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

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

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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

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  1. ^ "The Candy Shop (Golden, John) - IMSLP". imslp.org. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. ^ "The Candy Shop". Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  3. ^ "The Candy Shop". gsarchive.net.
  4. ^ "The Post-Star 29 December 1909 — The NYS Historic Newspapers". nyshistoricnewspapers.org.
  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.