La Belle Paree

La Belle Paree was staged between 20 March 1911 and 10 June 1911 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York, running for 104 performances. At first it was staged along with various companion pieces, including an overture, a one-act opera set in China, called Bow-Sing, an exotic dance sequence called Tortajada and Her Sixteen Moorish Dancing Girls in a Spanish Ballet, and an afterpiece. After opening night, the show was trimmed and reorganized, and the companion pieces were soon dropped.[2] The show was produced by Lee Shubert and Jacob J. Shubert, staged by J. C. Huffman and William J. Wilson, and choreographed by Wilson.[3] The production was briefly revived in September of the same year and then toured from September to November.[4]

The Shubert Brothers engaged Al Jolson for his first Broadway appearance in La Belle Paree, which was the first show to play at their new Winter Garden Theatre.[5] The piece concerned Bridgeeta McShane, a wealthy American widow visiting Paris for her health, who meets a number of suitors and eccentric characters, including Erastus Sparkler, played by Jolson.[4] Jolson soon converted this supporting role into a star vehicle, and he would make a dozen further Broadway appearances (often at the Winter Garden) in his varied career.[6]

The first performance was overlong and dragged in places, continuing until almost 1:00 am, and some of the audience left before the end. The reviews were mixed, and Jolson was disappointed with his own performance. Jolson was scheduled late in the program, as La Belle Paris followed most of the companion pieces. Jolson played a phony "colored aristocrat", the boyfriend of Bridgeeta's Black maid, played by Mayhew. He wore blackface, and together they sang Jerome Kern's coon song Paris is a Paradise for Coons, about the freedoms African-Americans supposedly enjoyed living in Paris rather than in "Yankee Land".[2] They also sang another song together, Jolson gave a monologue and sang a third song during the evening.[6] Many of the critics had already left before Jolson came on, to make their publication deadlines, but the critics that mentioned Jolson and Mayhew, including The New York Times, praised them.[7]

During the second performance, Jolson interrupted the performance to talk to the audience about the poor reviews, and then asked them if they would rather hear him sing. When they agreed, Jolson launched into a series of his own numbers. This time the reviews were very positive, and the show played for the rest of the season to solid audiences.[5]

Edgar Atchison-Ely in "The Future Dude", c. 1898

Featured players were:[3]

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