''The Black Crook'' is a work of

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified ''The Black Crook'' as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a musical.Reside, Doug
"Musical of the Month: ''The Black Crook''"

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

, June 2, 2011, accessed June 21, 2018 The book is by Charles M. Barras. The music, selected and arranged by Thomas Baker, consists mostly of adaptations, but it included some new songs composed for the piece, notably "You Naughty, Naughty Men". The story is a

Faustian Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

melodramatic romantic comedy, but the production became famous for its spectacular special effects and skimpy costumes. It opened on September 12, 1866 at the 3,200-seat

Niblo's Garden Niblo's Garden was a theater on Broadway and Crosby Street, near Prince Street, in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1823 as "Columbia Garden" which in 1828 gained the name of the ''Sans Souci'' and was later the property of ...

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 ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. It was then toured extensively for decades and revived on Broadway in 1870–71, 1871–72 and many more times after that. ''The Black Crook'' is often considered a prototype of the modern musical in that its popular songs and dances are interspersed throughout a unifying play and performed by the actors.Morley, p. 15 A British production titled ''The Black Crook'', which opened at the Alhambra Theatre in London on December 23, 1872, was an

opera bouffe Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

with a new story based on some of the French source material that influenced the New York version, with new music by

Frederic Clay Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for songs and his music written for the stage. Although from a musical family, for 16 years Clay made his living as a civil servant in HM Treasury ...

and

Georges Jacobi Georges Jacobi (3 February 1840 –13 September 1906) was a German violinist, composer and conductor who was musical director of the Alhambra Theatre in London from 1872 to 1898. His best-known work was probably ''The Black Crook'' (1872) writt ...

. A

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

version of ''The Black Crook'' was produced in 1916.

Background

Genesis of the piece

By 1866, Henry C. Jarrett and Henry Palmer had formed a producing partnership with the idea to import European novelty acts to America. They saw the

Féerie ''Féerie'', sometimes translated as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for fantasy plots and spectacular visuals, including lavish scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. ''Féeries'' blended music, dancing, pantomime, and ...

''La Biche au bois'' in Paris, and a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

Astley's Amphitheatre Astley's Amphitheatre was a performance venue in London opened by Philip Astley in 1773, considered the first modern circus ring. It was burned and rebuilt several times, and went through many owners and managers. Despite no trace of the theatr ...

in London, and they wanted to incorporate into their American productions the original elements of spectacle that they saw in those shows. They engaged some of the lead dancers from the Paris show and purchased the grand transformation scene from the London piece. They hoped to put together a spectacular production at the New York Academy of Music, but the Academy burned down that summer. Meanwhile, Barras, an actor, wrote a

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

, ''The Black Crook'', with the intention of touring the piece to feature himself and his wife, dancer Sallie St. Clair. He negotiated the show's New York premiere with

William Wheatley William Wheatley (December 5, 1816 – November 3, 1876) was an American stage actor. Biography He was born in New York City, the son of Frederick Wheatley, once a favorite actor in Baltimore and Philadelphia. His mother was Sarah (Ross) Wh ...

, the manager at

, for a run of 100 performances, which was an extraordinarily long contract for the 1880s. Barras then began to build the scenery and properties in Buffalo, New York. Gänzl, Kurt
"The Black Crook''. The real story of the mythologised legshow"
Kurt of Gerolstein, October 4, 2016, accessed June 18, 2018 Jarrett and Palmer approached Wheatley about mounting their unwritten show at Niblo's Garden, but Barras had already booked the venue. Whose idea it was to join the producing forces is not known, but terms were struck under which Barras was given a small flat sum as a royalty and no longer had to pay fees to Wheatley, and Jarrett and Palmer effectively became producers of the New York staging of ''The Black Crook''. Jarrett returned to Europe to gather more ideas, decorations and personnel to change the show from Barras's

into a musical piece more like ''La Biche au bois''. He returned with a collection of stage machinery, scenery, costumes, properties, 100 dancers and actors, and the producers completely replaced Barras's scenic and costume designs, also cutting some of the script to add more dance and spectacle. The piece was mounted with unprecedented opulence, and the skimpiness of the costumes created controversy that only served to promote it.

Was ''The Black Crook'' the first "musical"?

In operas, even

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 ...

s with dialogue, like ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'', the principal singers leave the dancing to the ballet troupe. In

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian era, Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody music, parod ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

, and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, there is little or no unifying story, just a series of sketches. ''The Black Crook'', with song and dance for the principal actors, built around a romantic story, has been called the first musical comedy.Grosch, Nils and Tobias Widmaier (Hrsg.) (2010
''Lied und populäre Kultur – Song and Popular Culture''
/ref> Cecil Michener Smith dissented from this view, arguing that "calling ''The Black Crook'' the first example of the theatrical genus we now call musical comedy is not only incorrect; it fails to suggest any useful assessment of the place of Jarrett and Palmer's extravaganza in the history of the popular musical theatre ... but in its first form it contained almost none of the vernacular attributes of book, lyrics, music, and dancing which distinguish musical comedy."Smith, Cecil. ''Musical Comedy in America'', New York, The Colonial Press, 1950 Other dissenters are Larry Stempel and

Kurt Gänzl Kurt-Friedrich Gänzl (born 15 February 1946) is a New Zealand writer, historian and former casting director and singer best known for his books about musical theatre. After a decade-long playwriting, acting and singing career, and a second ca ...

, who wrote:

There are pages and pages of earlier shows ... with scores of original music, rather than the patchwork of old and new. … he libretto was a hotchpotch. ... ''The Black Crook'' was simply a thrown-together imitation of the French opéra-bouffe féerie, lots of nubile teens in short skirts, a bit of melodrama, and – above all – lashings of moving scenery. Anything less "unified" it would be hard to find. Gänzl, Kurt
"The Black Crook'', or How to Invent History"
Kurt of Gerolstein, June 20, 2018

The same year that ''The Black Crook'' opened, ''The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post'' was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy". In the late 1860s, as post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

business boomed, there was a sharp increase in the number of working- and middle-class people in New York, and these more affluent people sought entertainment. Theaters became more popular, and Niblo's Garden, which had formerly hosted opera, began to offer light comedy. ''The Black Crook'' was followed by ''The White Fawn'' (1868), ''Le Barbe Blue'' (1868) and ''

Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...

'' (1874). An apparently similar show from six years earlier, ''

The Seven Sisters ''The Seven Sisters'' is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995. ''The Seven Sisters'' details the fictional characters known as the Seven Sisters of the Forgotten R ...

'' (1860), which also had an unusually long run of 253 performances, is now lost and forgotten. It also included special effects and scene changes. Gänzl gives ''The Naiad Queen'' (1841) as an example of an earlier musical, concluding that it was only ''The Black Crook's'' long run that gave it a reputation as the "first" musical. Theatre historian John Kenrick suggests that ''The Black Crook's'' greater success, compared with earlier shows, resulted from changes brought about by the Civil War: first, respectable women, having had to work during the war, no longer felt tied to their homes and could attend the theatre, although many did so heavily veiled. This substantially increased the potential audience for popular entertainment. Second, America's railroad system had improved during the war, making it feasible for large productions to tour.

Productions

The original production opened on September 12, 1866 at the 3,200-seat Niblo's Garden. It was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances, and revenues exceeded a record-shattering one million dollars. Wheatley directed the piece. Barras's script of

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

ian fairytale drama and romance included a full musical score consisting of adaptations of existing songs as well as new ones written for the show by various writers, all selected and arranged by Niblo's musical director, Thomas Baker. Popular songs from the show included "You Naughty, Naughty Men", with music credited to George Bickwell and lyrics credited to Theodore Kennick, although the song may really have been adapted from an English song or songs. The production included state-of-the-art special effects, including a pantomime-style

transformation scene The transformation scene is a theatrical convention of metamorphosis, in which a character, group of characters, stage properties or scenery undergo visible change. Transformation scenes were already standard in the European theatrical tradition wi ...

that converted a rocky grotto into a fairyland throne room in full view of the audience. The cast included

Annie Kemp Bowler Annie Kemp Bowler (died August 21, 1876) was a popular stage actress and singer, best known for appearing in the original cast of ''The Black Crook'' in 1866.(August 24, 1876)Death of the Original "Stalacta" ''Evening Star'' (Washington, D.C.), p. ...

, Charles H. Morton, John W. Blaisdell, E. B. Holmes, Rose Morton,

Millie Cavendish Millie Cavendish (died 23 January 1867), previously credited as Mrs Lawrence, was a British singer and actress, best remembered for performing ''You Naughty, Naughty Men'' in the role of Carline in the musical ''The Black Crook'', which debuted in ...

, J. G. Burnett, and

George C. Boniface George C. Boniface (November 3, 1832 – January 3, 1912) was an American actor. He made his professional debut in Baltimore in 1851, and remained in the profession for sixty years.(4 January 1912)George C. Boniface Dead; Veteran Actor Who Appea ...

. The poster announced with great emphasis the presence of a French "Ballet Troupe of Seventy Ladies" choreographed by David Costa. This scantily-clad female dancing chorus in skin-colored tights was a big draw. It was respectable enough for the middle-class audience, but very daring and controversial enough to attract a great deal of press attention. The dance soloists were two Italian ballerinas from the school of

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Marie Bonfanti Anna Maria Felicita Bonfanti (1845-1921), known as Marie or Marietta Bonfanti, was an American ballet dancer. She made her New York City debut came at Niblo's Garden on Monday, September 10, 1866. She then was the prima ballerina in ''The Black ...

and

Rita Sangalli Rita Sangalli (20 August 1849 – 3 November 1909) was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Antegnate, she danced in the Italian provinces of Asti, Piacenza, and Turin, making her 1865 debut at Milan's La Scala in Paul Taglioni's (1808-1884) ''F ...

, who went on to star in further New York productions. The musical was then toured extensively for decades by Barras and others licensed by him and revived on Broadway in 1870–71, 1871–72, and by

The Kiralfy Brothers Imre Kiralfy and Bolossy Kiralfy were highly influential burlesque and spectacle producers in Europe and the United States toward the end of the 19th century. The brothers paved the way for many of our modern day spectacles. With backgrounds i ...

at Niblo's in 1873; and many more times after that; it also had numerous profitable regional productions and was widely burlesqued. One of these, in 1882, was the opening-night attraction at O'Brien's Opera House in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. A British production titled ''The Black Crook'', which opened at the Alhambra Theatre on December 23, 1872, was an

based on ''La Biche au bois'', with new music by

and

. The author, Harry Paulton, starred as Dandelion, opposite the comedian

Kate Santley Evangeline Estelle Gazina (c. 1837Culme, John ''Footlight Notes'', No. 361, 14 August 2004, accessed 7 September 2012; an"Kate Santley by Sarony Cabinet Card" ''Remains to Be Seen'', accessed 7 September 2012 – 18 January 1923), better known u ...

, who had appeared in the 1871–72 Broadway revival. The plot bore little or no resemblance to Barras's play. The British piece was revived in 1881. A silent film based on Barras's ''The Black Crook'' was produced in 1916. A 1954

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

musical, ''

The Girl in Pink Tights ''The Girl in Pink Tights'' is a musical comedy with music by Sigmund Romberg; lyrics by Leo Robin; and a musical book by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields. The musical opened on Broadway on March 5, 1954 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre where it ra ...

'', used as its background a story based loosely on the creation of ''The Black Crook''.

Synopsis

The musical is set in 1600 in the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

of Germany. It incorporates elements from Goethe's ''

'', Weber's ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

'', and other well-known works. Evil, wealthy Count Wolfenstein seeks to marry the lovely village girl, Amina. With the help of Amina's scheming foster mother Barbara, the Count arranges for Amina's fiancé, Rodolphe, an impoverished artist, to fall into the hands of Hertzog, an ancient, crook-backed master of black magic (the Black Crook). Hertzog has made a pact with the Devil (Zamiel, "The Arch Fiend"): he can live forever if he provides Zamiel with a fresh soul every New Year's Eve. As the innocent Rodolphe is led to this horrible fate, he discovers a buried treasure and saves the life of a dove. The dove magically transforms into human form as Stalacta, Fairy Queen of the Golden Realm. She rewards Rodolphe for rescuing her by bringing him to fairyland and then reuniting him with his beloved Amina. Her army defeats the Count and his evil forces, demons drag Hertzog into hell, and Amina and Rodolphe live happily ever after. Comedy was provided by servants, especially J. G. Burnett as von Puffengruntz, and the most popular song was "You Naughty, Naughty Men", for the

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a c ...

Carline.

Musical numbers

;Act I * Grand Garland Dance – Ballet and Principals * Hark, hark, hark! – Villagers' chorus * Early in the Morning – Carline * You Naughty, Naughty Men – Carline * March of the Amazons – Chorus * Grand Incantation Scene – Herzog ;Act II * Dare I Tell * Flow On, Silver Stream – Stalacta * (The) Power of Love – Stalacta * Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice! – Chorus of Gnomes, Amphibea and Fairies * Mortal shadows dimly cast – Chorus of Fairies * Pas de Demons ;Act III * Bal Masque * Pas Espanoil * Pas Hongroise * Dance de Amazons ;Act IV * Dazzling Transformation Scene

Principal roles

*Count Wolfenstein – John W. Blaisdell *Rodolphe (''a poor artist'') –

*Von Puffengruntz (''the Count's corpulent steward'') – J. G. Burnett *Hertzog, surnamed the Black Crook (''a hideously deformed alchymist and sorcerer'') – Charles H. Morton *Greppo (''his drudge'') – George Atkins *Wulfgar (''a gypsy ruffian'') – E. Barry *Jan – Frank Little *Bruno (''his companion'') – F. Ellis *Casper (''a peasant'') – H. Weaver *Amina (''betrothed to Rodolphe'') – Rose Morton *Dame Barbara (''her foster-mother'') – Mary Wells *Carline –

*Rosetta (''a peasant'') – C. Whitlock *Stalacta (''Queen of the Golden Realm'') –

*Zamiel (''the Arch-Fiend'') – E. B. Holmes *Skuldawelp (''Familiar to Hertzog'') – Mr. Rendle *Redglare (''the Recording Demon'') – F. Clark *Villagers, Peasants, Choristers, Guards, Attendants, Fairies, Sprites, Naiads, Submarine Monsters, Gnomes, Skeletons, Apparitions, Demons, Monsters, etc.

Critical reception

The overlong piece survived a rocky opening night, and numerous cuts were subsequently made. According to Doug Reside, a curator at

Robert C. Allen Robert Carson Allen (born 10 January 1947 in Salem, Massachusetts) is Professor of Economic History at New York University Abu Dhabi. His research interests are economic history, technological change and public policy and he has written extensivel ...

wrote in his 2000 book, ''Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture'', that if Whitton is correct, it was the first such "covert advertising ploy on behalf of the theatre management". Audience response was divided – some people loved the beauty of spectacle and some people were offended by it.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

was in the former camp: "Beautiful bare-legged girls … nothing but a wilderness of girls – stacked up, pile on pile, away aloft to the dome of the theatre, diminishing in size and clothing, till the last row, mere children, dangle high up from invisible ropes, arrayed only in camisa. The whole tableau resplendent with columns, scrolls, and a vast ornamental work, wrought in gold, silver, and brilliant colors – all lit up with gorgeous theatrical fires, and witnessed through a great gauzy curtain that counterfeits a soft silver mist! It is the wonders of the Arabian Nights realized.

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

had an opposite reaction: "

t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

the most preposterous peg to hang ballets on that was ever seen. The people who act in it have not the slightest idea of what it is about".Forster, John. ''The Life of Charles Dickens'', Vol. 2, Chapman and Hall (1870), p. 232 Both awe and outrage fueled the show's increasing popularity until "nobody could hold his own in conversation unless he had seen it".

Notes

References

* Morley, Sheridan. ''Spread A Little Happiness'', New York: Thames and Hudson, 1987 * Barras, C. M. (1866). ''The Black Crook a most wonderful history''. Philadelphia: Barcla
text available here
* ''New Complete Book of the American Musical Theatre'' by David Ewen, 1970 * ''Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography'' edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos, 1999

External links

* ;New York Public Library
Photos of ''The Black Crook''
from the

Billy Rose Theatre Collection The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Met ...

Audio files to several songs from ''The Black Crook''
from the Library for the Performing Arts "Musical of the Month" series
Sheet Music
from the Library for the Performing Arts "Musical of the Month" series ;Additional sites
''The Black Crook'' Digital Collection
from the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

includes books, sheet music, photographs, playbills and news clippings.
Information about NY and London productions

* ttps://s3.amazonaws.com/lpa-musical.nypl.org/MusicalMonth/BlackCrook/BlackCrook.html Complete text of the librettobr>Full-color digital images of annotated 19th century promptbook for ''The Black Crook''Sheet music for "You Naughty, Naughty Men"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Crook, The Broadway musicals 1866 musicals