Rose‐Marie

Rose‐Marie (1924), a musical play by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein (book, lyrics), Rudolf Friml, Herbert Stothart (music). [Imperial Theatre, 557 perf.] Rose‐Marie La Flamme ( Mary Ellis) works at Lady Jane's, a small hotel in the Canadian Rockies, and is courted by both the trapper Jim Kenyon ( Dennis King) and the villainous Ed Hawley ( Frank Greene), who manages to throw blame for the murder of the Indian Black Eagle ( Arthur Ludwig) on his rival. The truth was that Black Eagle had found his wife, Wanda ( Pearl Regay), with Hawley, and Wanda had killed her husband when he attacked Hawley. A clever trader, Hard‐Boiled Herman ( William Kent), tricks Wanda into a confession, so Rose‐Marie and Jim are free to wed. Notable songs: Indian Love Call; The Mounties; Rose‐Marie; The Door of Her Dreams; Totem‐Tom‐Tom. The Arthur Hammerstein–produced musical sparked the revival of traditional operetta after World War I, during which the genre was perceived as German and therefore enemy entertainment. The excellence of the writing and the freshness of the setting coupled with the long‐dormant appeal of operetta allowed this musical a singular success. It was the biggest international musical hit of the decade, offering not only several American road companies but also running 851 performances in London and establishing a Paris long‐run record of 1,250 performances. Oddly, it has been revived less frequently than the other operetta hits of the 1920s.