlain by M.F. Joslyn *Lilita by Laura Moore *Aloes by Nettie Lyford *Oasis by Cecile Essing *Idra by Belle Hartz *Lazuli by

References

External links

Photographs of Marie Jansen in the Merry Monarch
Museum of the City of New York *Still, Mary Helen
The Artist and the Entertainers: Emmanuel Chabrier and His Imitators
Masters Thesis, University of Georgia (2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Merry Monarch, The 1890 musicals Adaptations of works by French writers Broadway musicals