Babette (musical)

Babette is a Broadway operetta with a libretto by Harry B. Smith and music by Victor Herbert, which premiered in 1903.[1]

Productions

The original production opened at the Broadway Theatre on November 16, 1903, and closed on January 9, 1904, after 59 performances.[2]

In 1976 Bel Canto Opera staged an off-Broadway revival of the show, which opened on May 21 and ran for four performances.[2][3][4]

Synopsis

Babette, the letter-writer of a small Flemish village, travels with a group of Flemish patriots to Versailles to seek help from the French king in their desire for freedom from the Spanish.[4]

Songs

Act l

• Opening Chorus (Ensemble)
• My Honor and My Sword (Mondragon and Chorus)
• On the Other Side of The Wall (Mondragon and Vinetta)
• Entrance of Babette (Ensemble)
• Letter I Write all day (Letter-writing Song) (Babette)
• He Who’d Thrive (Clockmaker’s Song) (Van Tympel and Chorus)
• I’ll Bribe the Stars (Picture Painting Song) (Babette and Marcel)
• Finale I (Ensemble)

Act ll

• Opening Chorus Act II (Ensemble)
• Tony the Peddler (Mondragon and Chorus)
• Hear the Coachman Crack His Whip (Ensemble)
• We're Very Highly Polished at the Court (Baltazar and Vinetta)
• To the Sound of the Pipe and the Roll of the Drum (Babette, Vinetta, Eva and Chorus)
• On The Stage (Van Tymple)
• Be Kind to poor Pierrot (Babette)
• There once was an owl (Marcel, Vinetta, Eva, Mondragon, Katrina, Theresa)
• My Lady ‘Tis For Thee (Marcel)
• The Life of a Bold Free Lance (Captain Guzman and Chorus)
• Finale II (Ensemble)

Act lll

• Opening Chorus Act III (Ensemble)
• It’s A way we have in Spain (Van Tromp, Eva, Mondragon, Marcel and Chorus)
• My Lady of the Manor (Vinette, Eva, Marcel and Mondragon)
• Where the Fairest Flow’rs (Butterfly Waltz) (Babette)
• Finale III (Ensemble)[5]

Cast

	1903 Broadway[6]	1976 Revival[4]
Babette	Fritzi Scheff	Elizabeth King
Mondragon	Eugene Cowles	Mark Munkittrick
Eva	Josephine Bartlett	Janet Wagner
Katrina	Florence Belleville
Vinette	Ida Hawley	Peggy Hewett
Marcel	Richie Ling	Daniel Mele
Van Tympel	Louis Harrison	David L. Scatter
Baltazar	Edward J. Connelly	Blaine Brown
Laurent	Gertrude Adams
Count de Courville	Arthur Blanchard
Jan	Frank Boyle
Henri	Rita Dean
The King of France	Erroll Dunbar
Margot	Rosa Earle
Captain Waither	Alfred S. Ely
Mlle. de Fontanges	Mildred Forest
Greta	Edna Luby
Teresa	Emily Montague
Joan	Adele Nott
Gaston	Helen Planchet
Jacque	Aline Redmond
Mlle. de Rohan	May Seeley
Schnapps	William Sissons
Guzman	Madison Smith
Coachman	J. T. Chaillee
A Court Lady	Mary Smith
Footman	Charles Emerson
Duc de St. Michel	Henry Wilkinson
Marquis de Villette	George Williamson
Mlle. de la Motte	Bertha Willoughby

Reception

The 1903 production received positive reviews for Scheff in the lead role and Herbert's music, but generally negative reviews for the show's book.[7]

External links

• Babette at the IBDB

References

1. "Babette - 1903 Broadway - Creative Team". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
2. "Babette - 1903 Broadway - Backstage & Production Info". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
3. "Babette - 1976 Off-Broadway - Backstage & Production Info". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
4. Ericson, Raymond (1976-05-23). "Opera: Rare Herbert by the Bel Canto". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
5. "MORE ON BABETTE". Comic Opera Guild. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
6. "Babette Original Broadway Musical Cast 1903". Broadway World. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
7. Bordman, Gerald Martin (2010). American musical theatre : a chronicle. Richard Norton (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-19-972970-8. OCLC 656556582.