La Passerelle

La Passerelle is a French stage comedy in three acts by Fred de Gresac (born between 1866 and 1879 - died 1943)[1] - and Francis de Croisset (1877-1937)[2] -

The authors are on occasion billed as "Fred de Grésac" (also "Madame F. de Gresac" or "Madame F. de Grésac") and as "Monsieur F. de Croisset".

The original text

La Passerelle was first performed in French at the Théâtre du Vaudeville, Paris, and published in 1902\. French productions also opened on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre by Liebler & Co., in repertory with Amoureuse, Lolotte, La Robe Rouge, La Petite Marquise, La Dame aux Camelias, Incognito, L'Hirondelle, Ma Cousine, Sapho, La Douleureuse, and La Parisienne (11/07/1904 - 12/03/1904) and in London at Terry's Theatre 26-29 June, 1905.

Translations and adaptations

Translated and adapted into English as The Marriage of Kitty by Cosmo Gordon-Lennox (1869-?)[]. This English version opened at The Duke of Yorks' Theatre, London, on August 19th, 1902 (with a cast that included Marie Tempest)

Adapted into Spanish as La Pasadera by Federico Reparaz and published in Madrid b R. Velasco, 1907.

The play was performed on Broadway from 1 November 30, 1903 - Jan 1904 in the Hudson Theatre, New York, and again from 2 December 18, 1914 - Jan 1915 in the Comedy Theatre, New York. The English text was published by Samuel French in 1909.

Adapted as a musical called Orange Blossoms: "A Comedy with Music in Three Acts" by Fred de Gresac and Victor Herbert (1859–1924)[3]. First performed on September 19, 1922, and published by Harms, 1922.

Made into a silent comedy film called The Marriage of Kitty by George Melford in 1915, the script written by Francis de Croisset, Fred de Gresac, Cosmo Gordon Lennox and Hector Turnbull. Featuring Fannie Ward, Richard Morris, Jack Dean, Cleo Ridgely, and Tom Forman, the film was released on August 16, 1915, by Paramount Pictures. It is now considered a lost film.

South African productions

1903: Performed in English as The Marriage of Kitty by Mrs Lewis Waller and her touring company, when visiting the country under the auspices of the Wheeler Brothers, inter alia appearing at the Good Hope Theatre in Cape Town.

1904: Performed in English as The Marriage of Kitty as part of a repertoire of three plays done on a tour of the cities by Mrs and Mr Robert Brough and their company under the Wheeler Company management. They appeared in the Good Hope Theatre, Cape Town, from 26 February onwards.

1918: Performed in English as The Marriage of Kitty by the Marie Tempest touring company at His Majesty's Theatre in Johannesburg, with a cast that included Mary Tempest, Hilda Attenboro.

Sources

J.P. Wearing. 2013 The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel Scarecrow Press (2nd , revised, edition) [4]

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/la-pasarelle-5960

https://archive.org/details/marriageofkittya00gordiala/page/n2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_of_Kitty#cite_note-origin1-2

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/the-marriage-of-kitty-5893

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Herbert

New Zealand Herald, 16 October 1915

NZ Truth, 7 October 1916

Rand Daily Mail, 10 June 1919

https://ozvta.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/variety-performers-in-radio-list-1112017.pdf

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5391139/?ref_=nv_sr_1

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.414, 419

Go to ESAT Bibliography