The Candy Shop

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The Candy Shop
MusicJohn Golden
LyricsJohn Golden
BookGeorge V. Hobart
ProductionsKnickerbocker Theatre, New York 1909

The Candy Shop is a two-act musical comedy, with music and lyrics by John Golden and libretto by George V. Hobart, first performed April 27, 1909 at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York.[1]

The production ran for 49 performances, closing on June 12, 1909. Produced by Charles Dillingham, the production was directed by William E. MacQuinn and staged by Fred G. Latham; scenic design by Homer Emens and John H. Young, with costumes designed by Elsie DeWolfe.[2] The cast featured Ida Adams, Maude Fulton and William Rock[3] (a vaudeville duo then known as Rock & Fulton) and received mixed [4] to positive reviews, with one paper describing the show as "a stage reproduction of a Coney Island scene a thing of vivid color, life, and comics."[5]

After closing, a condensed version of the show was performed at Bay State Hospital in Boston for a wealthy patient.[6] The musical is associated with the songs "Oh You Candy Kid"[7] and "Googy-oo",[8] however neither song appears in the vocal score or other performance references.[9] The musical also features a song that employs negative stereotypes of Chinese people, part of an offensive yet persistent "enthusiasm for Chinese-themed entertainments, especially during the first two decades of the twentieth century".[10]

The story features the adventures of Jack Sweet, son of a candy shop owner, after his father accuses him of theft.[11]

Still images from the production are available via the New York Public Library.[12]

List of musical numbers[edit]

Act 1 (The Candy Shop)

  • Opening Chorus (Working, clerking, selling candies, etc.)
  • "Now That I've Got It, I Don't Want It " (Solo and Chorus) - John, Girls
  • "Just We Two" (Duet) - Jack, Hilda
  • "Honey Bunch" (Solo and Ensemble) - Jack, Sue, Settle
  • "I've Been Married Once" (Solo) - Saul
  • "In Vaudeville" (Duet and Ensemble) - Gilbert, Hilda
  • "You're My Girl" (Duet) - Gilbert, Hilda
  • Finale (Who Among You Stole That Jewel?) - Entire Company

Act 2 (Coney Island)

  • Opening Chorus (There Is an Island) - Entire Company
  • "By Wireless" (Double Octette) - Boys, Girls
  • "Help! And the Villain Goes to Jail" (Solo and Chorus) - Sally Ann
  • "Chinese Love Song" (Duet) - Gilbert, Hilda
  • "Mr. Othello" (Solo) - Mrs Gregory
  • "Meet Me Down on the Corner" - Gilbert, Sally Ann

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Candy Shop (Golden, John) - IMSLP". imslp.org. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. ^ "The Candy Shop". Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  3. ^ https://gsarchive.net/AMT/candyshop/index.html
  4. ^ https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=poss19091229-01.1.8&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------
  5. ^ "Scarsdale Inquirer 20 May 1909 — HRVH Historical Newspapers". news.hrvh.org. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ^ "HIRES WHOLE MUSICAL SHOW.; New Yorker Has "The Candy Shop" Produced in Boston Hospital". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  7. ^ https://lccn.loc.gov/2016789391 Golden, John, 1874-1955 composer. Oh, you candy kid. 1909. 1 score M1508 .Candy shop
  8. ^ Victor matrix B-8013. Googy-oo / Ada Jones ; Billy Murray. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200008076/B-8013-Googy-oo.
  9. ^ Golden, John (1909). The candy shop : a musical comedy in two acts / book by George V. Hobart ; lyrics & music by John L. Golden ; vocal score. hdl:1802/24049.
  10. ^ Saffle, Michael (2017). "Eastern Fantasies on Western Stages: Chinese-Themed Operettas and Musical Comedies in Turn-of-the-Last-Century London and New York". In Yang, Hon-Lun; Saffle, Michael (eds.). China and the West: Music, Representation, and Reception. University of Michigan Press. pp. 87–118. ISBN 978-0-472-90075-6. Project MUSE chapter 1943046.
  11. ^ "The Candy Shop - The Guide to Musical Theatre". www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  12. ^ Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(still image) The candy shop keysheets., (1909)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved December 6, 2023.