Wang

Wang (1891), a musical comedy by J. Cheever Goodwin (book, lyrics), Woolson Morse (music). [ Broadway Theatre, 151 perf.] Wang (De Wolf Hopper) is the conniving Regent of Siam. This scarcely bothers the young prince, Mataya (Della Fox), who is more concerned with his own courtship of Gillette (Anna O'Keefe). But Gillette's mother, La Veuve Frimousse (Marion Singer), is convinced that Mataya wants Gillette only for her money since, as the widow of a former French consul, Frimousse has managed to get her hands on the entire treasury of Siam. But the ever resourceful Wang engineers a marriage, not only between Mataya and Gillette but between himself and the widow, relieving her of the money at the same time. Notable songs: Ask the Man in the Moon; A Pretty Girl. One of the biggest hits of its time, it owed much of its success to Hopper's broad clowning as well as to the charm and singing of Fox in a typical trouser role of the period. [Henry] Woolson MORSE (1858–97) was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, educated at the best private schools and at the Boston Conservatory, and then trained abroad. His musical Cinderella at School came to the attention of Augustin Daly, who brought it to New York in 1881. Before Morse's early death he wrote the scores for six other Broadway musicals besides Wang, among them such once popular, if now forgotten, successes as The Merry Monarch (1890), Dr. Syntax (1894), and Lost, Strayed or Stolen (1896). While some of his songs were widely sung in their day, none remains popular.