Summary: Female Lyricists
MJ Halco
- Rothman, Korey. “Will You Remember?: Female Lyricists of Operetta and Musical Comedy.” In Women in American Musical Theatre, edited by Bud Coleman and Judith A. Sebesta, 9-33. Jefferson: McFarland and Company Inc, 2008.
By 1920, musical comedies and operettas were flourishing genres. While history seems to remember male figures better than female ones, there were many women who made significant impacts in the industry during this time period. Rida Johnson Young, Anne Caldwell, and Dorothy Donnelly were three lyricists that helped create some of the most successful shows of the decade. In 1920s, fifty-one shows were produced with women as lyricists. Of those fifty-one, thirty-one were written by Young, Caldwell, or Donnelly.
Rida Johnson Young was successful with her formula: First act love affair, second act difficulties, third act triumph. She was most known for her romantic operettas. Oscar Hammerstein I commissioned Young to write the lyrics for Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta in 1910. Young collaborated with Jerome Kern for Maytime (1917); Young wrote both the book and the lyrics for this show.
Anne Caldwell was another successful lyricist. She earned approximately one million dollars from playwriting and songwriting. She worked with Jerome Kern on The Night Boat in 1920.
Dorothy Donnelly enjoyed much success as a lyricist. Her most successful productions were Blossom Time (1921), The Student Prince (1924) and My Maryland (1927) with music by Sigmund Romberg, and Poppy (with Jones & Samuels, 1923). Ziegfeld, the producer of Show Boat, was originally unhappy with Hammerstein's progress on the book for the show. Ziegfeld wrote to Jerome Kern and suggested that if Hammerstein could not finish the project, Donnelly should. Women in this era still faced tremendous sexism.
The reason many were able to be lyricists was because lyrics and librettos had little glory in them, and were undervalued areas of the creative process. Many reviewers and critics would publish that the lyrics, when written by a woman, were terrible and brought down the show, only saved by the music (conveniently written by a man).
Sources:
Rothman uses primary sources such as the musicals themselves. She additionally uses secondary sources such as newspapers and other periodicals from the time period. Books and articles focusing on the time period, musicals, and women’s role in them supplement Rothman’s list of sources.
Significance:
Young, Caldwell, and Donnelly were three very successful women lyricists in the 1920s. Their work inspired many more women to pursue careers in this field.