Evangeline (1874 musical)

Evangeline; or, The Belle of Acadia is a musical Extravaganza, with music by Edward E. Rice (arranged and orchestrated by John J. Braham) and lyrics and book by J. Cheever Goodwin. It was a comedy loosely based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's serious epic poem Evangeline. The title character is a young American maiden of French Acadian stock, who is forced to leave her home and is separated from her beloved. A notary stalks her, holding a secret will that may prevent her from gaining her inheritance.

Evangeline debuted at Niblo's Garden in New York City on July 27, 1874 in a sparsely-staged production. It was one of the first successful Broadway musicals to have a score written by a one-song writing team. Rice funded the musical's production, which played for a limited run of 16 performances, followed by a successful tour. The original cast included Lizzie Harold and Ione Burke alternating in the title role, as well as James Dunn, W. H. Crane as LeBlanc, Connie Thompson in the trouser role of Gabriel and Louis Mestayer (in drag) as Gabriel's aunt Catherine.

Although the musical's initial run was only modestly successful, it was revised, and received a successful production in Boston the following year. Young comedians Henry E. Dixey and Richard Golden achieve their breakthroughs as the two halves of the dancing heifer, and Lillian Russell was in the chorus in 1880. The show was revived and toured throughout the late 19th century, accumulating a total of more than 3,000 performances. Among other revivals, it was given a successful Broadway revival in 1885, running for 252 performances. In this, Fay Templeton made her professional stage debut playing Gabriel, and Irene Verona played the title role. The only musical that fared better during that period was The Black Crook.

...
Wikipedia