J. Cheever Goodwin
{{short description|American dramatist}}
File:J. Cheever Goodwin photograph.jpg
John Cheever Goodwin, better known as J. Cheever Goodwin, (July 14, 1850 – December 19, 1912) was an American musical theatre librettist, lyricist and producer.
Life and career
Goodwin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 14, 1850.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmu00ganz_1/page/790/mode/2up?q=%22Goodwin%2C+J%5Bohn%5D%22 |title=The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, Second Edition |volume=II|first=Kurt|last= Gänzl|author-link=Kurt Gänzl|chapter=Goodwin, J[ohn] Cheever|publisher=Schirmer Books|year=2001|pages=790-792}} He was educated at Harvard University, graduating in 1873.{{cite journal|title=Notes|work=The Harvard Register |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Harvard_Register/1-fmAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22J.+Cheever+Goodwin%22+%C2%A0%22Harvard+University%22+%221873%22&pg=PA47&printsec=frontcover |page=47|date=February 1880 |editor=Moses King |volume=I|number=3}} He began his career in journalism before turning to writing for the stage. Early in his theatrical career, Goodwin worked for Alice Oates, acting in her company and translating French opera bouffe into English for their productions. He often worked with composers Edward E. Rice and Woolson Morse. He was one of the earliest American writers dedicated to musical theatre librettos and lyrics. His first successful libretto was Evangeline in 1874, and his last new work was produced in 1903.Hischak, Thomas S. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lfhxWEIdxOQC&pg=PA55 Chapter Five], Boy Loses Girl: Broadway's Librettists, pp. 55–57, Scarecrow Press (2002) {{ISBN|0810844400}}
Goodwin's works included a much-revived musical adaptation, or musical burlesque, of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline called Evangeline; or, The Belle of Acadia (1874), composed by Rice;Green, Kay (ed.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=KDKFHniTy1YC&pg=PA4 "Evangeline"], Broadway Musicals, Show by Show, Hal Leonard Corporation (1996) {{ISBN|0793577500}} The Corsair (1887), with music by Rice; Jacquette (1887), with music by André Messager; Little Pig Went to Market (1890), with music by Gustave Kerker; The Merry Monarch, an English-language adaptation of L'étoile, with music by Morse (1890); a popular and well-revived piece, Wang (1891), with music by Morse, starring De Wolf Hopper; Panjandrum (1893), with music by Morse, written for and produced by Hopper's company; The Devil's Deputy (1894), music by Edward Jakobowski; A Daughter of the Revolution (1895), with music by Ludwig Engländer;[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D1FFC3B5D15738DDDA10A94DD405B8585F0D3 "Miss D’Arville’s New Opera"], The New York Times, May 28, 1895, p. 5, accessed June 28, 2012 Lost, Strayed or Stolen (1896), with music by Morse;
Of Lost, Strayed or Stolen, a critic commented: "Cheever Goodwin, clever at adaptation, at times a most dexterous manipulator in stagecraft, has been singularly successful in this latest venture. Starting of a delightfully humorous set of complications, woven logically together, he has made an honest translation and obtained a genuinely absurd farce which he carries through four acts, sustaining the interest to the end.""Lost, Strayed or Stolen", The Illustrated American, November 14, 1896, p. 662
References
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Further reading
- Bordman, Gerald and Thomas S. Hischak. "Goodwin, J. Cheever (1850–1912)", The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, Oxford University Press (3rd ed., 2004)
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IBDB name|4824}}
- [https://www.broadway.cas.sc.edu/content/evangeline-1885-earliest-stage-images-american-musical Photos from Evangeline]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=VHIRAAAAYAAJ Musical score] of Evangeline
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Category:Harvard University alumni