The Idea (musical)

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The Idea is a musical with words and music by Joseph Hart. While essentially a comedy, the plot centers around a young man whose destructive life of gambling and drinking is turned around after attending a meeting at the Salvation Army. Scholars have noted similarities of this work to the later 1950 musical Guys and Dolls , but with an aesthetic of musicals and culture of the 1890s. [1]

Contents

The original production, featuring Frederick Hallen and Joseph Hart, was produced by Hallen at Bowdoin Square in Boston in November 1892. [2] It then opened in New York City at the Fourteenth Street Theatre on April 9, 1893 [3] and was still playing there in October. [4] In 1894, a revival played in Chicago. [5]

Roles and New York cast

The opening night cast in New York was as follows: [3]

Songs

Based on the sheet music, the songs included:

References

  1. ↑ Gerald Bordman (2001). "1893-1894: The Idea". American Musical Theater: A Chronicle. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 147. ISBN   9780195130744.
  2. ↑ "Plays and Players in Boston". The New York Times . November 27, 1892. p. 13.
  3. 1 2 Brown, Thomas Allston. A History of the New York Stage: From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901 (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1903), p. 384.
  4. ↑ Advertisement in the New York Times, October 1, 1893, p. 7.
  5. ↑ The New York Times, January 7, 1894, 19.
  6. ↑ Interpolated by J. Aldrich Libbey, who is pictured on the cover of some editions which indicate its use in The Idea.

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