Wilson originally planned to debut the play at the Casino Theatre (where Wilson had been a performer), but other obligations for that venue and contractual disputes caused delay and eventual failure. Thus, The Oolah opened at the former Broadway Theatre on 41st Street on May 13, 1889. The show marked Wilson's debut as a manager of his own company and as a Broadway star.[1][5][6]
The opening night did not go very well. Wilson had risked much of his money on the production, and was distraught. Rosenfeld refused to make changes without a new contract and a cut of the profits. This led to Godwin's immediate work to revise the text (including expanding Wilson's parts, as he was clearly an audience favorite), and to radical changes in the music, including three new songs from Woolson Morse, and two from John Braham,[7][8] and likely the scoring by Sousa mentioned below. One periodical commenting on the revisions noted Steele MacKaye's observation that "Plays are not written; they are rewritten," and concluded that "this seems to apply to comic operas especially."[7] Rosenfeld later sued Wilson over song rights.[9]
In any event, the changes worked, and the play had a successful run of 154 performances over 22 weeks,[10] closing on October 12,[11] and then went on tour.[2][12][13] A letter opener souvenir was given out to ticket holders at the 100th performance, a number of which are still extant.[14] The next season Wilson and Jansen had success with another French adaptation, The Merry Monarch.[4]
Sousa's role
John Philip Sousa likely orchestrated the music for Wilson, though this was not advertised. Wilson did not say in his autobiography who provided "the infusion of some whistlish and hummable melodies that set the audience in fine humor and their feet to keeping time," or who prepared "the orchestral arrangement to which had just come to hand as a performance began." Yet, Wilson claimed that some of the new music "was written by a composer while he was being whirled away to Chicago on the Pennsylvania 'Limited' train... he handed the manuscript to messenger awaiting him at Pittsburg, who hurried back to New York and placed it in our hands." And then it was performed the next evening.[2][15][16]
Songs
The popular songs of the show included "A Little Peach in an Orchard Grew" or "Listen to My Tale of Woe", a Wilson-Jansen duet which had previously been used in Nadjy. The lyrics which originated from Eugene Field and music and alterations by Hubbard T. Smith. Other popular songs included "Nobody Knows", as well as "Be Good", which Jansen performed, and was considered too suggestive by some.[17][18][4]
Plot
The play is set in Persia, where it is claimed that the marriage laws require a divorced wife who wishes to return to a husband must first marry another man, and then divorce that second spouse. "The Oolah" is the person who performs that role. However, the Oolah seeks to retire from his job to marry for real, yet he has one more professional marriage to accomplish first.[1][19]
The Oolah's most popular comedic lines included "think twice about divorcing once", and "I have been married a hundred and fifteen times and not once deceived. I have known men who have been married but once, but who were deceived a hundred and fifteen times."[19]
^"The Oolah" Will Have Fiftieth Performance, The Evening World (noting that 50th show will be Monday July 1, 1889; citing "Be Good" as "Marie Jansen's much discussed effort.")
