Marinka is an operetta

Operetta

Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...

 by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán

Emmerich Kalman

Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...

 with book by George Marion, Jr. and Karl Farkas

Karl Farkas

Karl Farkas was an Austrian actor and cabaret performer.In accordance with the wishes of his parents, he was to study law, but decided to follow the call of the stage...

, and lyrics by George Marion, Jr. The operetta is a retelling of the story of the Mayerling incident, but with a happy ending replacing the infamous 1889 double suicide of Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress, Maria Vetsera

Baroness Mary Vetsera

Baroness Marie Alexandrine von Vetsera was a member of Austrian high society nobility and one of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria's mistresses...

. The best-known songs include "Only One Touch of Vienna," "Sigh by Night," "The Cab Song," and "When I Auditioned for the Harem of the Shah".

It was first produced on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 by Jules J. Leventhal and Harry Howard with financial backing from Lee Shubert

Lee Shubert

Levi "Lee" Shubert was a Polish-born American theatre owner/operator and producer and the oldest of seven siblings of the theatrical Shubert family....

 and Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

. It was staged by Hassard Short

Hassard Short

Hubert Edward Hassard Short , usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatrewho directed over 50 Broadway and West End shows between 1920 and 1953...

, choreographed by Albertina Rasch

Albertina Rasch

Albertina Rasch was a naturalized American dancer and choreographer.-Early life:Born in Vienna in 1891 to a family of Polish Jewish descent, Rasch studied at the Vienna State Opera Ballet school and became leading ballerina at the New York Hippodrome in...

 and used set designs by Howard Bay

Howard Bay (designer)

Howard Bay was an American scenic, lighting and costume designer for stage, opera and film. He won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design twice.-Career:...

 and costume designs by Mary Grant. The work premiered on July 18, 1945 at the Winter Garden Theatre

Winter Garden Theatre

The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....

. The production moved to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Ethel Barrymore Theatre

The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 243 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan, named for actress Ethel Barrymore....

 on October 1, 1945, running until December 8, 1945, for a total of 165 performances. The opening night cast included Joan Roberts as Marinka, Harry Stockwell

Harry Stockwell

Harry Stockwell was an American actor and singer. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.Stockwell made his film debut in the 1935 film, Strike Up the Band. However, his claim to fame came in 1935, when he provided the voice of "The Prince" in Walt Disney's animated classic, Snow...

 as Rudolph, Romo Vincent as Bratfisch, and Luba Malina as Countess Landovska. Later in the show's run radio personality Jerry Wayne replaced Stockwell as Rudolph and actress Edith Fellows

Edith Fellows

Edith Marilyn Fellows was an American actress who began her professional career at age 6.-Personal life:When she was a year old, she and her father and grandmother moved to Charlotte, North Carolina...

 replaced Roberts as Marinka.

Synopsis

The plot, set in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Mayerling

Mayerling

Mayerling is a small village in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat River, in the Wienerwald , 15 miles southwest of Vienna...

, and Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, with a prologue and epilogue in an open air movie theatre in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, was a retelling of the story of the Mayerling incident.

In the prologue, youngsters at a movie palace watch a film about the Mayerling story and feel that it is too tragic. Their bus driver, the son of Rudolph's coachman, has his own version of the story.

Musical numbers

Act 1

• "Only One Touch of Vienna" – Bratfisch and Girls
• "The Cab Song" – Bratfisch and Tilly
• "My Prince Came Riding" – Marinka and Debutantes
• "If I Never Waltz Again" – Marinka and Crown Prince Rudolph
• "The Cab Song" (Reprise) – Tilly, Countess von Diefendorfer and Debutantes
• "Turn on the Charm" – Bratfisch
• "One Last Love Song" – Marinka and Rudolph
• "Old Man Danube" – Bratfisch and Officers
• "Czardas" – Countess Landovska and Officers
• "Sigh by Night" – Marinka and Rudolph
• "One Last Love Song" (Reprise) – Marinka and Crown Prince Rudolph
• "Paletas" – Lieutenant Palafy and Dancers

Act 2

• "Treat a Woman Like a Drum" – Marinka, Tilly, Bratfisch, Francis and Lieutenant Palafy
• "When I Auditioned for the Harem of the Shah" – Countess Landovska
• "Young Man Danube" – Francis, Tilly, Lieutenant Palafy and Ensemble
• "Turn on the Charm" (Reprise) – Marinka and Rudolph
• "Sigh by Night" (Reprise) – Marinka and Rudolph
• "One Last Love Song" (Reprise) – Marinka, Rudolph and Company

Sources

• Nathan, George J. (1974). "Marinka July 18, 1945". Theatre Book of the Year, 1945-1946. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, pp. 52-60. ISBN 0838611745
• Time Magazine (July 30, 1945). "The Theater: New Musical in Manhattan"

External links

• Martin, Jessie Wright (2005). A survey of the operettas of Emmerich Kalman. PhD. Dissertation, Louisiana State University
  Louisiana State University
  Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...