The Beauty Spot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Beauty Spot was a 1909 musical comedy in two acts[1] that played for 137 performances at the Herald Square Theatre in New York with music by Reginald De Koven, a book by Joseph W. Herbert and additional lyrics by Terry Sullivan.[2][3] The musical provided early appearances for the actresses Lillian Worth (as Lillian Wiggins)[4] and Evelyn Laye.[5]
Herbert had authored a musical play The Prince of Borneo, which was staged in three different versions in three different continents under three different titles in search of success until it eventually emerged in 1909 as The Beauty Spot to music by Reginald De Koven,[6] who composed the score in 1907.[1] The Beauty Spot ran at the Herald Square Theatre on Broadway for 137 performances from 10 April 1909 to 7 August 1909.[2] Set in the South of France, the choreographer was Julian Alfred and the scenic designers were H. Robert Law, Edward G. Unitt and Joseph Wickes,[3] while Frank P. Paret was the musical director.[7]
The action is set in the Grand Hotel at Dinard in the South of France and its adjoining gardens. General Samovar's daughter Nadine is engaged to Nikolas Kromeski but is actually in love with Jacques Baccarel, an artist the General hates because of Jacques's avant-garde notions about painting. The General is unaware that Baccarel had once painted his wife Nichette and called the picture "The Beauty Spot". Samovar is also unaware that his nephew Nikolas Kromeski, a Dutch coffee planter, has returned from Borneo and has brought his wife Pomare, a native girl from Borneo, with him. Baccarel and Kromeski swap disguises, and the disguised Baccarel masquerading as Kromeski persuades Samovar to buy "The Beauty Spot" after some more clothing has been painted on the model. In the end Samovar is reconciled to Baccarel and his daughter Nadine marrying.[8]
The critic from The New York Times wrote:
"It is one of those aimless combinations of hurrah and hosiery that usually sprout with the Spring and continue to tra la when the days grow longer and hotter. Of its kind, it is a pretty good sort of a show too with plenty of dash and ginger, pretty girls and the kind of a story that can mean anything you want it to mean, and will not trouble you if you are not particularly fond of stories told in patches."[9]
Numbers
Act I - Grand Hotel at Dinard, France
- 1."Wading" (Opening Chorus) Bathing Girls, Chorus
- 2."She Sells Sea Shells" (Song) (Music by Harry Gifford. Lyrics by Terry Sullivan.) - Samovar, Girls
- 3."The Ballerino" (Duo) - Nichette, Samovar
- 4."Memoirs" - Nichette
- 5."Foolish Questions" (Music by Alfred Baldwin Sloane. Lyrics by William Lee.) - Nichette
- 6."A Song of the Sea" (Ensemble) - Nadine, Chorus
- 7."(The) Boulevard Glide" (Duet) (Music by Melville Gideon. Lyrics by E. Ray Goetz.) - Samovar, Nadine
- 8."Creole Days" (Romance) - Jacques, Artists
- 9."Goo-Goo" (Chansonette) - Nadine
- 10.Ensemble - Samovar, Nichette, Nadine, Jacques
- 11."The Prince of Borneo" (Song) - Chickoree
- 12."Toujours la Politesse" (Trio) - Nadine, Nikolas, Jacques
- 13."Coo-ee" (Song) - Pomare, Artists
- 14. Finale Act 1 - Principals, Chorus[7][8]
Act II - Gardens adjoining the Hotel
- 15 Opening Scene: Barcarolla - Victor
- 16. Fete des Fleurs - Chorus
- 17. Valse Pas Seul - Nadine
- 18."Haut Ecole" (Chariot Song; Ballet) - Ladies' Octette, Ensemble
- 19."The Cinematograph" (Song) - Samovar
- 20."Choose Her in the Morning" (song) (Music and Lyrics by Paul Barnes and R. Weston) - Samovar
- 21."Boys Will Be Boys" (Quintette) - Countess Nitsky, Artists
- 22. The Fete (Ensemble):
- 23."Salaam" (Entrance) - Chorus
- 24. Nautchtance - Models
- 25."Pretty Punchinello" (Song) - Nadine
- 26. Coconut Dance - Artists
- 27."He Loved Me Tender" (He Loved Her Tender) (Song) - Samovar, Ensemble
- 28."In a Hammock" (Hammock Love Song, or Swinging the Summer Night Long) - Nadine, Jacques
- 29."The Jungle Man" (Legend) - Pomare, Maids
- 30."Ode de Aphrodite" (Septette) - Countess Nitsky, Nadine, Jacques, Artists
- 31. Finale - Principals, Chorus[7][8]
New York cast
- Marguerite Clark - Nadine, the General's daughter
- Isabel D'Armonde - Pomare, wife of Kromeski, a native of Borneo
- Jefferson De Angelis - General Samovar of the Russian delegation to Paris
- Alfred De Ball - Nikolas Kromeski - his nephew, a Dutch coffee planter from Borneo
- W. H. Denny - Baron Lecocq, Chef de Surete, Paris Bureau of Police
- Frank Doane - Chickoree his valet
- Harry Tebbutt - Victor - artist, friend of Baccarel
- Francis Tyler - Gustave - artist, friend of Baccarel
- Morgan Williams - Jean - artist, friend of Baccarel
- Frank Kelley - Paul - artist, friend of Baccarel
- Mr. Maxwell - Commissionaire
- Mr. Smith - waiter
- Viola Gillette - Nichette, the General's second wife, formerly an actress and model
- George MacFarlane - Jacques Baccarel, an American painter from New Orleans, Louisiana
- Jean Newcombe - Countess Nitsky, the General's sister
- Minerva Coverdale - Marie[3][7]
The 'S' Girls:[4]
- Samis - Bertha Blake
- Sadhu - Irene Walton
- Sybile - Eileen Kearney
- Sorrell - Lillian Worth (as Lillian Wiggins)
- Sarinne - Alice Lazar
- Suzanne - Susie Pitt
- Shanley - Ellen Beckwith
- Shirley - Josephine Brandell
Bathing Girls, Maids, Chairmen, Artists, Officers of the Fleet, Sailors, Models, Nautch Dancers, Aborigines, etc., etc.
