ROBERT AYRES BARNET: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT AND LYRICIST.
Item
-
Title
-
ROBERT AYRES BARNET: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT AND LYRICIST.
-
Identifier
-
AAI8203345
-
identifier
-
8203345
-
Creator
-
ZUKERMAN, ROBERT SAMUEL.
-
Contributor
-
Robert S. Zukerman
-
Date
-
1981
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Theater
-
Abstract
-
Robert Ayres Barnet (1853-1933) was an American playwright and lyricist who wrote musical extravaganzas, burlesques, and comic operas from 1890 to 1906. During that period he collaborated on sixteen full-length works, becoming the leading playwright in Boston, and one of the most prolific in the United States. Hailed by some newspaper critics as America's "Extravaganza King," Barnet specialized in light musical entertainments, loosely organized around a central story--often drawn from children's tales or historical incidents--with a variety of characters and a plethora of musical numbers. His shows were heavily influenced by the English comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as by American minstrelsy and vaudeville.;Barnet helped found the Boston Cadets' Theatrical Organization, one of the most important amateur dramatic troupes in America at the time, and served as its only playwright. One of Barnet's plays, 1492, ran for over a year in New York, followed by three national tours. Nine of his plays were produced by such men as Edward E. Rice, Oscar Hammerstein, and the firm of Klaw and Erlanger.;This study charts the career of Robert A. Barnet and provides a detailed discussion of fourteen of his principal stage works. It helps explain Barnet's relative obscurity in the history of the American musical, and seeks to correct that oversight. The sources for this work are largely primary: unpublished typescripts, privately printed libretti, vocal scores, letters, contracts, programmes, and four personal scrapbooks kept by the playwright.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
-
Program
-
Theatre
