Orange Blossoms (musical)

Last updated
Orange Blossoms
Orange Blossoms (musical).jpg
Music Victor Herbert
Lyrics Buddy DeSylva
Book Fred de Gresac
SettingContemporary Paris and Cannes
BasisThe Marriage of Kitty by Fred de Gresac
PremiereSeptember 19, 1922: Fulton Theatre, Broadway

Orange Blossoms is a 1922 musical comedy with music by Victor Herbert, lyrics by Buddy DeSylva, and a book by Fred de Gresac, based on her own 1902 French play La Passerelle which had also been translated and staged on Broadway in 1903 as The Marriage of Kitty . [1] [2]

Contents

It ran for 95 performances at the Fulton Theatre on Broadway between September 19 and December 9, 1922. Produced and directed by Edward Royce, the cast included Alta King, Pat Somerset, Queenie Smith, Edith Day, Hal Skelly, Nancy Welford, and Jack Whiting. The setting is contemporary France with the action taking place in Paris and Cannes. [1]

Synopsis

Setting: Lawyer's Office, Paris and Kitty's Villa at Cannes.

Baron Roger Belmont's aunt has recently died, leaving him her inheritance if he marries within a year of her death. [3] He is in love with Helene de Vasquez, but is unable to marry her as his aunt's will specifies he cannot marry a divorcee. His lawyer, Tillie Jones, suggests Belmont enter into a marriage of convenience with her niece Kitty, allowing him to receive his full inheritance before divorcing Kitty and marrying Helene. [3] However, Belmont and Kitty do end up falling in love. [1]

Productions

Although the Broadway production closed after three months, unable to recoup its investment, the show went on to tour, first stopping for two weeks at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. [1]

In 2014 the Light Opera of New York put on a revival of the show, [4] with revised lyrics by Michael Phillips and Cynthia Edwards, and orchestra reconstructions by Brian Kerns and Christian Smythe, conducted by Evans Haille at the piano. [1] [4] The revised production had only two acts, instead of the original three. [3]

The Victor Herbert Renaissance Project (VHRP) put on a production of the show in 2018, directed by Alyce Mott, with musical direction by Michael Thomas, William Hicks on piano, and choreography by Emily Cornelius. [5]

Cast

1922 Broadway [1] [2] 2014 Light Opera [3] 2018 VHRP [5]
Lawyer Brassac Pat Somerset David Kelleher-FlightDavid Seatter
Tillie Jones Queenie Smith Lisa FlanaganAlexa Devlin
OctaveMaurice Darcy
Roger Belmont Robert Michaelis Glenn Seven AllenBray Wilkins
Kitty Savary Edith Day Natalie BallengerJoanie Brittingham
Jimmy "J.J." Flynn Hal Skelly Ben LiebertDrew Bolander
Helene de VasquezPhyllis Le GrandSarah CallinanSarah Caldwell Smith
AugusteRobert FischerJonathan Fox Powers
Ninetta Nancy Welford Sarah BestJoanna Geffert
Bressac's clients
  • Jenny Lindsey
  • Alexa Clint
  • Joanna Geffert
  • Elisabeth Slaten
  • Susan Case
Gentlemen in the case
  • Thomas Fitzpatrick
  • Frank Curran
  • Oliver Stewart
  • Denny Murray
  • Abner Barnhart
  • Jack Whiting
  • Gayle Mays
  • Clinton Merrill
  • Colm Fitzmaurice
  • Quintin Harris
  • Keith Broughton

Musical numbers

Act l

Act ll

Act lll

Reception

The original Broadway production was generally well-received, with positive reviews from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle , Brooklyn Life , the Los Angeles Times , the New York Evening World , the New York Herald , the New York Journal , the New York Telegraph , and the New York Times . [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dietz, Dan (2019). The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals (hardcover) (1st ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 122–123. ISBN   978-1-5381-1281-6. OCLC   1053169623.
  2. 1 2 "Orange Blossoms (1922)". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pines, Roger (April 2015). "HERBERT: Orange Blossoms". Opera News . Vol. 79, no. 10. New York, NY. Retrieved May 6, 2023– via www.metguild.org.
  4. 1 2 Forbes, Harry (April 27, 2014). ""Orange Blossoms": Performed by Light Opera of New York". Operetta Research Center. Amstelveen, Berlin. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Forbes, Harry (October 29, 2018). "Victor Herbert's Last Operetta "Orange Blossoms" Returns To New York". Operetta Research Center. Amstelveen, Berlin. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.