Honeymoon Lane was a popular Broadway musical by Eddie Dowling, who wrote the book and also starred with music by James F. Hanley. The musical was a big success and ran for nearly a year from 20 September 1926 at the Knickerbocker Theatre on Broadway.[1] Among the cast was Pauline Mason as Mary Brown, Eddie Dowling as Tim Murphy, Al Sexton as Ted Kleinze, and Kate Smith.[2][3] The play was made into a film of the same name with Dowling again starring in 1931.[4]
Plot
editThe musical begins in the fictional town of Canningville, Pennsylvania at the W.H. Kleinze Pickle Factory where two Irish immigrants, Tim Murphy and Mary Brown, are gainfully employed. The two fall in love and marry; buying a home on Honeymoon Lane. The millionaire owner of the pickle factory, Ted Kleinze, intervenes in the couple's lives as he believes Mary has the potential to be a Broadway star. He takes Mary away from Tim to New York City where she obtains work as a chorus girl, but finds life in Manhattan troublesome as the city is both dirty and full of lecherous fans who give her trouble. Tim arrives in New York City, rescues Mary from her troubles, and the two return happily to their home on Honeymoon Lane in Pennsylvania.[2]
Songs
edit- “The Little White House (at the End of Honeymoon Lane)” was one of the biggest songs of 1927.[5]
References
edit- ^ Gerald Bordman American Musical Theater: A Chronicle 2001 p 466 "The same night, 20 September, Honeymoon Lane raised its curtain down Broadway at the Knickerbocker. It was the third musical in a row to play through the season, and like The Ramblers and Queen High, it, too, left one noteworthy tune ..."
- ^ a b Thomas S. Hischak (2009). "Honeymoon Lane". Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows Through 2007. McFarland & Company. p. 2371. ISBN 9780786453092.
- ^ Michael R. Pitts Kate Smith: A Bio-bibliography 1988 Page 2 "She found it difficult to live on her salary since people were always after her for loans which were never repaid . Still HONEYMOON LANE was a big success and ran for nearly a year on Broadway and Kate remained with the show when it ..."
- ^ Edwin M. Bradley The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography 2004 p34 "With Hanley , a composer of some renown , he'd written the score to the 1926 stage success Honeymoon Lane . Dowling had no pretentions about his audience - Irish and working class . His shows were moralistic , uncomplicated in plot ..."
- ^ Holly George-Warren (2009). Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry. p. 33.
Marvin's romantic tenor enthralled audiences on Broadway, and his "The Little White House (at the End of Honeymoon Lane)"—from a popular Broadway musical, Honeymoon Lane—was one of the biggest songs of 1927. He'd made his name the year ...