Routledge Guide to Broadway

Ken Bloom

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135871161
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

The Routledge Guide to Broadway is the second title in our new student reference series. It will introduce the student to the Broadway theater, focusing on key performers, writers, directors, plays, and musicals, along with the theaters themselves, key awards, and the folklore of Broadway.
Broadway is the center of American theater, where all the great plays and musicals make their mark. Students across the country in theater history, performance, and direction/production look to Broadway for their inspiration. While there are illustrated coffee table type books on Broadway, there are few that offer a comprehensive look at the key figures and productions of the last two centuries. The Routledge Guide to Broadway offers this information in an easy-to-use, inexpensive format that will appeal to students, professors, and theatrical professionals.

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HACKETT THEATER · See ANCO THEATER.

HAMMERSTEIN, ARTHUR (1872–1955) Arthur Hammerstein, the least flam-boyant of the Hammerstein family, is the least remembered. But of all of Oscar Hammerstein I's sons, it was Arthur who would have the most influence on the American theater.

Arthur was one of the most successful Broadway producers of his time. Most of his productions were operettas, primarily by Rudolf Friml and Otto Harbach. Arthur, unlike such great producers as Florenz Ziegfeld, David Belasco, and George White, did not put his own stamp on productions, but they were marked by an emphasis on strong production values. His settings, lighting and costumes were all exquisitely designed and executed.

He was born on December 21, 1872. His father, Oscar Hammerstein I was Broadway's most important pioneer. Arthur was the second son of the impresario, and it was always assumed that he would enter the family's profession. He began his working life as a building contractor, a job well suited to the needs of his father who was always planning to build a new legitimate theater or opera house. The Victoria Theater on Broadway was the younger Hammerstein's first important job. He supervised the construction to his father's architectural plans. Naturally, the Victoria, like many of Oscar Hammerstein's productions, was ready only at the very last minute on March 2, 1899.

In 1905, Arthur was hired by his father to build the Manhattan Opera House down the street from its rival, the Metropolitan Opera House. He inherited his father's interest in opera, and in 1908 he took his first steps towards becoming a producer. The younger Hammerstein's first major move was to sign the great opera singer, Luisa Tetrazzini. She repeated her triumphant London success with her American debut at the Manhattan Opera House.

Hammerstein's success led to his assisting his father in managing the opera house. He entered into negotiations with financier Otto Kahn, a noted member of the Metropolitan Opera board. The rivalry of the two operations was hurting both institutions. The result of the meetings was that the Hammersteins agreed not to produce opera in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, or Chicago for the decade beginning in 1910. In return, the Metropolitan agreed to pay the Hammersteins over one million dollars.

Later, in 1910, Oscar, looking for new horizons, wanted to go to London. Arthur took a loan on his life insurance to finance his father's trip. When Oscar announced plans to build a new opera house in London, Arthur, fed up with Oscar's money-losing schemes, was so incensed that he vowed never to speak to his father again.

Arthur decided to become a producer himself. His first production, under his father's auspices, was Victor Herbert's newest operetta, Naughty Marietta (1910). The show, presented at the New York Theater, drew heavily on the Manhattan Opera House's talents, including soprano Emma Trentini, Orville Harrold, the chorus, most of the orchestra, and the conductor. The show was an immediate success.

Arthur's first solo production and the first of ten collaborations with composer Rudolf Friml was The Firefly (1912) with book and lyrics by Otto Harbach. Emma Trentini repeated her great success in Naughty Marietta with the new show. The next year, Arthur produced another Friml and Harbach show, High Jinks (1913). Surprisingly, although the show was a huge hit, the score contained no standards.

In 1914, three of Oscar's sons died. The loss of Abe, Harry, and Willie was an immense blow to their father and caused Arthur, the surviving brother, to forgo his own productions that year. He took over the Victoria, but it was already suffering from the success of the new Palace Theater, the opening of which was facilitated by Oscar's selling his exclusive right to present vaudeville in Times Square. In 1915, Oscar sold the Victoria as well as the Lexington Opera House and was forced into retirement.

Free to produce on his own again, Arthur presented another Friml and Harbach musical, Katinka (1915). He produced two shows in 1917, You're in Love and Furs and Frills. You're in Love boasted a Friml score with book by Edward Clark and Harbach and lyrics by Clark. Furs and Frills was Arthur's first failure. It had a score by Clark and Silvio Hein, a minor composer. The show did contain an important song, “Make Yourself at Home.” It was his nephew Oscar Hammerstein II's first professional song.

Arthur also produced two shows in 1918. The first, Sometime, had music by Friml and lyrics and libretto by the author of Naughty Marietta, Rida Johnson Young. The cast, an unusual blend of talents, featured Francine Larrimore, Mae West, and Ed Wynn. The second Arthur Hammerstein production of 1918 was Somebody's Sweetheart with music by Anthony Bafunno and libretto and lyrics by Alonzo Price. In 1919, Arthur produced only one show, Tumble Inn. It featured a Friml and Harbach score.

Always You (1920) was the first complete score written by Oscar Hammerstein II. Tickle Me, the second of Arthur's 1920 shows, had music composed by Herbert Stothart and book and lyrics by Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. Frank Mandel also collaborated on the libretto. Jimmie was the third show presented by Arthur that year. It had the same authors as Tickle Me.

Another Friml and Harbach operetta, The Blue Kitten (1922), started the new year for Arthur. William Cary Duncan helped on the libretto and lyrics. Daffy Dill, a Stothart, Oscar Hammerstein II and Bolton musical was the second 1922 show.

For Arthur, 1923 was a banner year. The first of his three shows that year, Wildflower, was Arthur's first show with Vincent Youmans. Harbach and Hammerstein supplied the libretto and lyrics. Herbert Stothart also contributed to the music. It was followed by Arthur's first and last foray into the revue field, Hammerstein's Nine O'Clock Revue. The third 1923 show, Mary Jane McKane, was written by Youmans, Stothart, Duncan, and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Arthur's sole 1924 production was also his biggest success Rose-Marie (1924). The Friml, Stothart, Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II show broke box office records and earned Arthur $2,500,000.

George Gershwin's only operetta, Song of the Flame (1925), had additional music by Stothart with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Harbach.

Next, Arthur produced The Wild Rose (1926), one of the few Friml, Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II flops. Golden Dawn (1927), an Emmerich Kalman, Stothart, Harbach, and Oscar Hammerstein II musical, might have been a greater success but by this time the operetta was losing its vogue. Golden Dawn did contain two Broadway firsts—the first topless chorus girl and the Broadway debut of Archie Leach. He would become better known in Hollywood as Cary Grant.

Arthur's production of Good Boy (1928) was a collaboration between Oscar Hammerstein II and Harbach and Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. One of Arthur's rare forays into musical comedy, Polly (1929), was written by Philip Charig and Irving Caesar. Sweet Adeline (1929) was Arthur's only production of a Jerome Kern show. Oscar Hammerstein II provided the book and lyrics.

With operettas out of vogue and the Depression hurting Broadway's business, Arthur moved to Hollywood to produce movies. His daughter Elaine had already enjoyed a successful acting career on the screen. But his only production, The Lottery Bride (1930), made for United Artists, was a failure. He returned to Broadway.

1930, Arthur's last year of producing included two productions on Broadway that were both failures. A Rudolf Friml and J. Keirn Brennan score was featured at the opening of Luana. Arthur's last Broadway show, Ballyhoo, had a score by Louis Alter, Harry Ruskin, Leighton K. Brill, and Oscar Hammerstein II. The show starred W. C. Fields.

The failures of his Hollywood foray and his last two Broadway shows forced him into bankruptcy. At the courthouse he was quoted as saying, “When Mayor Walker comes back into the city I will ask him to take the statue of my father and put it in some public place, possibly around Times Square. It is a curious thing that when he was exactly my age, my father went through the same thing. In 1897 he lost under foreclosure the Olympia Theater…. In a couple of years, when conditions improve, I'll be back again, bigger than ever.” But unlike his father, Arthur didn't bounce back. His producing days over, Arthur led a quiet retirement. He dabbled in inventions and even collaborated on a number one song on the Hit Parade, “Because of You.” The 1950–51 hit was certainly a surprise to the family. He died in Palm Beach, Florida, on October 12, 1955.

HAMMERSTEIN I, OSCAR (1847–1919) Of all the individuals responsible for the emergence of Times Square as the entertainment center of New York, producer. and developer Oscar Hammerstein I was the most important. As the century turned, Hammerstein changed the face of opera and theater in America. “The Father of Times Square” was also the founder of the greatest theatrical family in the history of the American theater.

The five-foot-four-inch producer was a striking figure as he sauntered down Broadway. He sported a pointed goatee and always carried a cigar. His favorite dress was a Prince Albert coat, striped trousers, and an ever-present hat that he designed himself.

Hammerstein was born in Germany on May 8, 1847. He entered a Berlin music conservatory when he was twelve. Although he worked hard on the violin, he proved only a fair student. However, he did acquire one thing in the conservatory—his love of grand opera. After the death of his mother, his relationship with his father deteriorated. With the army in his future and an unhappy life at home, the fifteen-year-old Hammerstein ran away and arrived in New York City in 1863, penniless and unable to speak the language. He found piecework in a cigar factory at $2 a week. Hammerstein's intelligence allowed him to prosper in the cigar works. He invented many gadgets that he gave to his bosses before he learned of the patent system.

In 1868, Hammerstein married Rose Blau, and they had their first son, Harry, the following year. Harry would, like his siblings, be brought into his father's theatrical business. Hammerstein had a distant relationship with his family. His grandson, Oscar Hammerstein II met his grandfather for the first time when he was seven. He expected his sons to become his coworkers, and they did.

Hammerstein quit his job in 1871 against his wife's wishes. He took their savings and invested it in a friend's scheme to present opera in German. The opening night proved successful, but the undertaking failed when audiences fell off during the run. The entire investment was lost (the first of many bankruptcies) but Hammerstein was unconcerned. He had a marvelous time and was bitten with the theatrical bug. Although he returned to the cigar business, he now had a new goal—to become a producer himself.

Hammerstein's second son, Arthur, was born in 1872. That same year, Hammerstein became an American citizen and patented his first invention—a multiple cigar mold. He received $1,500 from the sale of the patent. The success of his patent sale gave Hammerstein courage. In 1874, he established The United States Tobacco Journal with $50. The highly successful journal became a leading voice in the business. Hammerstein followed the lead of other publishers of the day and indulged in a little yellow journalism in order to drum up advertising revenue. The journal is still published today.

That same year, Hammerstein acted as guarantor for the opening of his producing friend's Germania Theater. Hammerstein decided that he could write plays and had five premieres at the theater. He even had his incidental music performed at the Germania. The theater survived somewhat longer than the two men's previous theatrical outing. The Germania closed three and a half years later when it became Tony Pastor's.

Hammerstein's third son, William, was born in 1874; another son, Abraham Lincoln Hammerstein, came along two years later. Their mother Rose died, and Hammerstein's younger sister Anna was brought from Germany to help him raise his four sons.

Two years later, in 1878, Anna left to marry Harry Rosenberg. Their son Walter, Hammerstein's nephew, would also enter the theater business. (He owned the Broadway Theatre and later established a chain of ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• R
• S
• T
• U, V
• W
• Y
• Z