''Excelsior, Jr.'' is an 1895 musical comedy with music by George Lowell Tracy,

A. Baldwin Sloane Alfred Baldwin Sloane, often given as A. Baldwin Sloane, (28 August 1872, Baltimore – 21 February 1925, Red Bank, New Jersey) was the most prolific songwriter for Broadway musical comedies in the United States at the beginning of the 20th centur ...

, and Edward E. Rice, and also with lyrics by

Robert Ayres Barnet Robert Ayres Barnet (September 3, 1853 – June 26, 1933) was an American musical theatre lyricist from New York City, active in New York and Boston in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is most remembered for his collaborations with the B ...

. After playing in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, it debuted on Broadway to a great fanfare as the first production at Hammerstein's Olympia on November 25, 1895.Shepard, Richard F. (5 November 1995)
Looking Back: Hammerstein's Gamble
''

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 ...

'' It ran for 144 performances at the Olympia, and then moved for 24 more performances at the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

starting on March 30, 1896.The Best Plays of 1894-99
p. 154 (1955) The work is a parody based on the poem

Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

. ''

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s opening night review called it "good entertainment, notwithstanding the worthlessness of the play itself, and the saving of it from failure was due altogether to the interpolations by the amusing members of the company."(26 November 1895)
Four New Plays Enacted
''

'' The play was the largest success of the 1895-96 Broadway season. The interpolated songs rotated over time, which was not an uncommon tactic of the period in this type of fare to keep up audience interest. Bordman, Gerald and Richard Norton
American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle
pp. 163, 165 (4th ed. 2011) The cast included Irene Perry, Theresa Vaughn,

Fay Templeton Fay Templeton (December 25, 1865 – October 3, 1939) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Her parents were John J. Templeton and Alice Van Asse, both of whom were actors/vaudevillians; Fay followed in their footsteps, m ...

, Walter Jones, Charles Bigelow, David Abraham,

Marie Cahill Marie Cahill (December 29, 1866 – August 23, 1933) was a Broadway stage actress and vocalist. Her parents were Irish immigrants Richard and Mary (née Groegen) Cahill. She appeared in comic operas including '' Judy Forgot''. She was also in fil ...

, and

Richard Carle Richard Carle (born Charles Nicholas Carleton, July 7, 1871 – June 28, 1941) was an American stage and film actor as well as a playwright and stage director. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1941. Carle was born in Some ...

. ''Excelsior, Jr.'' moved to the

so that Hammerstein could debut his own ''Marguerite'' in February 1896--that successor performed much worse and helped lead to Hammerstein's bankruptcy.

References

External links

* {{IBDB show, 10771, Excelsior, Jr. 1895 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Alfred Baldwin Sloane