Rida Johnson Young

Rida Johnson Young (February 28 1869 [The year of birth is given as 1869 by IMDB and IBDB. [http://nfo.net/cal/ty2.html Pfeffer's index of composers and lyricists] explicitly says "1875 (Not 1869)", but doesn't elaborate, and contains an attribution error for "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," casting doubt on its reliability. – May 8 1926) was a U.S. playwright, songwriter, and librettist.IBDB: [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8334 Rida Johnson Young] (Retrieved on November 21, 2007)] In her career, Young wrote nearly thirty plays and musicals, and over 500 songs. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=OVRHUusi38kC&pg=PA295&lpg=PA295&dq=%22rida+johnson+young%22+%22brown+of+harvard%22+%22naughty+marietta%22&source=web&ots=2MdA07nNl4&sig=4PXjBPo06G0LckcT0P6-VAagZcg#PPA296,M1 Serafin, Steven and Alfred Bendixen. "The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature"] (2003) Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 296 ISBN 0826417779] She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Her lyrics included "Mother Machree", "Italian Street Song", "I'm Falling in Love with Someone", and "Will You Remember?".

Life and career

Young was born in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. She was an actress early in her career with both the Viola Allen and E. H. Sothern Broadway (New York) companies [http://nfo.net/cal/ty2.html Biography of Young] ] before working for the music publisher Isidore Witmark. As a playwright, her first work, "Lord Byron", was produced in 1900 by actor-producer James Young, whom she later married. [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/rida-johnson-young Profile at Answers.com] ]

Broadway plays and musicals

Young's "Brown of Harvard", which opened in 1906 at Princess Theatre and is the basis for a silent movie from 1911, is the first Broadway play written by Young and contains her song "When Love Is Young". [cite news
author=
title=" BROWN OF HARVARD" IS PLEASANT BUT FAMILIAR; University Life as It Is Usually Seen on the Stage. VERY AGREEABLY ACTED John the Orangeman Makes His Debut and Provides the Only Real Note of Pathos.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9506EFD8103EE733A25754C2A9649C946797D6CF
accessdate=2008-08-09] This was followed by the 1907 comic play "The Boys of Company "B" which premiered at the Lyceum Theatre and featured Florence Nash in her Broadway debut. "The Lancers" was a 1907 musical with music and lyrics by Cecilia Loftus and George Spink. "Glorious Betsy", a 1908 play [cite news
author=
title=HISTORY MADE OVER IN "GLORIOUS BETSY"; Play Deals with Marriage of Jerome Napoleon in a Familiar Theatrical Way. MISS MANNERING CHARMING Foolish Attempt to Represent a Fog at Sea Almost Starts a Dangerous Panic.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CE7DE1739E333A2575BC0A96F9C946997D6CF
accessdate=2008-08-09] that was remade as a "silent film of the same name" in 1928 directed by Alan Crosland, was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. The play "The Lottery Man" opened at Bijou Theatre in 1909 and ran for 200 performances. The film version from 1916 featured Oliver Hardy. "Ragged Robin", a musical set in Ireland in 1830, is based on a book by Young. It opened at Academy of Music in 1910 and ran for only 16 performances.

Young wrote book and lyrics to the operetta "Naughty Marietta", composer Victor Herbert's greatest success. Produced by Oscar Hammerstein, it opened at New York Theatre in 1910 and run for 136 performances and was frequently revived. A film version from 1935 was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Further Broadway productions with contributions from Young are "Barry of Ballymore" (1911), "Next" (1911, a play), "Macushla" (1912, with music by Ernest R. Ball), "The Red Petticoat" (1912, with music by Jerome Kern), "The Isle o' Dreams" (1913, with music by Ernest R. Ball), "The Girl and the Pennant" (1913, a play), "Shameen Dhu" (1914, a play), [cite news
author=
title=OLCOTT IN "SHAMEEN DHU."; Rida Johnson Young's New Play Pleases at Grand Opera House.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E6D71F3BE633A25750C0A9649C946596D6CF
accessdate=2008-08-09] "Lady Luxury" (1914, with music by William Schroeder), "Captain Kidd, Jr". (1916, 128 performances), [cite news
author=
title='CAPTAIN KIDD, JR.,' FULL OF LAUGHTER; Humor of Rida Johnson Young's Farce Lies in Its Broadly Comic Characters.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E03E1DE1530E733A05757C1A9679D946796D6CF
accessdate=2008-08-09] "Her Soldier Boy" (Astor Theatre 1916, with music by Emmerich Kalman, 198 performances), "His Little Widows" (1917, with music by William Schroeder), "Maytime" (Shubert Theatre 1917, 492 performances), "Sometime" (Shubert Theatre 1918, 283 performances), "Little Simplicity" (Astor Theatre 1918, with music by Augustus Barratt, 112 performances), "The Voice of McConnell" (1918), "Little Old New York" (Plymouth Theatre 1920, a play, 308 performances), "The Midnight Rounders of 1921" (1920), "The Dream Girl" (Ambassador Theatre 1924, with music by Victor Herbert, 117 performances) and "Cock O' the Roost" (1924, a play).

Early death

In 1926, at the age of 57, Young died in Stamford, Connecticut, after a long struggle with breast cancer.

References

External links

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