The Vagabond King

The Vagabond King
Music	Rudolf Friml
Lyrics	Brian Hooker William H. Post
Book	Brian Hooker William H. Post
Basis	If I Were King by Justin Huntly McCarthy
Productions	1925 Broadway 1927 West End 1943 Broadway revival

The Vagabond King is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play If I Were King. The story is a fictionalized episode in the life of the 15th-century poet and thief François Villon, centering on his wooing of Katherine De Vaucelles (the cousin of King Louis XI), and relating how he becomes “king for a day” and defends France against the invading forces of the Duke of Burgundy.

The original production opened on Broadway in 1925, starring Dennis King and ran for 511 performances. The operetta then played in London, toured extensively and enjoyed revivals and two film adaptations, including one with King and Jeanette MacDonald.

In 1901, writer Justin Huntly McCarthy sentimentalized Villon's career in a novel, If I Were King, that borrowed the king-for-a-day theme, allowing Villon to defeat France's enemies and win the hand of an aristocratic lady, all in under 24 hours. The author adapted it as a Broadway play the same year and in London in 1902, and it was revived several times. In 1923, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were at the beginning of their careers. They created a musical version of the McCarthy play for a Manhattan girls' school and then looked for a more prestigious venue for their collaboration. Broadway backers turned down the young team, but producer Russell Janney "borrowed" their idea and commissioned the more established Rudolf Friml to compose, and Brian Hooker to adapt the piece into a musical, increasing the comedy roles.

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