Evangeline or the Belle of Acadia

Credited as one of the first American musicals with a completely original score by a single writing team, "Evangeline" was the theatrical phenomenon of its day. Legend has it that after seeing Lydia Thomson in a British extravaganza, Rice and Goodwin, who had never written a musical before, decided that they could write one just as good, only theirs would be American, thus one of the longest running musicals of the 19th century was born. A burlesque of the Longfellow poem, the musical featured a chorus of shapely legged, high-kicking chorus girls, topical gags, comical musical numbers, and the Lone Fisherman, a mute character who delighted audiences with his antics. After its short run in 1874 at Niblo's Garden in New York, the musical toured the United States to much acclaim and returned to Broadway in 1877 where it was a sell out. It continued to be much-revived for the next 30 years and much copied by other musical theatre writers. Published as part of Theatre Arts Press' Historical Libretto Series