''The Idea'' is a
musical with words and music by
Joseph Hart
Joseph Hart (1711/12 – 24 May 1768) was a Calvinist minister in London. His works include ''Hart's Hymns'', a much-loved hymn book amongst evangelical Christians throughout its lifetime of over 200 years, which includes the well-known hy ...
. While essentially a comedy, the plot centers around a young man whose destructive life of gambling and drinking is turned around after attending a meeting at the
Salvation Army. Scholars have noted similarities of this work to the later 1950 musical ''
Guys and Dolls
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...
'', but with an aesthetic of musicals and culture of the 1890s.
The original production, featuring Frederick Hallen and Joseph Hart, was produced by Hallen at Bowdoin Square in Boston in November 1892. It then opened in New York City at the
Fourteenth Street Theatre
The Fourteenth Street Theatre was a New York City theatre located at 107 West 14th Street just west of Sixth Avenue.Berg, J.C. (9 January 2011)The Fourteenth Street Theater, ''nycvintageimages.com''
History
It was designed by Alexander Sael ...
on April 9, 1893
[Brown, Thomas Allston. ''A History of the New York Stage: From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901'' (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1903), p. 384.] and was still playing there in October. In 1894, a revival played in Chicago.
Roles and New York cast
The opening night cast in New York was as follows:
[
*Peach Blow: Fannie Bloodgood
*Mrs. Morton Howes/Johnny Get: Mollie Fuller
*Nellie Dogood: Margueritte De Mar
*Mary B. Quiet: Carrie De Mar
*Gedney Howes: Loretta Morgan
*Victoria Howes: Edith Murray
*Marlborough Howes: Jennie Grovini
*Morton Howes: J. Aldrich Libbey
*Gilsey Howes: Charles B. Lawlor
*Carl Pretzel: Al. Wilson
*Reed Wallpaper: Albert Hawthorne
*Saunders: Larry Dooley
*Wells Fargo: Richard Reab
*Policeman: Charles Kettler
*Hoffman Howes: Frederick Hallen
*Olean Bradford: Joseph Hart
]
Songs
Based on the sheet music, the songs included:
*When the Man in the Moon Goes To Sleep
*That Was Me
*A Dream In the Old Arm-Chair
*I Have No Heart, It Still Belongs To Thee
*I Love You In Spite Of It All - by Charles K. Harris
Charles Kassel Harris (May 1, 1867 – December 22, 1930) was a well regarded American songwriter of popular music. During his long career, he advanced the relatively new genre, publishing more than 300 songs, often deemed by admirers as ...
[Interpolated by J. Aldrich Libbey, who is pictured on the cover of some editions which indicate its use in The Idea.]
References
External links
1892 musicals
Fiction about the Salvation Army
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