The Princess Pat is an operetta in three acts with music by Victor Herbert and book and lyrics by Henry Blossom. While set on Long Island, New York, the story follows the American born Princess di Montaldo, a.k.a "Princess Pat" (formerly Patrice O'Connor), who is married to the Italian Prince Antonio di Montaldo, a.k.a. "Prince Toto". Unhappy that her husband ignores her, she is intent on winning back his attention and affections. Herbert wrote the piece as a vehicle for the soprano Eleanor Painter.
Performance history
After an Atlantic City, New Jersey tryout in August 1915, The Princess Pat was scheduled to make its Broadway debut on September 27, 1915. However, the opening was postponed for two days when the actress Angela Palmer (born Pearl Foster), who was scheduled to perform the important ingenue role of Grace Holbrook, was murdered by her boyfriend on September 26. The producers quickly found and rehearsed the replacement for this role, Eva Fallon.
The Princess Pat premiered on Broadway on September 29, 1915, at the Cort Theatre, and ran for 158 performances; closing on February 12, 1916.
Characters and original cast
Frances Hedges – Una Brooks
General John Holbrook – Louis Casavant
Maude Van Cortlandt – Lilian Charles
Si Perkins – Alexander Clark
Jack Wickham – William Collins
Dorothy Pryme – Lyn Donaldson
Lee Bainbridge – Carl Drury
Duncan Arthur – Sven Erick
Elsie Smith – Kathleen Erroll
Grace Holbrook – Eva Fallon
Nat Franklin – Irving Fast
Anne Winthrop – Clare Freeman
Sidney Gray – Jack Hagner
Bob Darrow – Sam B. Hardy
Thomas – Martin Haydon
Coralie Bliss – Doris Kenyon
Bella Wells – Charlotte La Grande
Prince Antonio di Montaldo – Joseph Lertora
Reggie Calthorpe – Este Morrison
Marie – Leonora Novasio
Tony Schmalz, Jr. – Robert Ober
Princess di Montaldo – Eleanor Painter
Teddy Thorne – William Quinby
Bertie Ashland – Ralph Riggs
Achille Mazetti – Mario Rogati
Al Shean – Anthony Schmalz
Hester Lisle – Clara Taylor
Gabrielle Fourneaux – Katherine Witchie
Synopsis
Setting: Long Island, New York
Princess Patrice O'Connor, an Irish-American, is married to the Italian Prince Antonio di Montaldo. The Prince is unattentive, now that the couple has married, and so Pat pretends to elope with the aging Anthony Schmalz to make him jealous and to help her friend Grace. Her scheme works well: the Prince's passion is revived, and Grace marries a younger and more suitable member of the Schmalz family.
Song list
Allies – Marie and Thomas
Make Him Guess – Grace and Ladies
I'd Like to Be a Quitter, But I Find It Hard to Quit – Tony Schmalz, Jr. Love Is the Best of All – Princess de Montaldo and Ensemble For Better or For Worse (Sunshine) – Princess de Montaldo and Grace When a Girl's About to Marry – Grace, General John Holbrook and Anthony Schmalz Estellita – Ensemble Neapolitan Love Song (T'amo!) – Prince Antonio di Montaldo I Wish I Was an Island in an Ocean of Girls – Anthony Schmalz and Girls I Need Affection – Princess de Montaldo All for You – Princess de Montaldo and Prince Antonio di Montaldo In a Little World for Two – Princess de Montaldo, Bob Darrow, Grace and Tony Schmalz, Jr. The Shoes of Husband Number One Are Worn by Number Two – Si Perkins Two Laughing Irish Eyes – Ensemble