Sydney Rosenfeld (1855–1931)Sydney Rosenfeld, findagrave was an American playwright who wrote numerous plays, and adapted many foreign plays. Close to fifty of his creations played on Broadway.
Some of his better known plays (though none achieved long-lasting popularity) included A House of Cards, The King's Carnival, The Lady, or the Tiger?, The Vanderbilt Cup, The Aero Club, The Senator, Mlle. Mischief, The Mocking Bird, A Man of Ideas, The 20th Century Girl, Jumping Jupiter, and The Optimist.(15 June 1931). Sydney Rosenfeld, Dramatist, Is Dead, The New York TimesThe Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume X, p. 476 (1916)
Biography Rosenfeld was born to a Jewish familyJewish Daily Forward: "Finding an Audience: Years of Invisibility" by Stuart Klawans April 9, 2004 in Richmond, Virginia in 1855, and came to New York during the American Civil War. He began producing plays in 1874, starting with a burlesque of Rose Michel called Rosemy Shell.Hornblow, Arthur. Some Representative American Dramatists, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (April 1892), Vol. 33, No. 4, at p. 442Our American Dramatists, Munsey's Magazine (November 1894), Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 164 He began writing boy's stories at age 15. He served as the first editor of the English edition of Puck magazine as well as writing for The Sun and the New York World, but left journalism by age 19.Sydney Rosenfeld's Career, The Theatre Magazine (March 1890), Vol. VI, No. 17, p. 299-300(5 February 1898). Mirror Interviews - Sydney Rosenfeld, New York Dramatic Mirror
According to The Chronology of American Literature (2004), Rosenfeld was a "prolific adapter of foreign plays, often accused of plagiarism, who had nearly fifty plays reach Broadway during his career."Burt, Daniel S. (ed). The Chronology of American Literature, p. 277 (2004) In 1890, the New York Times stated that Rosenfeld's "habit is to try to dash off an epoch making comedy between breakfast and luncheon," though despite "all his evident carelessness, his lack of application, and his frequently misplaced confidence in his own powers, (he) possesses a gift of originality which Belasco and De Mille either lack altogether or rigorously suppress."(26 October 1890). Success at the Gymnase, The New York Times
Gerald Bordman's American Music Theatre: A Chronicle describes Rosenfeld as "long a colorful, controversial figure on the American theatrical scene"; "he enjoyed some fame with a few hits and considerably more notoriety with his frequently gadfly behavior." By the mid 1910s, his knack of striking some hits ran dry, though he continued to mount plays until 1923. At the time of his death in 1931, since Rosenfeld had been inactive for a number of years, his "importance to an earlier theatrical world was not universally appreciated."Bordman, Gerald Martin and Richard Norton. American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle, pp. 91, 107, 157 (4th ed. 2010) He died with meager wealth; his estate was only reported to be worth $100.(4 May 1932). Writer of Play Hits Left Estate of $100, The New York Times
Selected plays
Rosemy Shell (1874) (a burlesque of Rose Michel) Dr. Clyde (1878) (adaptation of Doctor Klaus by Adolphe L'Arronge) Florinel (1879; dates vary in sources) The Storm Child (1880) (for actress Minnie Maddern Fiske) The Sea Cadet (1880) (translation of Richard Genée and Friedrich Zell work Der Seekadet)(played June 7–12, 1880 at the Fifth Avenue Theatre) Nanon (1885) (translation of Richard Genée and Friedrich Zell work) The Black Hussar (1885) (adaptation of Carl Millöcker operetta Der Feldprediger)Traubner, Richard. Operetta: A Theatrical History, p. 133 (2003 ed.) The Gypsy Baron (1886) (translation of German operetta by Johann Strauss II)(16 February 1886). The Casino, The New York Times The Bridal Trap (1886) (translation of Edmond Audran's Serment d'mour) A Possible Case (1888)(10 April 1888). A Possible Case, The New York Times The Lady, or the Tiger? (1888) (adapted from the short story by Frank R. Stockton)Smith, Cecil & Glenn Litton. Musical Comedy in America, p. 44 (1991 ed.) The Oolah (1889) (an adaptation of Charles Lecocq's La Jolie Persane) (starred actor Francis Wilson) The Senator (1890) (written with David D. Lloyd, who died before completing the play, and title character modeled on Senator Preston B. Plumb. Starred actor William H. Crane and Georgie Drew Barrymore; also adapted to a silent film in 1915.)(20 February 1891). A Lunch for "The Senator", The New York Times The Whirlwind (1890) (written for actress Helen Dauvray) The Stepping-stone (1890) The Club Friend (1891)The Dramatic Year Book, p. 359 (1892) The Passing Show (1894) The 20th Century Girl (1895) A House of Cards (1896) The Two Escutcheons (1896) (an adaptation of Gustav Kadelburg and Oscar Blumenthal's German play Zwei Wappen)Daly, Joseph Francis The Life of Augustin Daly, p. 589 (1917) A Man of Ideas (1897) A Dangerous Maid (1898) (adaptation of the Viennese play Heisses Blut by Leopold Krenn and Karl Lindau)(6 November 1898). May Irwin's Return, The New York TimesYates, W.E. Theatre in Vienna: A Critical History, 1776-1995, p. 136-37 ("a play about a Hungarian country girl dreaming of success in the theatre in Vienna") At the White Horse Inn (1899) (an adaptation of Gustav Kadelburg and Oscar Blumenthal's German play The White Horse Inn)(7 February 1899). Dramatic and Musical, The New York Times The Purple Lady (1899) (adapted from an uncredited German play)Richardson, Leander.The Month In Theatricals, Metropolitan Magazine (New York), p. 551 (May 1899)Bauland, Peter. Hooded Eagle: Modern German Drama on the New York Stage, p. 241 (1968) (also made into a silent film in 1916) The King's Carnival (1901)(19 May 1901). Drama in New York Theaters, Pittsburgh Press The Hall of Fame (1902) (with George V. Hobart)For Playgoing People, The New York Times The Mocking Bird (1902) The Rollicking Girl (1905) (a rewrite of A Dangerous Maid, with music added by W.T. Francis, and starring Sam Bernard)Scenes from the Plays, Burr McIntosh Monthly, p. 77 (August 1905) A Society Circus (1905) The Vanderbilt Cup (1906) (with actress Elsie Janis) The Optimist (1906) The Aero Club (1907) Mlle. Mischief (1908) Children of Destiny (1910) (with actress Laura Nelson Hall)(also made into a silent film in 1920)(22 February 1910). Hifalutin Play by Sydney Rosenfeld, The New York Times(18 February 1910). Children of Destiny Staged, The New York Times Jumping Jupiter (1911) (a reboot of 1899's The Purple Lady)(18 April 1912). Carle Was Never So Funny Before, Newburgh Journal The Opera Ball (1912) (with Clare Kummer), an adaptation of Der Opernball by Viktor Léon and Heinrich von Waldberg(13 February 1912). 'The Opera Ball' Has Great Charm, The New York Times The Charm of Isabel (1914)Pollock, Channing. The Revival of the Fittest, The Green Book Magazine (July 1914), p. 104-06(6 May 1914). A New Farce Seen At A Disadvantage - Miss Nordstrom Hopelessly Miscast In the Principal Rose of "The Charm of Isabel", The New York Times The Love Drive (1917) Under Pressure (1918) (a reworked version of The Love Drive)(22 February 1918). Rosenfeld Comedy Back - "Under Pressure, Once "The Love Drive," Now at the Norworth, The New York Times Forbidden / Virginia Runs Away (1923)(24 November 1923). Rosenfeld Play Again; "Virginia Runs Away" to Continue When a Theatre Is Obtained, The New York Times(2 October 1923). "Forbidden" Is Mild; Sydney Rosenfeld's Comedy of a Convent Girl with "Ideas", The New York Times
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