''The Century Girl'' is a musical comedy

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 ...

with music by

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

and

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

, and lyrics by

Henry Blossom Henry Martyn Blossom Jr. (May 10, 1866 – March 23, 1919) was an American writer, playwright, novelist, opera librettist, and lyricist. He first gained wide attention for his second novel, '' Checkers: A Hard Luck Story'' (1896), which was succes ...

and Berlin. It opened November 6, 1916, at the Century Theatre on

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 ...

and ran until April 28, 1917, totaling 200 performances. Rather than having a cohesive plot, the show was a mixture of musical and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performances.

Production

Charles Dillingham Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway theatre, Broadway shows. Biography Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868, in Hartford, Connecticut, ...

and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. produced the show. Staging was by Edward Royce,

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

, and

Ned Wayburn Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer. Career Edward Claudius Weyburn was born on March 30, 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Elbert Delos Weyburn and his wife, Harri ...

, with set design by

Joseph Urban Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872 – July 10, 1933) was an Austrian-American architect, illustrator, and scenic designer. Life and career Joseph Urban was born on May 26, 1872, in Vienna. He received his first architectural commission at age 19 wh ...

Max Hoffman Maximilian Edwin Hoffman (12 November 1904 – 9 August 1981), was an Austrian-born, New York-based importer of luxury European automobiles during the 1950s. Known equally for his acumen and influence, Hoffman was instrumental in development ...

directed the orchestra. The show had a runtime of over four hours. On its opening night, the show began at 8:25pm and ended at 12:58am. This was actually an improvement from the show's time prior to its premiere. It had originally been scheduled to open on October 16, but was delayed in order to cut down the show while maintaining the lineup of actors and performers. Cuts continued to be made after the premiere, resulting in several actors, including

Marie Dressler Leila Marie Koerber (November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934), known professionally as Marie Dressler, was a Canadian-born stage- and screen-actress and comedian, popular in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood in early silent film, silent an ...

, being let go. Performances included a "

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

romance", an

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

musical number, a number featuring animals and hunters, and a skit with actors portraying Herbert and Berlin. ''The Century Girl'' was the only successful show produced at the Century Theatre (previously the New Theatre). After the show's closure, the theatre was sold and later demolished, being replaced by the Century Apartments.

Cast

Songs

* ''Alice in Wonderland'' * ''The Ballet Loose'' * ''The Birth of the Century Girl'' * ''The Century Girl'' * ''The Chicken Walk/That Broadway Chicken Walk/Jungle Ball Finale'' * ''He Likes Their Jukelele'' * ''Humpty Dumpty'' * ''It Takes an Irishman to Make Love'' * ''Kiss Me Again/Kiss Me Once More'' * ''The Music Lesson/Herbert-Berlin Duet'' * ''On The Train of a Wedding Gown'' * ''The Romping Redheads'' * ''The Stone Age'' * ''The Toy Soldiers'' * ''Uncle Sam's Children'' * ''Under the Sea'' * ''When Uncle Sam is Ruler of the Sea'''''' * ''You Belong to Me''

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 ...

'' and critics from other publications reviewed the show positively.

External links

The Century Girl at the IBDB

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Century Girl, The 1916 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Irving Berlin Musicals by Henry Blossom Musicals based on Alice in Wonderland