The Century Girl
| The Century Girl | |
|---|---|
| Music | Victor Herbert and Irving Berlin |
| Lyrics | Henry Blossom and Irving Berlin |
| Premiere | November 6, 1916: Century Theatre |
The Century Girl is a musical comedy revue with music by Victor Herbert and Irving Berlin, and lyrics by Henry Blossom and Berlin.[1][2][3]
It opened November 6, 1916, at the Century Theatre on Broadway and ran until April 28, 1917, totaling 200 performances.[1] Rather than having a cohesive plot, the show was a mixture of musical and vaudeville performances.[4]
Production
[edit]Charles Dillingham and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. produced the show. Staging was by Edward Royce, Leon Errol, and Ned Wayburn, with set design by Joseph Urban. Max Hoffman directed the orchestra.[5][6]
The show had a runtime of over four hours. On its opening night, the show began at 8:25pm and ended at 12:58am.[5] This was actually an improvement from the show's time prior to its premiere. It had originally been scheduled to open on October 16, but was delayed in order to cut down the show while maintaining the lineup of actors and performers.[7] Cuts continued to be made after the premiere, resulting in several actors, including Marie Dressler, being let go.[8]
Performances included a "Stone Age romance", an Alice in Wonderland musical number, a number featuring animals and hunters, and a skit with actors portraying of Herbert and Berlin.[4]
The Century Girl was the only successful show produced at the Century Theatre (previously the New Theatre).[7][9] After the show's closure, the theatre was sold and later demolished, being replaced by the Century Apartments.[7][9]
Cast
[edit]| 1916 Broadway[5][10] | |
|---|---|
| Huntress/Columbine | Billie Allen |
| Emil Klutz | Sam Bernard |
| Eva Brown/Lame Duck | Hazel Dawn |
| Victor Herbert/Lion | Arthur Cunningham |
| Will B. Rich/County Constable | James Doyle |
| Wood B. Rich/County Constable | Harland Dixon |
| The Diver/Waldorf Dryginsku | Leon Errol |
| Jack of Diamonds | Marion Fairbanks |
| Jack of Clubs | Madeline Fairbanks |
| Hunter/Howell Lauder | Irving Fisher |
| Chicken/Peggy O'Brien | Elsie Janis |
| Huntress/Harlequin/Queen Mermaid | Vera Maxwell |
| Catherine of Russia/American Gold/the Philippines | Margaret Morris |
| Irving Berlin/Fox | John Slavin |
| King of Hearts | Lilyan Tashman |
| Messenger | Frankie Bailey |
| Anna Pavloafer | Sam Barndooroff |
| Marie Young | Jane Bliss |
| Dormouse | Dorothea Camden |
| Joker | Clara Carroll |
| Helen of Troy/Spanish Lace | Marjorie Cassidy |
| Barbara Fritchie/Irish Lace/Porto Rico | Evelyn Conway |
| Cleopatra/French Lace | Semone D'Herlys |
| Queen of Spades | Ethel Donaldson |
| Ace of Hearts/English Lace | Martha Erlich |
| Marie Antoinette/King of Clubs | Flo Hart |
| Mike Debitesky | Harry Kelloski |
| Turkey | Cathryne Rowe Palmer |
| Alice | Yvonne Shelton |
| Queen of Clubs | Katherine Kohler |
| Queen Boadicea/Alaska/Belgian Lace | May Leslie |
| Hawaii/Joan of Arc/American Silver | Hazel Lewis |
| Tiger Butler | Gus Minton |
Songs
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- Alice in Wonderland[11]
- The Ballet Loose[12]
- The Birth of the Century Girl[12]
- The Century Girl[11]
- The Chicken Walk/That Broadway Chicken Walk/Jungle Ball Finale[5][11]
- He Likes Their Jukelele[11]
- Humpty Dumpty[11]
- It Takes an Irishman to Make Love[5][11]
- Kiss Me Again/Kiss Me Once More[5]
- The Music Lesson/Herbert-Berlin Duet[5]
- On The Train of a Wedding Gown[5]
- The Romping Redheads[11]
- The Stone Age[12]
- The Toy Soldiers[12]
- Uncle Sam's Children[4]
- Under the Sea[12]
- When Uncle Sam is Ruler of the Sea[4][11]
- You Belong to Me[11]
Reception
[edit]The New York Times and critics from other publications reviewed the show positively.[13]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Century Girl (Broadway, Century Theatre, 1916)". Playbill. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "The Century Girl - 1916 Broadway - Creative Team". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
- ^ Smith, Cecil Michener (1981). Musical comedy in America. Glenn Litton (2nd ed.). New York: Theatre Arts Books. p. 114. ISBN 0-87830-564-5. OCLC 7388197.
- ^ a b c d Everett, William A. (2009). The A to Z of the Broadway musical. Paul R. Laird, William A. Everett. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-8108-7044-4. OCLC 667271476.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Irving, Berlin (2005). The complete lyrics of Irving Berlin. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. pp. 147–148. ISBN 1-55783-681-7. OCLC 61309371.
- ^ Stalter-Pace, Sunny (2020). Imitation artist : Gertrude Hoffmann's life in vaudeville and dance. Project MUSE. Evanston, Illinois. ISBN 978-0-8101-4193-3. OCLC 1149580614.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c Harter, Chuck (2012). Little Elf : a Celebration of Harry Langdon. BookBaby. ISBN 978-1-62933-012-9. OCLC 896802390.
- ^ Marie Dressler: a Biography, With a Listing of Major Stage Performances, a Filmography And a Discography. Matthew Kennedy. McFarland & Co Inc Pub. 2006. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-7864-2844-1. OCLC 150360856.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Suskin, Steven (2000). Show tunes : the songs, shows, and careers of Broadway's major composers. Steven Suskin (Rev. and expanded 3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 44. ISBN 0-19-512599-1. OCLC 39678239.
- ^ "The Century Girl Original Broadway Musical Cast 1916". Broadway World. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Stubblebine, Donald J. (2010). Early Broadway sheet music : a comprehensive listing of published music from Broadway and other stage shows, 1843-1918. Jefferson, North Carolina. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4766-0560-9. OCLC 910878800.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e Gould, Neil (2008). Victor Herbert : a theatrical life (1st ed.). New York: Fordham University Press. p. 550. ISBN 978-0-8232-4179-8. OCLC 647876540.
- ^ "THE CENTURY GIRL' A HUGE SUCCESS; Dillingham-Ziegfeld Dynasty Is Happily Inaugurated at the Century Theatre. SPECTACLE AND VAUDEVILLE Handsome Entertainment, Like a Much-Magnified "Follies," Opens the Greatest of Music Halls". The New York Times. 1916-11-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
