22:
379:, where it ran until 1889. Its initial run of a total of 931 performances was the longest of any piece of musical theatre up to that time. Some critics reconsidered their earlier condemnation, the work became regarded as a classic Victorian piece, and the initially despised plot was traced seriously back to the Restoration playwrights
44:(1839 – 22 January 1906) was an English dramatist, lyricist and librettist. After beginning a career in the civil service, he started to write for the theatre, using the pen name "Bolton Rowe". He was author or co-author of several long-running shows of the
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In the non-musical theatre, Stephenson continued to prosper. By the 1890s he was sufficiently well known that his name as author of a play lent cachet. In 1892 one
British newspaper protested that a new play, advertised as the work of Stephenson and
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wrote, "Gentility reigns supreme, and with it unfortunately also a good deal of the refined feebleness and the ineptitude which are the defects of that quality." Stephenson and
Cellier revised the work, and it transferred in December to the
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on 25 September 1886, receiving lukewarm notices. Much of
Cellier's score was reused material from an earlier failure, and neither the music nor the libretto attracted critical praise.
503:, which was well received. Asked how he and his collaborator worked together, he said, "We divide the labour. I write all the vowels and Mr Chambers all the consonants."
424:, which was first heard in 1893. In spite of some positive critical attention, interest in the piece was short-lived. The same year, two short operettas with music by
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While working as a civil servant, Stephenson began writing theatrical pieces. His grandfather, General B. C. Stephenson, had lived and died at a house in Bolton Row,
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Stephenson, the son of Sir
William Henry Stephenson, came from a family with a history of public service, both civil and military. His grandfather, also named
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The general had two sons, one of whom, Frederick, followed him into the army and rose to be a general. See "Obituary, General Sir F. C. A. Stephenson",
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684:; and Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Magazine vol. 66, Winter 2007 p. 5 about the Charles Court Opera production first performed the same year.
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122:, and the young Stephenson adopted "Bolton Rowe" as his pen name. Stephenson's first works were collaborations with the composer
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In 1880, Stephenson's work again featured in New York. The reopened
Broadway Opera House was inaugurated with a double bill of
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469:, was in fact the work of less-known writers. In the same year, Stephenson produced one of his more enduring works,
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304:. Writing under his real name for the first time, Stephenson had a great success in 1882–83 with his play
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in 1875. This work is still played today with some frequency. He then began a writing partnership with
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called it "one of the most tuneful, most charming, and most shapely of
English comic operas") and
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168:. The piece was in the company's repertory for most of 1872, and was played more than 200 times.
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in the title role of the bumbling butler. In 1894, Stephenson co-wrote a melodrama with
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Stephenson was still using the pseudonym "Bolton Rowe" when he wrote the libretto for
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as "the great dramatic hit of the season". It also played with success at
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Stephenson's later work in musical theatre was less successful. For the
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became a great success at the box office and transferred in 1888 to the
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Among revivals of
Stephenson's works, during his life and after, were
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In 1886 Stephenson had his greatest success. He and
Cellier wrote the
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395:. Stephenson and Cellier later collaborated on another comic opera,
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452:, was set by Stanford but has never been performed. A libretto for
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138:(1868). The last of these was repeated at a benefit, produced by
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in a triple bill running at the Court
Theatre. The cast included
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in 1881. The next year in London, Stephenson collaborated with
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in New York. Stephenson and Scott wrote an
English version of
510:(on several occasions, notably in 1908, when the critic of
188:, who adopted the matching pen name, "Saville Rowe" (after
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Hudson, Frederick. "C. V. Stanford: Nova Bibliographica",
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Longest Running Plays in London and New York, 1875 to 1920
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remained, as McKenzie put it in 1898, "still in my desk".
1005:"The Theatres: Miss Gladys Cooper's New Part: Revival of
491:. Among later revivals of the play was one in 1907 with
264:. Stephenson also supplied the libretto for a three-act
57:, which set records for the length of its original run.
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March 1893, p. 152; and "Facts, Rumours, and Remarks",
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222:). The latter was described by the theatrical paper
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this information about a 2007 Finborough production
881:, September 1893, p. 549 and "Things Theatrical",
526:in 1914, and was revived again in 1924, starring
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560:"Obituary, Major-Gen. Sir B. C. Stephenson",
192:, another Mayfair street). Together, for the
68:, and composers with whom he worked included
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28:, H. J. Leslie and Stephenson, creators of
988:"The Theatres: The Command Performance of
586:"Obituary, Sir William Henry Stephenson",
564:, Volume 12, July – December 1839, p. 317.
16:English dramatist, lyricist and librettist
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146:in 1870 as a companion piece to Clay and
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450:Christopher Patch, The Barber of Bath
126:in three pieces played by amateurs,
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616:"Obituary, Mr. B. C. Stephenson",
109:Commissioners of Woods and Forests
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401:(1888), which, without rivalling
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48:theatre. His biggest hit was the
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412:he rewrote the libretto for
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352:. The piece opened at the
101:Benjamin Charles Stephenson
38:Benjamin Charles Stephenson
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1061:Midis and lyrics for Doris
1026:Adams, William Davenport.
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809:, 27 September 1886, p. 10
367:with new stars, including
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1029:A Dictionary of the Drama
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869:, January 1893, pp. 18–20
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697:, 24 September 1876, p. 4
446:Charles Villiers Stanford
198:Prince of Wales's Theatre
967:, 8 September 1894, p. 6
885:, 11 November 1893, p. 3
773:, 19 December 1882, p. 8
757:"The Drama in America",
744:"The Drama in America",
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292:, with a cast including
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620:, 24 January 1906, p. 5
604:, 31 October 1857, p. 3
454:Sir Alexander Mackenzie
410:Carl Rosa Opera Company
365:Prince of Wales Theatre
144:Gallery of Illustration
113:Board of Inland Revenue
996:, 24 January 1914 p. 6
577:, 11 March 1911, p. 11
436:, made little impact.
262:Charity Begins at Home
166:Charity Begins at Home
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1043:Profile of Stephenson
933:"Things Theatrical",
920:"Things Theatrical",
844:"Things Theatrical",
761:, 1 August 1880, p. 5
748:, 28 March 1880, p. 4
735:, 28 April 1878, p. 7
731:"Theatrical Gossip",
718:"Theatrical Gossip",
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693:"Theatrical Gossip",
334:Herbert Beerbohm Tree
274:The Masque of Pandora
107:and later one of the
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937:, 23 July 1892, p. 2
924:, 5 March 1892, p. 3
850:, 23 July 1892, p. 2
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634:, 24 July 1870, p. 6
590:, 2 March 1898, p. 8
541:, at the age of 66.
422:Arthur Goring Thomas
326:A Woman of the World
946:"Coronet Theatre",
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533:Stephenson died in
80:with whom he wrote
977:The Sporting Times
965:The Sporting Times
959:"Adelphi Theatre:
935:The Sporting Times
922:The Sporting Times
883:The Sporting Times
859:"The Golden Web",
847:The Sporting Times
493:Rutland Barrington
483:, Brandon Thomas,
314:Xavier de Montépin
140:Thomas German Reed
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909:The Musical Times
896:The Musical Times
879:The Musical Times
867:The Musical Times
862:The Musical Times
434:A Venetian Singer
430:The Improvisatore
426:Edward Jakobowski
330:Haymarket Theatre
310:La Maison du mari
230:Wallack's Theatre
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414:The Golden Web
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318:Der Probepfeil
282:Brandon Thomas
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460:Later years
393:Shakespeare
345:comic opera
338:Helen Barry
332:, starring
308:, based on
268:version of
266:grand opera
206:Nos intimes
177:comic opera
175:'s one-act
95:Early years
50:comic opera
1070:Categories
1021:References
489:Sybil Grey
385:Aphra Behn
288:, for the
270:Longfellow
204:'s plays,
190:Savile Row
1011:The Times
1007:Diplomacy
994:The Times
990:Diplomacy
948:The Times
833:The Times
807:The Times
783:The Times
771:The Times
618:The Times
588:The Times
575:The Times
539:Berkshire
516:Diplomacy
512:The Times
438:The Ranch
391:and even
387:, and to
359:The Times
219:Diplomacy
216:(1878 as
194:Bancrofts
142:, at the
46:Victorian
524:George V
286:Comrades
258:Ages Ago
158:operetta
153:Ages Ago
103:, was a
1050:Dorothy
759:The Era
746:The Era
733:The Era
720:The Era
707:The Era
695:The Era
669:The Era
657:The Era
631:The Era
508:Dorothy
403:Dorothy
373:Dorothy
349:Dorothy
306:Impulse
238:Meilhac
225:The Era
196:at the
181:The Zoo
120:Mayfair
83:The Zoo
54:Dorothy
31:Dorothy
535:Taplow
278:Boston
242:Lecocq
234:Halévy
212:) and
545:Notes
416:, an
398:Doris
210:Peril
992:, "
487:and
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336:and
300:and
260:and
236:and
214:Dora
208:(as
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