The Princess Pat

The Princess Pat is an operetta in three acts with music by Victor Herbert and book and lyrics by Henry Blossom. While set on Long Island, New York, the story follows the American born Princess di Montaldo, a.k.a "Princess Pat" (formerly Patrice O'Connor), who is married to the Italian Prince Antonio di Montaldo, a.k.a. "Prince Toto". Unhappy that her husband ignores her, she is intent on winning back his attention and affections.[1] Herbert wrote the piece as a vehicle for the soprano Eleanor Painter.[2]

The Princess Pat
Sheet music
MusicVictor Herbert
LyricsHenry Blossom
BookHenry Blossom
Productions1915 Broadway


Performance history

After an Atlantic City, New Jersey tryout in August 1915, The Princess Pat was scheduled to make its Broadway debut on September 27, 1915.[1] However, the opening was postponed for two days when the actress Angela Palmer (born Pearl Foster), who was scheduled to perform the important ingenue role of Grace Holbrook, was murdered by her boyfriend on September 26. The producers quickly found and rehearsed the replacement for this role, Eva Fallon.[1]

The Princess Pat premiered on Broadway on September 29, 1915, at the Cort Theatre, and ran for 158 performances; closing on February 12, 1916.[1]

Characters and original cast
Riggs as Bertie and Witchie as Gabrielle
  • Frances Hedges – Una Brooks
  • General John Holbrook – Louis Casavant
  • Maude Van Cortlandt – Lilian Charles
  • Si Perkins – Alexander Clark
  • Jack Wickham – William Collins
  • Dorothy Pryme – Lyn Donaldson
  • Lee Bainbridge – Carl Drury
  • Duncan Arthur – Sven Erick
  • Elsie Smith – Kathleen Erroll
  • Grace Holbrook – Eva Fallon
  • Nat Franklin – Irving Fast
  • Anne Winthrop – Clare Freeman
  • Sidney Gray – Jack Hagner
  • Bob Darrow – Sam B. Hardy
  • Thomas – Martin Haydon
  • Coralie Bliss – Doris Kenyon
  • Bella Wells – Charlotte La Grande
  • Prince Antonio di Montaldo – Joseph Lertora
  • Reggie Calthorpe – Este Morrison
  • Marie – Leonora Novasio
  • Tony Schmalz, Jr. – Robert Ober
  • Princess di Montaldo – Eleanor Painter
  • Teddy Thorne – William Quinby
  • Bertie Ashland – Ralph Riggs
  • Achille Mazetti – Mario Rogati
  • Al Shean – Anthony Schmalz
  • Hester Lisle – Clara Taylor
  • Gabrielle Fourneaux – Katherine Witchie

Synopsis

Setting: Long Island, New York[1]

Princess Patrice O'Connor, an Irish-American, is married to the Italian Prince Antonio di Montaldo. The Prince is unattentive, now that the couple has married, and so Pat pretends to elope with the aging Anthony Schmalz to make him jealous and to help her friend Grace. Her scheme works well: the Prince's passion is revived, and Grace marries a younger and more suitable member of the Schmalz family.

Song list
  • Allies – Marie and Thomas
  • Make Him Guess – Grace and Ladies
  • I'd Like to Be a Quitter, But I Find It Hard to Quit – Tony Schmalz, Jr.
  • Love Is the Best of All – Princess de Montaldo and Ensemble
  • For Better or For Worse (Sunshine) – Princess de Montaldo and Grace
  • When a Girl's About to Marry – Grace, General John Holbrook and Anthony Schmalz
  • Estellita – Ensemble
  • Neapolitan Love Song (T'amo!) – Prince Antonio di Montaldo
  • I Wish I Was an Island in an Ocean of Girls – Anthony Schmalz and Girls
  • I Need Affection – Princess de Montaldo
  • All for You – Princess de Montaldo and Prince Antonio di Montaldo
  • In a Little World for Two – Princess de Montaldo, Bob Darrow, Grace and Tony Schmalz, Jr.
  • The Shoes of Husband Number One Are Worn by Number Two – Si Perkins
  • Two Laughing Irish Eyes – Ensemble

References
  1. Dan Dietz (2021). "The Princess Pat". The Complete Book of 1910s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 323-325. ISBN 9781538150283.
  2. "Eleanor Strong". Associated Press in the Toledo Blade. November 4, 1947. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
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