''Poppy'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

in three acts with music by Stephen Jones and Arthur Samuels (additional music by John Egan), and lyrics and book by

Dorothy Donnelly Dorothy Agnes Donnelly (January 28, 1876 - January 3, 1928) was an actress, playwright, librettist, producer, and director. After a decade-long acting career that included several notable roles on Broadway, she turned to writing plays, musicals ...

, with contributions also from

Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. According to historian Stanley Green, Dietz and Schwartz were "most cl ...

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a ...

and

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 17, 1996) was an American lyricist and composer primarily for theater who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", " Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", ...

. The musical introduced songs such as "Two Make a Home", "On Our Honeymoon", "What Do You Do Sunday, Mary?" and "Alibi Baby". The story, set in 1874 Connecticut, concerns a circus

barker Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...

and con man, Prof. Eustace McGargle, who tries to pass off his foster daughter, Poppy, as a long-lost heiress. It turns out that Poppy really is an heiress. The original New York City production opened at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

on September 3, 1923, and ran for a successful 346 performances, closing on June 28, 1924. It starred

Madge Kennedy Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and television actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her ...

as Poppy, with Fields as Prof. McGargle, and

Robert Woolsey Robert Rollie Woolsey (August 14, 1888 – October 31, 1938) was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey. Early life Robert Rollie Woolsey (sometimes spelled Rolla or even Raleigh) was born o ...

and

Jimmy Barry James Curran Barry (March 7, 1870 – April 4, 1943) was an American boxer who held the world bantamweight championship from 1894 to 1899. Commonly referred to as "The Little Tiger", Barry retired undefeated with a record of 59–0–10 ...

. It was directed by Dorothy Donnelly and Julian Alfred, with choreography by Julian Alfred. The New York run was followed by a touring production. The piece then had a London production at the Gaiety Theatre in 1924. The musical included elements of

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

, including specialty numbers. Its success established Fields' comic con man persona and led to film versions, also starring Fields.

Synopsis

Setting: Greenmeadow, Connecticut in 1874 Prof. Eustace McGargle, a juggler and hustler who runs a traveling circus, adopts an orphan, Poppy. He teaches her to be a con artist. When the circus passes through a small town, Poppy meets a wealthy local boy, William. McGargle learns that Princess Vronski Mameluke Pasha Tubbs has a long-lost daughter, and he tries to pass Poppy off as the heiress. In the end she turns out to be the true heir and marries William.

Musical numbers

;Act1 *Stepping Around – Mary, Amos and Ensemble *The Girl I've Never Met – William and Dancers *Hang Your Sorrows in the Sun (music by Egan) – Poppy *Two Make a Home – Poppy and William *Kadoola Kadoola Solo – Prof. McGargle *When Men Are Alone – Mortimer, Dancers and Ensemble *Fortune Telling – Poppy and Boys ; Act 2 *The Dancing Lesson (music by Egan) – Dancers and Ensemble *Alibi Baby (lyrics by Dietz) – Mary and Ensemble *On Our Honeymoon – Poppy and William *Choose a Partner, Please – Poppy and Ensemble *Mary (lyrics by Caesar) – Mary, Mortimer, Dancers and Ensemble ;Act 3 *A Picnic Party with You (music by Egan) – Mary, Mortimer, Dancers and Ensemble

Roles and original Broadway cast

*Amos Sniffen – Jimmy Barry *Judge Delafield – Hugh Chilvers *William Van Wyck – Alan Edwards *Prof. Eustace McGargle –

*Mary Delafield – Luella Gear *Princess Vronski Mameluke Pasha Tubbs – Emma Janvier *Poppy McGargle –

*Sarah Tucker – Maude Ream Stover *Mortimer Pottle –

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised ''Poppy'' as a "tasteful and decorous musical comedy" and highlighted the performances of both Fields and Kennedy.

Film versions

The musical formed the basis for two film versions, both of which starred Fields reviving his blustery carnival-barker character, Eustice P. McGargle. The first was ''

Sally of the Sawdust ''Sally of the Sawdust'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Carol Dempster and W. C. Fields. It was based on the 1923 stage musical ''Poppy''. Fields would later star in a second film version, ''Pop ...

'' (1925), a silent movie directed by

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

and co-starring

Carol Dempster Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was ...

as Sally; and the second was ''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

'' (1936), directed by

A. Edward Sutherland Albert Edward Sutherland (January 5, 1895 – December 31, 1973) was a British-born film director and actor. Born in London, he was from a theatrical family. His father, Al Sutherland, was a theatre manager and producer and his mother, Julie Rin ...

. Fields wore his goofy clip-on mustache for the 1925 production, as he did for most of his silent pictures. Fields was ill during the 1936 production, and a fairly obvious double was used in several scenes requiring physical exertion. He still managed a memorable performance, including these well-known lines spoken to his daughter Poppy (

Rochelle Hudson Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.

References

External links

''Poppy''
at the Internet Broadway Database

at the Guide to Musical Theatre
''Sally of the Sawdust'' (film) at IMDB''Poppy'' (film) at IMDB
1923 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals set in Connecticut Musicals set in the 1870s {{musical-theat-stub