Abies Irish Rose

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Abie's Irish Rose (1922), a comedy by Anne Nichols. [Fulton Theatre, 2,327 perf.] Because of their fathers' strong religious prejudices, Abie Levy ( Robert B. Williams) and Rose Mary Murphy ( Marie Carroll) have been secretly married by a Methodist minister. When Abie first introduces her to his father ( Alfred Wiseman) as Jewish Rosie Murpheski, the father arranges for a Jewish ceremony. Rose Mary invites her father ( John Cope) to the wedding, telling him her fiancé's name is Michael Magee. But when her father arrives with his friend, Father Whalen ( Harry Bradley), the truth emerges, as well as explosions of ill feeling. Only the rabbi and priest are understanding. To appease Murphy, Father Whalen weds the couple for a third time. Matters are satisfactorily resolved a year later when Rose Mary has what Solomon calls “twinses”: Patrick Joseph Murphy Levy and Rebecca Levy. The grandchildren reconcile the grandfathers. Throughout all the battles and reconciliations, a neighbor, Mrs. Cohen ( Mathilde Cottrelly), chatters on about her operation. Most reviews were kind, if unenthusiastic. However, some of the sharper critics, such as Benchley, Broun, and Nathan, were scathing. At first playgoers were unenthusiastic as well, so producer‐playwright Anne Nichols turned to a notorious gangster, Arnold Rothstein, and to Leblang's Ticket Office for help. Rothstein underwrote losses until the play caught on and the comedy eventually established a new Broadway long‐run record, as did many of its road companies. One modern critic, Howard Taubman, in his retrospective assessment of the play, observed, “Its plot is childish, its characters puerile, and even its ear for Jewish and Irish dialects monstrously false.” Anne NICHOLS (1891–1966) was born in Dales Mills, Georgia, and began her career as an actress. She churned out many touring plays for Augustus Pitou but, aside from her libretto for Linger Longer Letty (1919), she never had another New York success.

Abie's Irish Rose, comedy by Anne Nichols, produced in 1922. Its sentimental plot is concerned with the love of a Jewish youth and an Irish girl in New York's Lower East Side. The play is credited with being one of the most popular ever produced in the U.S., having had a New York run of 2327 performances.