Trip to Chinatown, a; or, an Idyl of San Francisco

Trip to Chinatown, a; or, an Idyl of San Francisco (1891), a musical comedy by Charles H. Hoyt (book, lyrics), Percy Gaunt (music). [Madison Square Theatre, 657 perf.] To assuage the concern of their guardian Uncle Ben ( George A. Beane), a group of young people who really plan a night on the city tell him they are going sightseeing in Chinatown. They have enlisted the aid of a chaperone, Mrs. Guyer ( Anna Boyd), but her letter of acceptance reaches Ben, who thinks she is inviting him to an assignation. He goes to the restaurant that she has mentioned and at which the young ones have booked a table. There he gets drunk, finds he has forgotten his wallet, but luckily misses the couples and Mrs. Guyer. When he would scold them for deceiving him, they let him know they are aware of his own little escapade. Notable songs: The Bowery; Reuben and Cynthia; After the Ball (an interpolation by Charles K. Harris). For nearly thirty years, until Irene, this held the record as Broadway's longest‐run musical. Its loose construction allowed for frequent changes in songs and minor principals. Loie Fuller, for example, danced in it for a time. The immense success of “After the Ball,” which was added by the manager of a road company playing in Milwaukee, furthered the musical's success. With this show, more than any other, farce‐comedy imperceptibly became musical comedy.