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| NYPL Digital Gallery |
The title character, a sweet Salvation Army girl named Violet, was played by Edna May, who is seen at left in one of her costumes (not the official Salvation Army getup, though). A rich, lazy young man named Harry falls in love with her and his father pushes them to marry. He makes Violet heir to his fortune (taking Harry out of the will at the same time, you see). And all would have been well ---
Except for the fact that Violet knows Harry is still in love with his former fiancee, Cora Angelique (is that not a great name?). And Violet really loves Harry and wants him to be back in the will. So she sings a naughty song to get Harry's dad to break things off (that is all it took to upset wealthy parents in 1897, it would seem). Cora and Harry get back together. Violet tiptoes offstage, presumably to change back into her Salvation Army outfit.
But wait! Harry finally realizes that - yes, you guessed it - that he really, truly loves dear, virtuous, selfless Violet, the Belle of New York. Back she comes, to pose on a swing, in a ruffled dress and a bonnet the size of a zeppelin. Cue tremendous (English) applause.
Edna May (1878-1948), the star of this confection, was made famous by the London success of the play. She married several times, finally to a wealthy Englishman, but had had a tragic love affair with an Indian prince. It ended badly because his family did not approve of her - the exact opposite of Violet's experience in The Belle of New York.
More here:
The Edna May Pages
John Culme's Footlight Notes: Edna May
...And finally a bit about the 1952 Fred Astaire/Vera Ellen movie The Belle of New York, which also stars a rich hero and a Salvation Army heroine, with slightly different plot twists - minus both Cora Angelique and the skyscraper bonnets.
5 comments:
Thanks for this! I've seen the Fred Astaire/Vera Ellen film on TCM, and I've always wondered about the play. Thought about heading over to Lincoln Center to see if they have a copy of the script.
Ahhh, I wondered if it had been made into a film and Elizabeth's comment above jolted my memory.
Poor Edna May, how galling but she sounds as though she really lived life large :)
Elizabeth - I saw Edna May's photo(s) on the NYPL site and I just had to find out about her. I would really like to see the Fred Astaire/ Vera-Ellen movie, as I love them both :)
Jayne - Yes, she did. I always think I ought to have written more about people, and in this case maybe I will come back to Edna one of these days...
You always ferret out the most interesting snippets of history!
The Belle of New York received moderate praise when it opened in NYC in 1897- but, it launched the career of Edna May. When the play went to London, it received spectacular praise.
To understand how famous Edna became...she was courted by the Prince of Wales, by aristocrats and very wealthy men. Diamonds were thrown at her feet on stage, a South African mining company gave her shares and on her last performance, her carriage was unhitched and a mob of english gentlemen pulled her in the carriage around London.
Feel free to visit www.ednamay.net for more !
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