''The Telephone Girl'' is a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

musical comedy 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 ...

(as Hugh Morton), with music by composer

Gustave Kerker Gustave Adolph Kerker (February 28, 1857 – June 29, 1923) was a German-born composer and conductor who spent most of his life in the US. He became a musical director for Broadway theatre productions and wrote the music for a series of operettas ...

. The play made its New York debut at the Casino Theatre under the direction of George W. Lederer on December 27, 1897. Though not a favorite with the critics, ''The Telephone Girl'' would go on to have a successful run at the Casino and do well on subsequent road tours. The original New York cast starred

Clara Lipman Clara Lipman (December 6, 1864 – June 22, 1952) was an American musical comedy actress and playwright whose career began in 1885 and continued on until her retirement in 1927. She was the wife of comedian Louis Mann and the sister of popular ...

as ‘Estelle Cookoo’ and her real life husband,

Louis Mann Louis Mann (20 April 1865 – 15 February 1931) was an American theatre actor and sometime director, who in his later life made a few appearances in motion pictures. He was married to actress and playwright Clara Lipman. History Mann was bor ...

, as 'Hans Nix', roles assumed by

Mabel Hite Mabel Hite (May 30, 1883 – October 22, 1912) was a vaudeville comedian and musical comedy actress. Life and career Hite was born in Ashland, Kentucky May 30, 1883, the daughter of Lewis and Elsie Hite. Her family relocated to Pocatello, Ida ...

and Harry Hermsen two years later during an extensive road tour of North America. Brown, Thomas Alston; A History of the New York Stage (‘’The Telephone Girl’’); 1908; pg. 583
accessed September 7, 2012

Plot

''The Telephone Girl''’ was taken from a French farce by

Antony Mars Antony Mars (22 October 1861 – 17 February 1915) was a French playwright Biography After he studied at a high school in Marseille, Antony March became a lawyer's clerk then an employee at the Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est. En 1882, ...

and

Maurice Desvallières Ernest George Maurice Lefebvre-Desvallières (3 October 1857 – 23 March 1926) was a 19th–20th-century French playwright. Maurice was the brother of George Desvallières, son of Emile Lefebvre Desvallières and Marie Legouvé (daughter and g ...

, and revolves around a misunderstanding that occurs after Estelle Cookoo, a young French telephone operator, overhears a conversation between her boyfriend, Hans Nix, and a music hall actress he once knew.

Reception

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 ...

''The Telephone Girl seemed courser and more vicious than any of its recent predecessors, but the seeming was largely due to the ineptness of the thing, its patches of dullness and deficiency of skill and charm in the performance.''

The Lima News ''The Lima News'' is a local daily newspaper aimed at residents in Allen, Auglaize, Hancock, Hardin, Logan, Mercer, Putnam, Shelby and Van Wert counties in Ohio, USA. Its headquarters are located in Lima, Ohio. It was first printed on July 2 ...

''The Telephone Girl is one of his latest efforts in his peculiar line, and as seen last night it would seem that the gentleman (McLellan) has nearly reached the limit of the public’s tolerance of his Indecencies''

Lebanon Daily News ''Lebanon Daily News'' is a local daily newspaper based in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The main office is located on 718 Poplar Street.“Home - Lebanon Daily News,” http://www.ldnews.com/. It publishes as an afternoon paper Monday through Friday and ...

''At the Academy Wednesday Evening the medley is one of the most amusing sent from the New York Casino, and Louis Mann and Clara Lipman have won distinct favor in it''.The Telephone Girl - Lebanon Daily News (Lebanon, Pennsylvania); Monday, March 20, 1899; pg. 4

Original New York Cast

Source: ''A History of the New York Stage'' by T. Allston Brown *Dick Marvel..

Edward Abeles Edward Abeles (November 4, 1869 – July 10, 1919) was an American actor. He appeared in eight films between 1914 and 1918. Before working for Famous Players-Lasky, of which he was one of the founding members, he had a lengthy stage career. Abe ...

*Velasquez..

Henry Bergman Henry Bergman (February 23, 1868 – October 22, 1946) was an American actor of stage and film, known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin. Biography Born in San Francisco, California, Bergman acted in live theatre, appearing in ''Hen ...

*Ebeneezer.. Nicholas Burnham *Mrs. Puffaway.. Rosa Cooke *Col. William Goldtop.. Charles Dickson *Saunders.. Benjamin T. Dillon *Estelle Coocoo..

*Hans Nix..

*Snuffles.. James F. McDonald *Samanthy Fairfax.. Sarah McVicker

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telephone Girl, The 1897 musicals Broadway musicals Broadway plays Musicals set in France