Rose‐Marie (1924), a musical play by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein (book, lyrics), Rudolf Friml, Herbert Stothart (music). [ Imperial Theatre, 557 perf.] Rose‐Marie La Flamme (Mary Ellis) works at Lady Jane's, a small hotel in the Canadian Rockies, and is courted by both the trapper Jim Kenyon (Dennis King) and the villainous Ed Hawley (Frank Greene), who manages to throw blame for the murder of the Indian Black Eagle (Arthur Ludwig) on his rival. The truth was that Black Eagle had found his wife, Wanda (Pearl Regay), with Hawley, and Wanda had killed her husband when he attacked Hawley. A clever trader, Hard‐Boiled Herman (William Kent), tricks Wanda into a confession, so Rose‐Marie and Jim are free to wed. Notable songs: Indian Love Call; The Mounties; Rose‐Marie; The Door of Her Dreams; Totem‐Tom‐Tom. The Arthur Hammerstein–produced musical sparked the revival of traditional operetta after World War I, during which the genre was perceived as German and therefore enemy entertainment. The excellence of the writing and the freshness of the setting coupled with the long‐dormant appeal of operetta allowed this musical a singular success. It was the biggest international musical hit of the decade, offering not only several American road companies but also running 851 performances in London and establishing a Paris long‐run record of 1,250 performances. Oddly, it has been revived less frequently than the other operetta hits of the 1920s.
Rose Marie, operetta
| American Theater Guide: Rose-Marie |
| Classical Work: Rose Marie, operetta |
- Date: 1924
- Composer: Rudolf Friml
- Period: Modern (1910-1949)
Review
This two-act musical (also realized in several film versions), composed in collaboration with Herbert Stohart, sets a text by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II.At Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan, Lady Jane's hotel (described in "Vive la Canadienne") is the rough hangout for trappers, hunters, and travelers. At the moment Mountie Sergeant Malone is chatting up Lady Jane, while Rose Marie La Flamme is being sought by dapper Edward Hawley and also her brother Émile who thinks she is with the miner Jim Kenyon. Wanda, a half-caste Indian, dances suggestively close to Hawley, making her drunken lover Blackeagle jealous. Meanwhile, "Hard-Boiled" Herman, to whom Lady Jane is attracted, arrives.
Jim Kenyon appears later, and Sergeant Malone notes Rose Marie's civilizing affect on this hard-drinking, rough man. But Kenyon does quarrel with Blackeagle who's trying to jump claim on Jim and Herman's land and take the gold. Sgt. Malone warns Herman not to use his gun, and the mounties show up to sing "The Mounties."
Émile wants to take Rose Marie, together with Hawley who Émile wants her to marry, to the Kootenay Pass where he traps. But Rose Marie declare her love for Kenyon (in "Lak Jeem"). Meanwhile, Hawley plans to pay Wanda, his former lover, to leave him. Kenyon hears of Émile's planned departure, and arranges with Rose Marie to meet him in an old house in the echoing valley of the "Indian Love Call."
Blackeagle, jealous, attacks Hawley in Wanda's cabin but Wanda stabs him. Then she blames Jim Kenyon who innocently left a map with Blackeagle to try to settle their land dispute.
In an interlude, Herman has a comic scene with Lady Jane ("Eccentric Dance," "Why Shouldn't We?").
Rose Marie turns down Hawley's marriage proposal, although he lauds the wonders of Quebec. Jim receives an offer to work in Brazil, and arranges for Rose Marie to sing the Indian Love Call as a signal she will not escape with him over the border to America that night. While Jim waits at the cabin, the mounties arrive with a warrant for Jim, but Rose Marie makes a deal with her brother not to reveal Jim's whereabouts if she will agree to marry Hawley, and then sings the Indian Love Song, and Jim departs alone.
In Act II, the action moves to Quebec where Rose Marie is about to marry Hawley. Herman is also there married to Lady Jane who sold her hotel. Jim arrives with Wanda, but actually to see Rose Marie; Rose still believes he is a murderer, so he leaves, disappointed ("I Love Him").
Wanda, jealous of Hawley's impending marriage, tries to blackmail him, but Sgt. Malone is suspicious of Wanda's new clothes and manner, and finally at the marriage ceremony Wanda breaks down and confesses the truth that she killed Blackeagle to protect her true love Hawley, and Jim is innocent. The wedding is off, and Rose returns to Kootenay Pass, echoes Jim's Indian Love Call, and they embrace as the curtain falls. ~ All Music Guide
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
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 | Otto Harbach (literature) |
| [Charles] Rudolf Friml (American Theater) |
| Rose Marie (disambiguation) |
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Classical Work. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Otto Harbach (literature)
- [Charles] Rudolf Friml (American Theater)
- Rose Marie (disambiguation)
- Singing cowboy
- Theatre Under The Stars (Vancouver)
- Bert Lahr
- Rose Marie (operetta)
- Indian Love Call
- Timeline of music in the United States (1920 – 1949)
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