The Century Girl
The Century Girl is a musical comedy revue with music by Victor Herbert and Irving Berlin, and lyrics by Henry Blossom and Berlin.
It opened November 6, 1916, at the Century Theatre on Broadway and ran until April 28, 1917, totaling 200 performances. Rather than having a cohesive plot, the show was a mixture of musical and vaudeville performances.
Production
Charles Dillingham and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. produced the show. Staging was by Edward Royce, Leon Errol, and Ned Wayburn, with set design by Joseph Urban. Max Hoffman directed the orchestra.The show had a runtime of over four hours. On its opening night, the show began at 8:25pm and ended at 12:58am. This was actually an improvement from the show's time prior to its premiere. It had originally been scheduled to open on October 16, but was delayed in order to cut down the show while maintaining the lineup of actors and performers. Cuts continued to be made after the premiere, resulting in several actors, including Marie Dressler, being let go.
Performances included a "Stone Age romance", an Alice in Wonderland musical number, a number featuring animals and hunters, and a skit with actors portraying Herbert and Berlin.
The Century Girl was the only successful show produced at the Century Theatre. After the show's closure, the theatre was sold and later demolished, being replaced by the Century Apartments.