Rose Marie (operetta)

Infobox Musical
name =Rose Marie


image_size =230px
caption =Sheet music cover
music =Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart
lyrics =Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II
book =Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II
productions =1924 Broadway
1925 West End
1928 Silent Film
1936 Film

"Rose Marie" is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story takes place in the Canadian Rockies and concerns Rose Marie La Flemme, a French Canadian girl who loves miner Jim Kenyon. When Jim falls under suspicion for murder, her brother Èmile plans for Rose Marie to marry Edward Hawley, a city man.

The work premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on September 2, 1924, running for 557 performances. It was the longest-running Broadway musical of the 1920s until it was surpassed by "Show Boat" (1927).Bloom & Vlastnik, p. 278 ] It was then produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London in 1925, enjoying another extraordinary run of 581 performances. It was filmed twice in 1928, once in 1936 and again in 1954.

The best-known song from the musical is "Indian Love Call." It became Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy's "signature" song. Several other numbers have also become standards, including the title song.

Background

Producer Arthur Hammerstein, attempting to create popular new shows without altering operetta tradition, sought exotic, unusual settings for his new productions. "The Fortune Teller" (1898) is set in Hungary, "The Merry Widow" (1907) and "The Three Musketeers" (1928) takes place France, and Naughty Marietta (1910) features New Orleans. Hammerstein, seeking a new setting for an operetta, sent his nephew, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Otto Harbach to Quebec, Canada, to witness a rumored magnificent ice sculpture festival. After visiting Quebec, the men reported that there was not, nor had there ever been, such a festival in Quebec or any part of Canada. [Nolan, p. 40] Arthur Hammerstein still liked the Canadian setting, and Oscar Hammerstein II and Harbach began work on the book for a new musical set in the Canadian Rockies. Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart collaborated on the score, and opera star Mary Ellis was cast in the title role.Nolan, p. 41] British actor and singer Dennis King was cast opposite her as Jim Kenyon.

Productions and Adaptations

;Stage versions"Rose Marie" premiered on September 2, 1924 at the Imperial Theatre in New York City, running for 557 performances. Direction was by Paul Dickey and choreography was by Dave Bennett. The orchestrations were by Robert Russell Bennett. Costumes were designed by Charles LeMaire, and settings were by Gates and Morange. It had a brief revival on Broadway in 1927. [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=10216 IBDB listing for the 1927 Broadway revival] ]

It was then produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London in 1925, enjoying another extraordinary run of 581 performances. The original West End production had a chorus of eighty. It was London's most successful Broadway show after World War I until it was surpassed by "Oklahoma!". In Paris, "Rose Marie" ran for an unprecedented 1,250 performances.

A touring company premiered the work in Canada on January 12, 1925 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. Other Canadian productions were given by the Variétés lyriques in 1937 and another in 1945, in French, and by Theatre Under the Stars in 1940, Melody Fair in 1951, and the Eaton Operatic Society in 1959. In recent decades, it has been produced by the Light Opera of Manhattan several times in the 1970s and 1980s, the Shaw Festival in Canada (1981), Light Opera Works of Illinois (1987), and Ohio Light Opera in 2003.

;Film versionsThe show has been filmed at least four times, including twice in 1928 in the silent era. Joan Crawford starred in one of these versions, alongside James Murray. The best known film version was released in 1936, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Although the plot was changed, and most of the songs were dropped, it was a huge success and became MacDonald and Eddy's best-known film. In 1954, MGM produced an Eastmancolor version in Cinemascope, which more closely followed the original plot, but it still dropped most of Friml's songs. This version starred Ann Blyth, Howard Keel and Fernando Lamas, with Bert Lahr and Marjorie Main as comic relief. It was choreographed by Busby Berkeley.

;"Little Mary Sunshine""Rose Marie" is the main (but not the only) target of the satirical musical "Little Mary Sunshine", which parodies elements of the plot as well as the style of several of the songs. In particular, the song "Colorado Love Call" from "Little Mary Sunshine" is a parody of "Indian Love call" from "Rose Marie".Fact|date=June 2008

ynopsis

;Act IIn Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan, Canada, trappers, hunters and travellers gather at Lady Jane's hotel ("Vive la Canadienne"). Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Malone is flirting with Lady Jane, while city man Edward Hawley is watching a French Canadian girl, Rose Marie La Flamme, even though she's miner Jim Kenyon's sweetheart. Rose Marie's brother, Èmile, is searching for her, fearing she is alone with Jim. Wanda, a half-blooded Indian, dances particularly close to Hawley, enraging her Indian lover, Black Eagle. Lady Jane's man, "Hard-Boiled Herman" arrives at the bar. Jim and Rose Marie have been walking together, and Jim explains to Sergeant Malone that he has given up his former wild ways because of his love for "Rose Marie". Black Eagle is trying to claim the land (and the gold on it) belonging to Jim and Herman. Herman thinks that shooting Black Eagle will solve everything, but Jim prefers more legal means. Sergent Malone and "The Mounties" warn Herman that they will not hesitate to enforce the laws.

Èmile is going to take Rose Marie with him to the trapping grounds at Kootenay Pass. He dislikes Jim and wants her to marry Hawley. Rose Marie insists that she is in love with Jim ("Lak Jeem"). Hawley plans to go with him, but first he has to end his affair with Wanda. He plans to visit her at Black Eagle's log cabin and bribe her to stay away from him. Jim tells Rose Marie that he will follow her to Kootenay Pass, and they will meet in an old house he calls a castle near a valley with a beautiful echo. According to legend, Indians would call down into the valley to the girls they wished to marry ("Indian Love Call").

Hawley meets Wanda at her cabin and tries to pay her off as Jim arrives with maps to prove his claim. Wanda sends Jim away. Black Eagle returns home and catches Wanda and Hawley embracing. He attacks Hawley, and Wanda stabs Black Eagle to save Hawley. Jim and Herman, unaware of the murder, follow Èmile, Hawley, and Rose Marie to Kootenay Pass. Jim and Rose Marie communicate through their "Indian Love Call" (reprise). Èmile knows that Jim is hiding in the "castle" and tells Rose Marie that she should marry Hawley because he could buy her all the "Pretty Things" she wants. Wanda arrives at Kootenay Pass and tells everyone that Jim is wanted for the murder of Black Eagle; his map was discovered near Black Eagle's body.

Herman continues romancing Lady Jane ("Why Shouldn't We?"). Hawley proposes to Rose Marie, but she refuses him. He and a city girl, Ethel Brander, try to impress her with the glamour of city life in Quebec. Wanda leads an Indian "Totem-Tom-Tom" dance. Jim has received an offer from the Brazilian government to lead a mining project there. He asks Rose Marie to come with him, even though it would be safer for her to go to Quebec and wait for him there. If she decides to come, they will meet at the "castle" and go to the United States to be married. If she does not, she should sing the Indian Love Call up the valley to him. Rose Marie insists she will go with him; he leaves immediately, and she plans to follow twenty minutes later to avoid attracting suspicion. Sergeant Malone arrives with a warrant to arrest Jim for murder. Èmile tells Rose Marie he will not reveal Jim's hiding place to the Mounties if she will go to Quebec and marry Hawley. Rose Marie tells Hawley that she must sing the "Indian Love Call" to him, but she is really singing to Jim, telling him she will not go with him.

;Act IIRose Marie is about to marry Hawley in Quebec, believing that Jim was the killer. Ethel Brander has convinced her that Jim murdered Hawley because he loved Wanda. Herman and Lady Jane have married, and they have a shop in Quebec. He still flirts with other women but then catches her giving Sergeant Malone "Only a Kiss". Jim returns with Wanda, and Wanda affirms Rose Marie's belief that Jim is the murderer. Rose Marie rejects Jim and says that she loves Hawley ("I Love Him").

The wedding preparations commence ("The Minuet of the Minute"), and Wanda jealously threatens Hawley. Sergeant Malone prepares to arrest Jim, who is hiding in Kootenay Pass. Herman suspects Wanda and gets her to confess by pretending that Hawley has accused her of the murder. Jane interrupts them and incorrectly assumes Herman is cheating on her ("One Man Woman"). The wedding begins ("Doorway of My Dreams"), and as Rose Marie walks down the aisle, Wanda publicly confesses to the murder and declares her love for Hawley. Everyone rushes to Jim's lodgings, and Rose Marie goes to the pass to return Jim's "Indian Love Call". The lovers are finally united.

Musical numbers

;Act I
* Vive la Canadienne - Sergeant Malone and Ensemble
* Hard-Boiled Herman - Hard-Boiled Herman and Ensemble
* Rose Marie - Jim Kenyon and Sergeant Malone
* The Mounties - Sergeant Malone and Ensemble
* Lak Jeem - Rose Marie La Flamme and Ensemble
* Rose Marie (Reprise) - Rose Marie, Sergeant Malone, Edward Hawley, Emile and Ensemble
* Indian Love Call - Rose Marie and Jim Kenyon
* Pretty Things - Rose Marie and Ensemble
* Why Shouldn't We? - Lady Jane and Hard-Boiled Herman
* Totem Tom-Tom - Wanda and Ensemble ;Act II
* Pretty Things (Reprise) - Ethel Brander and Girls
* Only a Kiss - Hard-Boiled Herman, Lady Jane and Sergeant Malone
* I Love Him - Rose Marie, Jim, Edward Hawley, Emile, Ethel Brander and Wanda
* The Minuet of the Minute - Rose Marie and Hard-Boiled Herman
* One Man Woman - Lady Jane, Hard-Boiled Herman and Ensemble
* The Door of Her Dreams (Door of My Dreams) - Ensemble

Recordings

The operetta has been recorded a number of times, including in 1958 (RCA Victor LSO-1001) by a cast starring Julie Andrews and Giorgio Tozzi.

Notes

References

*Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. "Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time." Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004. ISBN 1-57912-390-2
*Gänzl, Kurt. "Gänzl's Book of the Broadway Musical: 75 Favorite Shows, from H.M.S. Pinafore to Sunset Boulevard." Schirmer Books, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-02-870832-6
*Nolan, Frederick. "The Sound of Their Music: The Story of Rodgers & Hammerstein". Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, New York, 2002. ISBN 1-55783-473-3
* [http://musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/friml/rose_marie.htm Information from Musical Theatre Guide]
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003027 Information from The Canadian Encyclopedia]
* [http://stageagent.com/Shows/View/1668 Information from Stageagent.com]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/rose-marie-operetta Synopsis of the show]

External links

* [http://www.oldfilm.org/nhfWeb/exhibits/WingsPosterExhibit/Rose-Marie.htm Information about the 1928 Joan Crawford version]
* [http://www.jeanettemacdonaldandnelsoneddy.com/films/jmne-rosemarie.htm Rose Marie (1936)] at Jeanette Macdonald and Nelson Eddy: A Tribute
* [http://members.aol.com/movieboy2/rose36.html Information about the 1936 film]
* [http://members.aol.com/movieboy5/rose54.html Information about the 1954 film]
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=42125 "NY Times" review of the 1954 film]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=10216 IBDB listing for the Broadway production]