The run closed April 27, 1957
- Opened
- October 21, 1907
- Closed
- April 27, 1957
- Performances
- 416
- Previews
- —
- Theatre
- New Amsterdam Theatre
Of the 1,071 productions we hold that opened in the 1900s and record a performance count, this is the 9th longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.
Other stagings of The Merry Widow 5 more that season
| 1921 | Knickerbocker Theatre Revival · George Marion | 56 perf. |
| 1931 | Erlangers Theatre Revival · Milton Aborn | 32 perf. |
| 1942 | Carnegie Hall Revival · John Pierce | 39 perf. |
| 1943 | Majestic Theatre Revival · Felix Brentano | 322 perf. |
| 1944 | City Center Revival · Felix Brentano | 32 perf. |
Who was in it64 named
M Alberti
Marion Armstrong
M Bauer
Portia Belma
Eva Bennett
M Boone
Frances Cameron
M Cassidy
Miss Corwin
Miss Creagh
Margaret Dalrymple
Miss Davees
Emil Demetorad
M Doyle
Miss Duryea
M Ellinger
M Fisher
M Hamilton
Bernice Harte
M Hastings
M Holt
Alekx Hursau
Harry Hyde
Koszta Kolarszky
M Lane
Gerald Lane
M Livington
Cira Lozarne
M Manchester
Walda Marjanovich
F J Mccarthy
Charles Meakins
M Meyer
Harry H Meyer
M Miller
Miss Murray
Aurora Piatt
M Ransome
Blanche Rice
Miss Schiebly
Mr Smith
Nicholas Szabo
M Taylor
Clara Tichenor
M von Calish
Miss Wadham
Jean Ward
William C Weedon
M Whiting
Ralph Whiting
Walter C Wilson
Pauline Winters
Miss Witt
Sophie Witt
Georgia Caine
Ruby Dale
Rosemary Glosz
7 of these 64 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 57 are set from the identifier in the cast list, which is a slug of the name — so hyphens and full stops are lost and a few come out wrong. We hold nothing else about them. Nobody here is matched to a character: the cast list records who was in the company and not what they played.
Creative team
- Director
- George Marion
- Choreographer
- “Original choreography by” George Balanchine, George Balanchine, original
- Producer
- Henry W. Savage
A producer is one string on this record, however many people or companies it names. Directors and choreographers are held both as text and as identifiers; where an identifier exists the name links to a page.
Recordings 4 held for the work
None of these is attributed to this staging. They are filed against The Merry Widow, and nothing in the record says which production any of them documents. Closing that join is the point of this catalogue and it is not closed yet.
Around this production
- City Center was already booked for its next offering, a revival of The Merry Widow. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 620
- The New Amsterdam's first real megahit arrived on October 21, 1907, when Franz Lehar's beloved operetta The Merry Widow opened, starring Ethel Jackson and Donald Brian. With its enchanting waltz, The Merry Widow played here for 416 performances in an age when any show that played more than 100 performances was consider… At This Theatre 100 Years of Broadway Shows Stories and Botto Louis Viagas Rober, p. 25
- One of the Majesties biggest hits to this time opened on August 4, 1943: a new version of that favorite Franz Lehar/Victor Leon/Leo Stein operetta The Merry Widow. At This Theatre 100 Years of Broadway Shows Stories and Botto Louis Viagas Rober, p. 270
- A smash hit for the New Amsterdam and one of the most influential shows of the early 20th century was Franz Lehar’s operetta The Merry Widow (10/21/07; 416 performances). Its first American production opened with Ethel Jackson portraying the widow. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 398
- Thus, when about a half dozen years ago its producer sought to liven up The Merry Widow by inserting a banana-eating comedian, not only did he murder the excellent operetta’s chances on the spot but caused the people seeing and hearing it for the first time seriously to doubt whether it had ever been what earlier audie… Broadway Musicals the 101 Greatest Shows of All Time Bloom Ken 1949 Vlastnik Fra, p. 107
Passages naming this production, found by keyword across 178 books. Where it turns up in the literature, not curated notes about it.
What this page does not know
- No photograph of this staging. 48 of 13,459 productions hold one.
- No character names. We can say who was in the company and not who they played.
- Which of the 4 recordings of The Merry Widow document this run, if any.
- Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.