The Fascinating Widow

The Fascinating Widow
MusicFrederick W. Mills
LyricsOtto Harbach
BookOtto Harbach
PremiereNovember 14, 1910 (1910-11-14): Apollo Theatre, Atlantic City, New Jersey

The Fascinating Widow is a 1910 musical comedy with music by Frederick W. Mills and both book and lyrics by Otto Harbach. It was created as a starring vehicle for the female impersonator Julian Eltinge. The play premiered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, then toured the United States for 10 months before appearing on Broadway in September 1911.

Productions

The play premiered at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 14, 1910, with A.H. Woods producing.[1] Woods toured the show around the United States,[2] then brought it back to the Apollo in August 1911,[3] before taking it to Broadway. It opened on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre on September 11, 1911.[4] After a seven-week run on Broadway, the show returned to the road, where it ran for several more years.

Cast and characters

Julian Eltinge in The Fascinating Widow

The characters and cast from the Broadway production are given below:

Cast of the Broadway production
Character Broadway cast
Ivy Tracy Natalie Alt
Bessie Bothwell Marie Baxter
Harriet Halford Blanche Burnham
Reverend Wilbur Watts Charles W. Butler
Hal Blake/Mrs. Monte Julian Eltinge
Lottie Lovedale Gladys Feldman
Lankton Wells Edward Garvie
Tessie Danforth June Mathis
Ethel Ethridge Jean Morrell
Maisie Mannering Louise Orth
Mrs. Leffingwell Carrie E. Perkins
Nella Northrup Dorothy Sanders
Cissie Cyril Natalie Seymour
Tuthill Leffingwell James Spottswood
Nick Bulgler James E. Sullivan
Oswald Wentworth Lionel Walsh
John Wilson Frank Wentworth
Rholla Rollins Dorothy Wilcox
Margaret Leffingwell Winona Winter

Adaptations

The play was adapted as a silent film in 1925.

References

  1. ^ "Eltinge as 'The Widow'". Variety. Vol. 20, no. 11. November 19, 1910. p. 4.
  2. ^ Bragdon, May (December 31, 1914). May Bragdon Diaries. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester. p. 332. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Julian Eltinge in Fascinating Widow". The New York Times. Vol. 60, no. 19, 575. August 29, 1911. p. 7.
  4. ^ "Eltinge in Musical Play" (PDF). The New York Times. Vol. 60, no. 19, 589. September 12, 1911. p. 11.
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