''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925

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 ...

by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionalized episode in the life of the 15th-century poet and thief

François Villon François Villon (Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these ex ...

, centering on his wooing of Katherine De

Vaucelles Vaucelles () is a commune located to the west of Bayeux in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population left, Vaucelles church See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of ...

(the cousin of King Louis XI), and relating how he becomes “king for a day” and defends France against the invading forces of the Duke of Burgundy. The original production opened on Broadway in 1925, starring

Dennis King Dennis King (born Dennis Pratt, 2 November 1897 – 21 May 1971) was an English actor and singer. Early years Born on 2 November 1897 in Coventry, Warwickshire, or Birmingham, England, King was the son of John and Elizabeth King Pratt. He ...

and ran for 511 performances. The operetta then played in London, toured extensively and enjoyed revivals and two film adaptations, including one with King and Jeanette MacDonald.

Background

In 1901, writer Justin Huntly McCarthy sentimentalized Villon's career in a novel, ''If I Were King'', that borrowed the king-for-a-day theme, allowing Villon to defeat France's enemies and win the hand of an aristocratic lady, all in under 24 hours. The author adapted it as a Broadway play the same year and in London in 1902, and it was revived several times. In 1923,

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

were at the beginning of their careers. They created a musical version of the McCarthy play for a Manhattan girls' school and then looked for a more prestigious venue for their collaboration. Broadway backers turned down the young team, but producer

Russell Janney Russell Janney (April 14, 1884 – July 14, 1963) was a theatrical producer and author. He is best known for his 1946 best-selling book and first novel, ''The Miracle of the Bells'', which was made into a film of the same name in 1948. He also p ...

"borrowed" their idea and commissioned the more established Rudolf Friml to compose, and Brian Hooker to adapt the piece into a musical, increasing the comedy roles.Everett, William A
''Rudolf Friml''
pp. 57–71, University of Illinois Press, 2008 The original production opened at the Casino Theatre on September 21, 1925. It starred

as Villon and Carolyn Thomson as Katherine and ran for a very successful 511 performances. The production was lavish and used an unusually large pit orchestra.''The Vagabond King''
MusicalTheatreGuide, accessed January 27, 2011 It received unanimously enthusiastic reviews. The operetta then had a successful run in London in 1927 at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

, running for 480 performances, and toured extensively. Its revivals include a 1943 Broadway revival. It was also performed regularly in the 1970s and 1980s in New York by the

Light Opera of Manhattan Light Opera of Manhattan, known as LOOM, was an off-Broadway repertory theatre company that produced light operas, including the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and European and American operettas, 52 weeks per year, in New York City between 1968 an ...

. A 1930 musical film with the same title was filmed in two-color Technicolor, with Dennis King reprising his stage role. Jeanette MacDonald and Lillian Roth co-starred. It was long thought lost, but was recovered and restored in 1998. Several non-Friml songs were added in this version. The film was remade in 1956 in regular Technicolor and VistaVision. It starred Kathryn Grayson,

Oreste Kirkop Oreste Kirkop (Chircop) (26 July 1923 - 10 May 1998) was a Maltese singer. Biography Kirkop was born in Ħamrun (Malta). He was the sixth child among the ten siblings of Jean Chircop and Fortunata Panzavecchia. He started to realise his singing ...

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

Walter Hampden Walter Hampden Dougherty (June 30, 1879 in Brooklyn – June 11, 1955 in Los Angeles), known professionally as Walter Hampden, was an American actor and theatre manager. He was a major stage star on Broadway in New York who also made numerous ...

and Cedric Hardwicke. Only a few songs were from the original, but new Friml numbers were added. Leslie Nielsen and

Jack Lord John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television progra ...

were featured in villainous roles. This remake was not a success. The McCarthy novel was adapted as a silent film in 1920 and as a 1938 nonmusical film, '' If I Were King''. It starred

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...

as Villon.

Synopsis

Paris is under siege by the forces of the Duke of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

; popular support for King Louis XI is at a low point. Villon – poet, braggart, thief and darling of the Paris rabble – has sent anonymous love poems to the beautiful Katherine de

. These have caused her to reject proposals from King Louis. She goes to seek the mysterious poet at an inn, but King Louis shadows her in disguise. Louis is incensed to hear Villon mocking the failures of his reign and saying what he would do instead "if I were king." The infuriated monarch reveals himself. The king gives Villon a hard choice: as punishment for speaking treasonously, he must either stop courting Katherine or accept the position of Grand Marshal, with all the powers of King, for 24 hours, during which time he must make good on his boasts and free Paris. At the end of the 24 hours, Villon will hang. Villon's dilemma is that he has promised himself to Huguette, his mistress, but now is deeply in love with Katherine. Villon and Katherine declare their love for each other ("Only a Rose"). Hugette describes her means of livelihood ("Love for Sale"). Villon accepts Louis' challenge. Rather than sending the King's Scottish mercenaries against the Burgundians, Villon rouses the Paris mob to defend the city. Huguette discovers that Thibault, one of Louis's advisors, is a traitor. When Thibault ambushes Villon and tries to stab him to death, Huguette steps in front of the blade and takes the blow, thus sacrificing her life, and freeing Villon to be with Katherine. He kills Thibault in retaliation and then leads the Paris rabble to fight the Burgundians. The Parisians emerge victorious. After the battle is over, Katharine offers to sacrifice herself to the hangman in order to save Villon. Louis, realizing he cannot shed noble blood without a just cause, rewards Villon with exile instead of death, and the two lovers leave together.

Roles and original cast

*Katherine (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

) – Carolyn Thomson *Huguette (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

) – Jane Carroll *Lady Mary, a courtier – Olga Treskoff *Villon (lyric

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

; a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

in the 1956 film) – Dennis King *Guy Tabarie (baritone) – Herbert Corthell *Noel, a Court popinjay – Herbert Delmore *Oliver, Keeper of the Royal Bath – Julian Winter *Captain of the Scotch Archers – Charles Carver *Rene, a rogue – Robert Craik *The Herald of Burgundy – Earl Waldo *Fat Margot, keeper of a tavern-brothel – Catherine Hayes *King Louis (non-singing) – Max Figman *

Tristan l'Hermite :''See also François Tristan l'Hermite'' Tristan l'Hermite (died c. 1478) was a French political and military figure of the late Middle Ages. He was born in Flanders near the beginning of the century. He was provost of the marshals of the Kin ...

, his trusted adviser (non-singing) – H. H. McCullum *Thibault d'Aussigny, his traitorous Grand Marshal (non-singing) – Bryan Lycan *Isabeau and Jehanneton, harlots (non-singing) – Vivian Kelley and Mimi Hayes *The Queen (non-singing) – Tamm Cortez *Jehan, a thief (non-singing) – Marius Rogati *Casin, an astrologer (non-singing) – Leon Cunningham

Musical numbers

;Act 1 *Life is Like a Bubble in Our Glasses – Ensemble *Love for Sale – Huguette du Hamel, Chorus and Dance Ensemble *Drinking Song (A Flagon of Wine) – Guy Tabarie and Male Chorus *Song of the Vagabonds – Villon and Chorus * Some Day – Katherine de Vaucelles *Only a Rose and Finale – Katherine and Villon ;Act 2 *Hunting – Noel Le Jolys, Chorus and Dance Ensemble *Scotch Archers' Song – Captain of Scotch Archers and Archers *Tomorrow – Katherine, Villon and Chorus *Finale, Act II – Ensemble ;Act 3 *Nocturne – Ensemble & Ballet *Serenade – Oliver Le Dain, Guy Tabarie and Lady Mary *Waltz Huguette (Huguette Waltz - "Never try to Bind Me") – Huguette du Hamel *Love Me Tonight – Katherine and Villon *Finale, Act III – Ensemble ;Act 4 *Te Deum – Ensemble *Victory March ("Song of the Vagabonds" reprise) and Finale, Act IV – Ensemble

References

External links

''The Vagabond King'' at the Internet Broadway DatabaseBroadway theatre program, 1925''The Vagabond King''
in ''The Cambridge guide to American theatre'', p. 661
''The Vagabond King''
in ''Broadway musicals, show by show'', p. 48 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vagabond King, The English-language operettas 1925 musicals 1925 operas Broadway musicals François Villon Operas by Rudolf Friml