Frederick J. Eustis, sometime referred to as F. J. Eustis, (c. 1858, in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

– March 28, 1912, in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and theatre director. He is best remembered for writing music for several

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of 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, movement ...

Career

Eustis first drew attention as a theatre composer with the 1879 musical ''Sancho Pedro'', with a book by Charles Felton Pidgin, staged at the Gaiety Theatre on Broadway in 1879. This was followed by the musical ''Penny Ante; or The Last of the Fairies'', with a book and lyrics by Jeff S. Leerburger and premiered at Broadway's Fourteenth Street Theatre on June 9, 1884, It featured the actor Charles H. Drew performing the title heroine in Drag (entertainment), drag. He wrote music for the 1890 musical ''Blue Beard, Jr.'' which was a tremendous success when it premiered at the Grand Opera House (Chicago), Grand Opera House, Chicago; ultimately touring to

's Niblo's Garden. Eustis composed music for two Broadway musicals based on classic fairy tales: ''Mother Goose'' (Fourteenth Street Theatre, 1899) and ''Little Red Riding Hood (musical), Little Red Riding Hood'' (Boston Museum (theatre), Boston Museum, 1899; and Casino Theatre (New York City), Casino Theatre, 1900). He also directed the musical ''The Ameer'', which was staged at Wallack's Theatre in 1899–1900, and served as the music director for the Broadway musicals ''Miss Simplicity'' (1902) and ''The Tenderfoot'' (1904).Franceschina, p. 1903 Eustis died at the age of 53 on March 28, 1912, in Toronto, Canada.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eustis, Fred J. 1850s births 1912 deaths American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers Year of birth uncertain