It’s not likely to stage a comeback. Among our collection of John Paul Jones’ oddities is the libretto and score to the comic operetta "Paul Jones". The famous captain is played by Miss Agnes Huntington. The rest of the "dramatis personae" appear to be pulled wholly from the imaginations of author HB Farnie and composer Robert Planquette. The list reads like Gilbert and Sullivan gone bad – naval officer Rufino de Martinez, Spanish governor Don Trocadero, the old smuggler Bouillabaisse and his wife Chopinette. The play takes place in St. Malo, France and ends up at the island of Estrella near the Mosquito Shore.
From as early as 1778 Paul Jones has been the inspiration for tunes, beginning with ballads and chanteys extolling his heroism or condemning his piracy. Our collection includes sheet music from a World War I homage to Jones, a couple of piano arrangements of the popular ballroom dance "The Paul Jones" and the original soundtrack to the 1959 Jones' film starring Robert Stack.
And the comic opera would have stayed here in an obscure drawer had we not stumbled upon an 1890 copy of "The Illustrated America" featuring an article about Miss Huntington’s performance as the heroic Mr. Jones at the Broadway Theater in New York. The play was imported from London, but the actress was American. According to the magazine, Huntington was a smash in London, but quarreled with manager and left the play "Paul Jones" only to reprise her role in the United States version.
"In person, Miss Huntington is very tall and well proportioned," the article reports. "Her voice is a contralto, pure in tone and full of expression…Miss Huntington’s triumph in Paul Jones is all the more a personal work for her as the work is not very strong…It was not a success when first produced in Paris in 1887 under the title Surcouf".
The Illustrated America goes on say that there is almost no plot to the operetta "Paul Jones" and that the book on which it is based is unremarkable. Yrt the play was a hit with popular audiences -- and played by a woman taller than the Captain himseld.
Sea Dogs: Celebrating 15 Years May 13, 2008 PORTLAND -- Charlie Eshbach, President/General Manager, Portland Sea Dogs, will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sea Dogs with the publication of a new history of the team, “The Portland Sea Dogs: Images of Baseball.” FREE
LIVESTRONG Day May 13, 2008 EXETER -- Wear yellow. Honor and support people affected by cancer in our community. Enjoy a new exhibition of art by cancer survivors. Learn about the Lance Armstrong Foundation's programs to unite people to fight cancer, and meet a member of the LAF s...
Be a Herbal Apprentice Course May 14, 2008 CANTERBURY -- Fee: $175, members $160
Drive away the winter blues by delving into herbology. This course provides hands on experiences, making tinctures, soaps and herbal salts, for example, to connect you with the early spring. We will also concentrat...
American Independence Museum's Opening Day May 14, 2008 The American Independence Museum opens for the season in Historic Exeter, New Hampshire. Museum hours are 10am to 4pm, with the last tours at 3:30pm.
Veggie Teens and Raw Food May 14, 2008 EXETER -- Raise Your Vibe Wednesdays at Blue Moon. Blue Moon Natural Foods, 8 Clifford Street, Exeter, sees this spring as an opportunity to explore what each of us can do to make healthful choices for people and the planet. Some of these solutions com...
Writer Louise Erdrich May 14, 2008 PORTSMOUTH -- One of the most gifted, prolific and challenging of contemporary Native American novelists, Award-winning novelist Louise Erdrich will be a part of our Writers on a New England Stage series on May 14. Her new original novel The Plague of D...
Lighthouse Buffet Dinner May 16, 2008 The main event this evening will be the American Lighthouse Foundation's first “Lighthouse Trivia Challenge.” This will be a Jeopardy-style competition, complete with buzzers and sound effects. The winners of the early games will compete in a final roun...
Meteors, Meteorites and Comets May 16, 2008 CONCORD -- Planetarium Educator Bob Veilleux will explain why you can collect meteorites - but not meteors or comets. Learn about these fascinating solar system interlopers, where they come from, how you can see them, and how they are related. See and...
Mother Courage May 16 - 17, 2008 Our mainstage season wraps up in May with the Senior Youth Repertory Company production of Bertolt Brecht’s epic masterpiece Mother Courage and Her Children. Through Brecht’s stark vision, the play relentlessly questions the distinctions between war, bu...
Books & Blooms Sale May 17, 2008 BRENTWOOD -- Our Annual Books & Blooms Sale is scheduled for Saturday, May 17th from 9 - 11:30 am! Come to the Mary Bartlett Library, 22 Dalton Road in Brentwood, to purchase lots of books for little money - and purchase great plants at great prices. Pl...