Edward Royce (director)

Edward Royce or Edward Royce Jr. (born James William Reddall; 14 December 1870 – 15 June 1964) was an English director and choreographer of musical theatre, best remembered for his series of successful productions on Broadway. His father was the actor, dancer, singer and stage manager E. W. Royce.[1]

Edward Royce
Born14 December 1870
Died15 June 1964
Occupations
  • Director
  • Choreographer
Parent

Royce choreographed and/or directed more than a dozen comic operas and Edwardian musical comedies in London from 1902 to 1916, most of them for George Edwardes. Moving to Broadway, he directed a series of musicals, including several Princess Theatre musicals, including Oh, Boy! (1917), and such other successes as Irene (1919), Sally (1920), and several Ziegfeld productions.

Royce also directed in Australia and elsewhere in the United States, choreographed a few motion picture musicals, and later returned to England to direct a revival of A Waltz Dream (1934) and co-author a musical comedy, Fritzi (1935).

Daly's Theatre (1905), where Royce directed several shows from 1909 to 1916

Life and career

Royce was born in Bath, England. He studied scenic art before becoming a dancer.[1] On the London stage, early in his career, he choreographed and/or staged Merrie England (1902–1903), A Princess of Kensington (1903 also dancing a duet with Winifred Hart Dyke),[1] and shows for George Edwardes,[2] including A Waltz Dream (1908),[3] Our Miss Gibbs (1909),[4] The Dollar Princess (1909),[3] The Girl in the Train (1910),[3] Peggy (1911),[5] The Count of Luxemburg (1911),[3] Gypsy Love (1912)[3] The Marriage Market (1913)[3] and The Happy Day (1916).[5]

Moving to Broadway, he directed The Century Girl (1916), Sally (1920), The Ziegfeld Follies (1920–1921), several other Ziegfeld shows, the hit musical Irene (1919), and Kid Boots (1923) among many others.[2] For No, No, Nanette, Royce directed the show's pre-Broadway run in Chicago, in 1924, but did not direct the Broadway run in 1925.[6][7] A series of musicals, known as the Princess Theatre musicals, were produced on Broadway between 1915 and 1919, written by the team of Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton and (usually) P. G. Wodehouse.[8] Royce directed the most successful show in the series, Oh, Boy! (1917), which ran for 463 performances (the last few months at the Casino Theatre), making it the third-longest running Broadway musical in the 1910s.[9] Royce directed two other shows in 1917 created by the Princess Theatre team, Leave It to Jane and Have a Heart, which were presented at other Broadway theatres.[8] The same busy year, he also directed an unrelated Broadway hit, Going Up.[10] The following year, he directed the final two Princess Theatre musicals, Oh, Lady! Lady!! and Oh, My Dear!.[11]

Royce also directed in Australia and on the West Coast of the United States.[1] He later choreographed such motion picture musicals as Married in Hollywood (1929), Words and Music (1929), and the British film Aunt Sally (1933) which was released in the U.S. as Along Came Sally (1934).[12]

He returned to London to direct a revival of A Waltz Dream (1934) and co-authored a romantic musical comedy, Fritzi (1935).[1] His last production was at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1954.[13] He died in London at the age of 93.[1]

Theatre credits

Britain
Show Opening Role Theatre
Merrie England[1] 1902 Stage manager/
Dance & choral effects arranger		 Savoy
A Princess of Kensington[1] 1903 Stage manager/
Dance & choral effects arranger		 Savoy
The Earl and the Girl[14] 1905 Director Prince's, Bristol
A Waltz Dream[3] 1908 Director Hicks
Our Miss Gibbs[4] 1909 Director Gaiety
The Dollar Princess[3] 1909 Stage Director Daly's
The Girl in the Train[3] 1910 Director Vaudeville
Peggy[5] 1911 Stage director Gaity
The Count of Luxemburg[3] 1911 Stage director Daly's
Gypsy Love[3] 1912 Director Daly's
The Doll Girl[3] 1913 Choreographer Globe
The Marriage Market[3] 1913 Producer & director Daly's
Tina[5] 1915 Stage director Adelphi
The Happy Day[5] 1916 Stage director Daly's
A Waltz Dream[1] 1934 Director Winter Garden
Fritzi[15] 1935 Co-author (book) Adelphi & Shaftesbury
A Waltz Dream[16] 1942 Director Bristol Hippodrome
Salute the Soldier[17] 1944 Director Bristol Hippodrome
The Count of Luxemburg[13] 1954 Director Bristol Hippodrome

United States
Show[18] Opening Role Locationa
The Doll Girl 25 August 1913 Choreographer Globe Theatre
The Marriage Market 22 September 1913 Director Knickerbocker Theatre
The Laughing Husband 2 February 1914 Director Knickerbocker Theatre
Betty 3 October 1916 Director Globe Theatre
The Century Girl 6 November 1916 Director Century Theatre
Have a Heart 11 January 1917 Director Liberty Theatre
Oh, Boy! 20 February 1917 Director Princess Theatre
Leave It to Jane 28 August 1917 Director Longacre Theatre
Kitty Darlin' 7 November 1917 Director Casino Theatre
Going Up 25 December 1917 Director Liberty Theatre
Oh, Lady! Lady!! 1 February 1918 Director Princess Theatre
Rock-A-Bye Baby 22 May 1918 Director Astor Theatre
The Canary 4 November 1918 Director Globe Theatre
Oh, My Dear! 27 November 1918 Director Princess Theatre
Come Along 8 April 1919 Director Nora Bayes Theatre
She's a Good Fellow 5 May 1919 Co-director Globe Theatre
Apple Blossoms 7 October 1919 Co-director Globe Theatre
Irene 18 November 1919 Director Vanderbilt Theatre
Lassie 6 April 1920 Director Nora Bayes Theatre
Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 21 June 1921 Director New Amsterdam Theatre
Kissing Time 11 October 1920 Director Lyric Theatre
Sally 21 December 1920 Director New Amsterdam Theatre
Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic (1920) 1 February 1921 Director Ziegfeld Roof
Ziegfeld 9 O'Clock Frolic 8 February 1921 Director Danse de Follies
Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 21 June 1921 Director Globe Theatre
The Love Letter 4 October 1921 Director Globe Theatre
Good Morning Dearie 1 November 1921 Director Globe Theatre
Orange Blossoms 19 September 1922 Director/Producer Fulton Theatre
Irene 2 April 1923 Director Jolson's 59th Street Theatre
Cinders 3 April 1923 Director/Producer Dresden Theatre
Sally 17 September 1923 Director New Amsterdam Theatre
Kid Boots 31 December 1923 Director Earl Carroll Theatre
Annie Dear 4 November 1924 Director Times Square Theatre
No, No, Nanette 1924 Director Harris Theatre, Chicago
(pre-Broadway production)[19]
Louie the 14th 3 March 1925 Director Cosmopolitan Theatre
Princess Ida 13 April 1925 Director Sam S. Shubert Theatre
No Foolin' 24 June 1926 Director Globe Theatre
The Merry Malones 26 September 1927 Co-director Erlanger's Theatre
She's My Baby 3 January 1928 Director Globe Theatre
Billie 1 October 1928 Director Erlanger's Theatre
  • aBroadway, unless otherwise specified

Filmography
Filmography[20][12]
Title Year Role
Married in Hollywood 1929 Dance director
Words and Music 1929 Ensemble director
Aunt Sally
(in the US, titled Along Came Sally (1934))		 1933 Choreographer

References
  1. Stone, David. "Edward Royce Jr". Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Retrieved 2023-09-27 – via Gilbert and Sullivan Archive.
  2. Kenrick, John. "Who's Who in Musicals: Ro – Ru". www.musicals101.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  3. Scott, Derek B. (2019). German Operetta on Broadway and in the West End, 1900–1940: Appendix 1 – Productions of Operetta from the German Stage on Broadway and in the West End, 1900–1940. Cambridge University Press. pp. 290–311. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  4. "Bruxellons! - Encyclo - Our Miss Gibbs (1909-01-Gaiety Theatre-London)". www.bruxellons.be. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  5. "Edward Royce", Database of Popular Music. Retrieved 2 October 2023
  6. "Trivia & History for No, No, Nanette (Pre-Broadway Production, 1924)". ovrtur.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  7. Ries, Frank W. D. (1986). "Sammy Lee: The Broadway Career". Dance Chronicle. 9 (1): 1–95. ISSN 0147-2526.
  8. Bordman, Gerald. "Jerome David Kern: Innovator/Traditionalist", The Musical Quarterly', 1985, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 468–73
  9. Bloom, Ken and Frank Vlastnik. Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004, pp. 230–31 ISBN 1-57912-390-2
  10. "Edward Royce", Playbill. Retrieved 29 September 2023
  11. Robinson, Mark (29 August 2018). "Remembering the Princess Musicals". Mark Robinson Writes. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  12. "Edward Royce | Additional Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  13. "Production of The Count of Luxembourg". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  14. "Production of The Earl and the Girl". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  15. "Fritzi a London Hit; New Musical Comedy Hailed as a Dashing Affair". The New York Times. 21 December 1935. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  16. "Production of A Waltz Dream". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  17. Heard, Ivan (12 January 2018). "When the Hippodrome kept calm and carried on…". www.birminghamhippodrome.com. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  18. "Edward Royce (Playbill)".
  19. "No, No, Nanette: Pre-Broadway Production, 1924". ovrtur.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  20. "Edward Royce". tcm.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
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