The American musical theatre: The Million Dollar Doll

 

This morning's little discovery ...

I don't imagine many followers and scholars of the American musical theatre have heard of The Million Dollar Doll. I hadn't. So these intrigued me ...

It saw the light of stage in 1914. Exactly where and when I cannot be sure, but it was announced in early September, and I spot it playing at Watertown, Wisc on 7 October, as part of a series of one night engagements. It -- or something under the same title -- was still to be seen, under the same management, trouping the country four years later. So, what was it? And who were Mr Orr and Mr Weslyn.

'The Million Dollar Girl' title was a ripoff. Maurice Abrahams's song 'Oh, you Million Dollar Doll' had been doing the round of the vaudevilles for the past eighteen months or more ..

But titles in those days -- as in these - didn't necessarily have any relevance to the entertainment. The management's next show was entitled There She Goes. 

And in the same fashion, a piece described as 'musical comedy' wasn't necessarily a coherent musical play. Oh, it had music (lots) and comedy (lots) and often speciality acts ... but it was more a series of vaudeville turns, linked by a smidgin of plot and character.

The Million Dollar Girl claimed to be more than that. Harvey D Orr (b Wooster, Ohio 19 December 1865; d Indianapolis 8 June 1940) advertised determinedly 'a musical comedy with a complete story and plot'. Plus 22 songs. And, at some stage 'a carload of scenery and an aerial ballet 'The Birth of the Butterfly'. Plus ..

Mr Orr, farmer's son from Ohio, had seemingly never produced a musical before. His area, as actor and manager, had been the stock theatre in Chicago ('Harvey Dramatic Co' at Bush Temple of Music) and then for several seasons on the road, from Kalamazoo to Peoria (Harvey D Orr Stock Company, Life's Shop Window, The Confession and others, advertised as New York's greatest hits). 

Somewhere along the way, he came together with 'Mr Weslyn' of Indianapolis. Weslyn was rightly one Louis Weslyn Jones (b Indianapolis 12 October ?1874; 31 December 1936) who had been writing and publishing minstrel sketches and songs for over 20 years whilst earning his bread as collector, reporter, bookkeeper, press agent. I notice a song 'Dreams' published in 1893, another 'Rastus' for the 'Colombian Minstrels' a sketch The King of the Filipinos for Al G Fields's Minstrels, Moonflowers for Edd Redway and a Gertrude Lawrence (not that one), Cupid's Ladder (which he performed himself with Rhoda Nickells), Levinsky's Old Shoes ... He at some stage joined the staff at M Witmark & Sons, and came out with lyrics and sometimes tunes for a number of successful songs. 

So producer, writer and title somehow came together ...  and that plot? I can't find a review that details the much vaunted plot. I think it may have got drowned amid the songs and the girls. And the cast? Apart from Harvey himself, who is the comical gangler above .. well, I can't find them either. Except that his son or brother joined him in the billing latterly. (He had two sons by his first wife, who died young)

Mr Orr published the show's songs freely. They pop up on numerous websites, with ever-changing lists of singles. 'The Dancing Craze', 'My Little Fox Trot Girl' (lyric credit shared with Herman Hupfeld!) and 'When a Fellow Needs a Friend' seem to have been the stayers. 'Society', 'Night Time', 'I guess it isn't apt to happen again' were among the others.

That's it really. Until I can find a plot and a programme. Can anyone help?

Oh, the duo worked on two more shows together before the vein ran out...

PS a bit of documentataion on Mr Orr

Louis was less informatively buried in Brooklyn where there is less room ..

The Million Dollar Doll is buried forever. Unless a tatty old script turns up in an attic one day ...

Denistown, Pa

PS the buzzword was not dead ...