The Widow Jones is a musical comedy created by the writer John J. McNally as a star vehicle for the actress and singer May Irwin.[1] The musical used song material by a variety of song writers which used a "Negro dialect".[2][1] Premiering at the Boston Museum theatre and backed by the Boston producers Rich & Harris, the play toured in cities through the United States in 1895-1896; including two separate runs at Broadway's Bijou Theatre. The work is best remembered today for its Act 1 kiss scene which was re-created by Irwin with her co-star John C. Rice as a short film in Thomas Edison's The Kiss in 1896.
Irwin portrays Beatrice Byke an un-married "fat-fair-and-forty" woman who has run away to Maine and assumed the false identity of a widow going by the surname Jones in order to avoid her many ardent suitors.[2][1] Over the course of the play she is forced to pay the bills of her false husband, a man who allegedly died from drowning, only to eventually come face to face with the supposedly drowned man.[1]
Performances and Edison filmedit
The Widow Jones premiered at the Boston Museum on September 2, 1895, and then went on tour for performances in cities throughout the United States.[2] Part of this tour included performances at Broadway's Bijou Theatre where it began its run on September 16, 1895.[1] The production left New York City to perform on tour, but ultimately returned for more performances at the Bijou Theatre beginning on March 16, 1896.[3] On April 21, 1896 at the Bijou Theatre the show's producer's, Rich & Harris of Boston, presented Irwin with a custom made silver perfume bottle and a plaque to celebrate the production's 300th performance given during the production's run (not all on Broadway, but collectively).[4]
Thomas Edison hired the play's stars, May Irwin and John Rice, to recreate the kiss seen in act 1 of the play for the 1896 short film, The Kiss, made in Edison's Kinetoscope process. The film was acquired by the Film Library of the Museum of Modern Art in 1935.[5]
Songsedit
"His Legs Are Assorted Sizes" (music by Geo. H. Wilder, lyrics by Lawrence J. Sheehan)
"I Love My Honey Yes I Do" (music and lyrics by Will C. Carleton)[6]
"The New Bully" (music and lyrics by Charles E. Trevathan)[2]
^ abcde"BOSTON'S NEW PRODUCTIONS.; " The Widow Jones," "The Globe Trotter," and "Burmah."". The New York Times. September 3, 1895. p. 3.
^"May Irwin Returns to Town with" The Widow Jones."". The New York Times. March 17, 1896. p. 5.
^"A SOUVENIR FOR MAY IRWIN.; Surprise Given to the Actress at the Bijou Last Night". The New York Times. April 22, 1896. p. 13.
^"MUSEUM ACQUIRES 50-FOOT FILM KISS; Scene From 'The Widow Jones,' 1896 Vintage, Stars May Irwin in Romantic Vein". The New York Times. July 11, 1935. p. 23.
The Kiss - the Edison film on YouTube (21 seconds)
December 16, 2023
widow, jones, musical, comedy, created, writer, john, mcnally, star, vehicle, actress, singer, irwin, musical, used, song, material, variety, song, writers, which, used, negro, dialect, premiering, boston, museum, theatre, backed, boston, producers, rich, harr. The Widow Jones is a musical comedy created by the writer John J McNally as a star vehicle for the actress and singer May Irwin 1 The musical used song material by a variety of song writers which used a Negro dialect 2 1 Premiering at the Boston Museum theatre and backed by the Boston producers Rich amp Harris the play toured in cities through the United States in 1895 1896 including two separate runs at Broadway s Bijou Theatre The work is best remembered today for its Act 1 kiss scene which was re created by Irwin with her co star John C Rice as a short film in Thomas Edison s The Kiss in 1896 The Widow JonesMusicVariousLyricsVariousBookJohn J McNallyProductions1895 Broadway 1901 Broadway Contents 1 Plot 2 Performances and Edison film 3 Songs 4 Notes 5 External linksPlot editSetting MaineIrwin portrays Beatrice Byke an un married fat fair and forty woman who has run away to Maine and assumed the false identity of a widow going by the surname Jones in order to avoid her many ardent suitors 2 1 Over the course of the play she is forced to pay the bills of her false husband a man who allegedly died from drowning only to eventually come face to face with the supposedly drowned man 1 Performances and Edison film editThe Widow Jones premiered at the Boston Museum on September 2 1895 and then went on tour for performances in cities throughout the United States 2 Part of this tour included performances at Broadway s Bijou Theatre where it began its run on September 16 1895 1 The production left New York City to perform on tour but ultimately returned for more performances at the Bijou Theatre beginning on March 16 1896 3 On April 21 1896 at the Bijou Theatre the show s producer s Rich amp Harris of Boston presented Irwin with a custom made silver perfume bottle and a plaque to celebrate the production s 300th performance given during the production s run not all on Broadway but collectively 4 Thomas Edison hired the play s stars May Irwin and John Rice to recreate the kiss seen in act 1 of the play for the 1896 short film The Kiss made in Edison s Kinetoscope process The film was acquired by the Film Library of the Museum of Modern Art in 1935 5 Songs edit His Legs Are Assorted Sizes music by Geo H Wilder lyrics by Lawrence J Sheehan I Love My Honey Yes I Do music and lyrics by Will C Carleton 6 The New Bully music and lyrics by Charles E Trevathan 2 I Want Yer Ma Honey 2 Notes edit a b c d e Gerald Martin Bordman Richard Norton 2010 American Musical Theatre A Chronicle Oxford University Press p 161 ISBN 9780199729708 a b c d e BOSTON S NEW PRODUCTIONS The Widow Jones The Globe Trotter and Burmah The New York Times September 3 1895 p 3 May Irwin Returns to Town with The Widow Jones The New York Times March 17 1896 p 5 A SOUVENIR FOR MAY IRWIN Surprise Given to the Actress at the Bijou Last Night The New York Times April 22 1896 p 13 MUSEUM ACQUIRES 50 FOOT FILM KISS Scene From The Widow Jones 1896 Vintage Stars May Irwin in Romantic Vein The New York Times July 11 1935 p 23 as indicated on cover of sheet music External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Widow Jones The Widow Jones at the Internet Broadway Database The Kiss the Edison film on YouTube 21 seconds Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Widow Jones amp oldid 1169546803, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
