THE GOLDEN ERA OF JAZZ, BROADWAY AND THE GREATEST STARS OF AMERICAN SHOWBIZ
THE FORGOTTEN STARS AND LEGENDARY ENTERTAINERS!
Photo:
DeWolf Hopper and Della Fox as Siamese royalty in Wang
(1891).
EUROPEAN SHOWS AND AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATER
Photo:
Bert Williams and George Walker.
A century ago European shows still dominated the musical theater in America. For example, the show Florodora from England, opening in 1900, was the second show in Broadway history to have a run of over 500 performances. The best production number, “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden,” was the core of the show. Six young women with parasols, linking arms with six handsome men, walked in unison while singing, in a precisely choreographed manner. The success of the show lead to larger budgets for stage effects and choruses, permanently influencing the musical comedies of the future. Viennese operettas, such as The Merry Widow, were also highly influential and successful, though they declined when anti-German feelings began to strengthen during World War I. However, the American theater was beginning to come into its own. A Trip to Chinatown (1892), with its core song of “The Bowery” was enormously successful. Wang (1892), with De Wolf Hopper heading the cast. Robin Hood (1890), Rob Roy (1894) both with music by Reginald de Koven, and El Capitan, with the score by John Philip Sousa, were also highly successful. Then, in the late 1890s, Victor Herbert and George M. Cohan made a huge contribution to the American musical theater. George M. Cohan was truly one of America’s great. His music became part of the America scene. His memory is also held by the wonderful biographical film made in 1942, Yankee Doodle Dandy, starring James Cagney and Joan Leslie.
Photo: Sheet music of “The Yankee Doodle Boy”, words and music by George M. Cohan, one of America's greatest songwriters.