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Rida Johnson Young (born Rida Louise Johnson,^[1] February 28, 1875 – May 8, 1926)^[2]^[3] was an American playwright, songwriter and librettist.^[4] In her career, Young wrote over 30 plays and musicals and approximately 500 songs.^[5] She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Some of her better-known lyrics include "Mother Machree" from the 1910 show Barry of Ballymore, "Italian Street Song", "I'm Falling in Love with Someone" and "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" from Naughty Marietta, and "Will You Remember?" from Maytime.

Early life and career

Young was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She was an actress early in her career with both the Viola Allen and E. H. Sothern Broadway (New York) companies^[6] before working for the music publisher Isidore Witmark. As a playwright, her first work, Lord Byron, was produced in 1900 by actor-producer James Young, to whom she was married from 1904 to 1910. He was later married to the silent film actress Clara Kimball.^[7]

Young's Brown of Harvard opened in 1906 at Princess Theatre in New York City. It was the first Broadway play written by Young and contains her song "When Love Is Young"; it was adapted as a silent movie in 1911.^[8] This play was followed by the 1907 comic play The Boys of Company "B" which premiered at the Lyceum Theatre and featured Florence Nash in her Broadway debut. The Lancers was a 1907 musical with music and lyrics by Cecilia Loftus and George Spink.^[6] Glorious Betsy, a 1908 play^[9] that was remade as a silent film of the same name in 1928 directed by Alan Crosland, was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. The play The Lottery Man opened at Bijou Theatre in 1909 and ran for 200 performances. The film version from 1916 featured Oliver Hardy. Ragged Robin, a musical set in Ireland in 1830, is based on a book by Young. It opened at Academy of Music in 1910 and ran for only 16 performances.^[10]

Sheet music for "Ah! Sweet Mystery of life" from *Naughty Marietta* (1910)

Naughty Marietta and later years

Young wrote book and lyrics to the operetta Naughty Marietta, composer Victor Herbert's greatest success. Produced by Oscar Hammerstein, it opened at New York Theatre in 1910, ran for 136 performances and was frequently revived. A film version from 1935 was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Her play The Marriage Bond was adapted into a 1916 film of the same name.^[11] Young wrote the lyrics of "Kiss Waltz" and "Mother" in 1916, both of which were set to music by Sigmund Romberg.^[12]

Additional Broadway productions with contributions from Young include Barry of Ballymore (1911), Next (1911, a play), Macushla (1912, with music by Ernest R. Ball), The Red Petticoat (1912, with music by Jerome Kern), The Isle o' Dreams (1913, with music by Ernest R. Ball), The Girl and the Pennant (1913, a play), Shameen Dhu (1914, a play),^[13] Lady Luxury (1914, with music by William Schroeder), Captain Kidd, Jr. (1916, 128 performances),^[14] Her Soldier Boy (Astor Theatre 1916, with music by Emmerich Kalman, 198 performances), His Little Widows (1917, with music by William Schroeder), Maytime (Shubert Theatre 1917, 492 performances), Sometime (Shubert Theatre 1918, 283 performances), Little Simplicity (Astor Theatre, 1918, with music by Augustus Barratt), Little Old New York (Plymouth Theatre 1920, a play, 308 performances), The Dream Girl (Ambassador Theatre 1924, with music by Victor Herbert, 117 performances) and Cock O' the Roost (1924, a play).^[6] She also wrote the screenplay for the 1919 Bessie Love film The Little Boss.^[15]

In 1926, at the age of 51, Young died in Stamford, Connecticut after a long struggle with breast cancer.^[16]

References

^ Faxon, Frederick Winthrop, ed. (1915). The Dramatic Index for 1914. Boston: The Boston Book Company
^ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3KZ-8XT : 16 February 2022), Rida L Johnson in entry for Eunice S Johnson, 1900.
^ Partnow, Elaine (1998). The Female Dramatist : Profiles of Women Playwrights From the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times. New York : Facts on File. p. 225. ISBN 0816030154.
^ IBDB: Rida Johnson Young. Retrieved November 21, 2007
^ Grattan, Virginia L. (1993). American Women Songwriters: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. p. 93. ISBN 0313285101.
^ ^a ^b ^c Biography of Young
^ Peck Ellen M. (2020). Sweet Mystery: The Musical Works of Rida Johnson Young. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780190873585.
^ "Brown of Harvard is Pleasant but Familiar". The New York Times. 1906-02-27. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
^ "History Made Over in Glorious Betsy". The New York Times. 1908-09-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
^ "Michael McGuinness".National Museum of American History.
^ "The Marriage Bond". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
^ Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 347, 420. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7.
^ "Olcott in Shameen Dhu". The New York Times. 1914-02-03. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
^ "Captain Kidd, Jr. Full of Laughter". The New York Times. 1916-11-14. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
^ "Bessie Love at the Pav.", The Register, Adelaide, South Australia, July 6, 1920, p. 8, accessed January 11, 2015
^ Engle, Sherry D. (2007). New Women Dramatists in America, 1890-1920. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-349-53443-2.

External links

Rida Johnson Young at IMDb
Rida Johnson Young at the Internet Broadway Database
Interview of Young with photograph, The Sun, May 6, 1917
Rida Johnson Young recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
Works by Rida Johnson Young at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

[1] Faxon, Frederick Winthrop, ed. (1915). The Dramatic Index for 1914. Boston: The Boston Book Company

[2] "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3KZ-8XT : 16 February 2022), Rida L Johnson in entry for Eunice S Johnson, 1900.

[3] Partnow, Elaine (1998). The Female Dramatist : Profiles of Women Playwrights From the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times. New York : Facts on File. p. 225. ISBN 0816030154.

[ibdb-young-4] IBDB: Rida Johnson Young. Retrieved November 21, 2007

[5] Grattan, Virginia L. (1993). American Women Songwriters: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. p. 93. ISBN 0313285101.

[comp-6] Biography of Young

[7] Peck Ellen M. (2020). Sweet Mystery: The Musical Works of Rida Johnson Young. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780190873585.

[8] "Brown of Harvard is Pleasant but Familiar". The New York Times. 1906-02-27. Retrieved 2008-08-09.

[9] "History Made Over in Glorious Betsy". The New York Times. 1908-09-08. Retrieved 2008-08-09.

[10] "Michael McGuinness".National Museum of American History.

[11] "The Marriage Bond". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 27 June 2017.

[12] Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 347, 420. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7.

[13] "Olcott in Shameen Dhu". The New York Times. 1914-02-03. Retrieved 2008-08-09.

[14] "Captain Kidd, Jr. Full of Laughter". The New York Times. 1916-11-14. Retrieved 2008-08-09.

[15] "Bessie Love at the Pav.", The Register, Adelaide, South Australia, July 6, 1920, p. 8, accessed January 11, 2015

[16] Engle, Sherry D. (2007). New Women Dramatists in America, 1890-1920. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-349-53443-2.

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[File:Rida Johnson Young.jpg|thumb|Rida Johnson Young (1910)]]
-'''Rida Johnson Young''' (February 28, 1875<ref>The year of birth is given incorrectly as 1869 by IMDb and IBDB. [http://nfo.net/cal/ty2.html Pfeffer's index of composers and lyricists] explicitly says "1875 (Not 1869)", but contains an attribution error for "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" because the lyrics were actually written by [[Chauncey Olcott]].</ref> &ndash; May 8, 1926) was an American playwright, songwriter and librettist.<ref name="ibdb-young">IBDB: [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8334 Rida Johnson Young]. Retrieved November 21, 2007</ref> In her career, Young wrote over 30 plays and musicals and over 500 songs.<ref>Engle, Sherry. ''New Women Dramatists in America, 1890–1920'' (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007);<!-- ON WHAT PAGE DOES IT SAY THIS? --> [https://books.google.com/books?id=OVRHUusi38kC&pg=PA295&lpg=PA295&dq=%22rida+johnson+young%22+%22brown+of+harvard%22+%22naughty+marietta%22&source=web&ots=2MdA07nNl4&sig=4PXjBPo06G0LckcT0P6-VAagZcg#PPA296,M1 Serafin, Steven and Alfred Bendixen. ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature''] (2003) Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 296 {{ISBN|0-8264-1777-9}}</ref> She was inducted into the [[Inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame|Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1970. Some of her better-known lyrics include "[[Mother Machree (song)|Mother Machree]]" from the 1910 show ''Barry of Ballymore'', "Italian Street Song", "I'm Falling in Love with Someone" and "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" from ''[[Naughty Marietta (operetta)|Naughty Marietta]]'', and "Will You Remember?" from ''[[Maytime (musical)|Maytime]]''.
+'''Rida Johnson Young''' (born '''Rida Louise Johnson''',<ref>Faxon, Frederick Winthrop, ed. (1915). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=YJBJAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA297&dq=%22young+rida+johnson%22+%22rida+louise+johnson%22 The Dramatic Index for 1914]''. Boston: The Boston Book Company</ref> February 28, 1875 &ndash; May 8, 1926)<ref>"United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3KZ-8XT : 16 February 2022), Rida L Johnson in entry for Eunice S Johnson, 1900.</ref><ref>Partnow, Elaine (1998). ''[https://archive.org/details/femaledramatistp0000part/page/224/mode/2up?q=%22february+28+1875%22+ The Female Dramatist : Profiles of Women Playwrights From the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times]''. New York : Facts on File. p.&nbsp;225. {{ISBN|0816030154}}.</ref> was an American playwright, songwriter and librettist.<ref name="ibdb-young">IBDB: [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8334 Rida Johnson Young]. Retrieved November 21, 2007</ref> In her career, Young wrote over 30 plays and musicals and approximately 500 songs.<ref>Grattan, Virginia L. (1993). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=vpOfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22rida+johnson+young%22+%22500+songs%22 American Women Songwriters: A Biographical Dictionary]''. Greenwood Press. p.&nbsp;93. {{ISBN|0313285101}}.</ref> She was inducted into the [[Inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame|Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1970. Some of her better-known lyrics include "[[Mother Machree (song)|Mother Machree]]" from the 1910 show ''Barry of Ballymore'', "Italian Street Song", "I'm Falling in Love with Someone" and "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" from ''[[Naughty Marietta (operetta)|Naughty Marietta]]'', and "Will You Remember?" from ''[[Maytime (musical)|Maytime]]''.
 ==Early life and career==
-Young was born in [[Baltimore]], Maryland. She was an actress early in her career with both the [[Viola Allen]] and [[E. H. Sothern]] Broadway (New York) companies<ref name=comp>[http://nfo.net/cal/ty2.html Biography of Young]</ref> before working for the music publisher Isidore Witmark. As a playwright, her first work, ''Lord Byron'', was produced in 1900 by actor-producer [[James Young (director)|James Young]], to whom she was married from 1904 to 1910. He was later married to the silent film actress [[Clara Kimball Young|Clara Kimball]].<ref>see Engle, Sherry, p. ?<!-- ON WHAT PAGE DOES IT SAY THIS? -->; [http://www.answers.com/topic/rida-johnson-young Profile at Answers.com]</ref>
+Young was born in [[Baltimore]], Maryland. She was an actress early in her career with both the [[Viola Allen]] and [[E. H. Sothern]] Broadway (New York) companies<ref name=comp>[http://nfo.net/cal/ty2.html Biography of Young]</ref> before working for the music publisher Isidore Witmark. As a playwright, her first work, ''Lord Byron'', was produced in 1900 by actor-producer [[James Young (director)|James Young]], to whom she was married from 1904 to 1910. He was later married to the silent film actress [[Clara Kimball Young|Clara Kimball]].<ref>Peck Ellen M. (2020). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AS8DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 Sweet Mystery: The Musical Works of Rida Johnson Young]''. New York: Oxford University Press. p.&nbsp;30. {{ISBN|9780190873585}}.</ref>
-Young's ''Brown of Harvard'' opened in 1906 at Princess Theatre in New York City. It was the first Broadway play written by Young and contains her song "When Love Is Young"; it was adapted as a [[Brown of Harvard (1911 film)|silent movie in 1911]].<ref>{{cite news|title=''Brown of Harvard'' is Pleasant but Familiar|date=1906-02-27|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/02/27/archives/-brown-of-harvard-is-pleasant-but-familiar-university-life-as-it-is.html|access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref> This play was followed by the 1907 comic play ''The Boys of Company "B"'' which premiered at the [[Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)|Lyceum Theatre]] and featured [[Florence Nash]] in her Broadway debut. ''The Lancers'' was a 1907 musical with music and lyrics by [[Cecilia Loftus]] and George Spink.<ref name=comp/> ''Glorious Betsy'', a 1908 play<ref>{{cite news| title=History Made Over in ''Glorious Betsy''|date=1908-09-08|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/09/08/archives/history-made-over-in-glorious-betsy-play-deals-with-marriage-of.html| access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref> that was remade as a [[Glorious Betsy|silent film of the same name]] in 1928 directed by [[Alan Crosland]], was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay]]. The play ''The Lottery Man'' opened at [[Bijou Theatre (Manhattan)|Bijou Theatre]] in 1909 and ran for 200 performances. The [[The Lottery Man (1916 film)|film version from 1916]] featured [[Oliver Hardy]]. ''Ragged Robin'', a musical set in Ireland in 1830, is based on a book by Young. It opened at [[Academy of Music (Manhattan)|Academy of Music]] in 1910 and ran for only 16 performances.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}
+Young's ''Brown of Harvard'' opened in 1906 at Princess Theatre in New York City. It was the first Broadway play written by Young and contains her song "When Love Is Young"; it was adapted as a [[Brown of Harvard (1911 film)|silent movie in 1911]].<ref>{{cite news|title=''Brown of Harvard'' is Pleasant but Familiar|date=1906-02-27|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/02/27/archives/-brown-of-harvard-is-pleasant-but-familiar-university-life-as-it-is.html|access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref> This play was followed by the 1907 comic play ''The Boys of Company "B"'' which premiered at the [[Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)|Lyceum Theatre]] and featured [[Florence Nash]] in her Broadway debut. ''The Lancers'' was a 1907 musical with music and lyrics by [[Cecilia Loftus]] and George Spink.<ref name=comp/> ''Glorious Betsy'', a 1908 play<ref>{{cite news| title=History Made Over in ''Glorious Betsy''|date=1908-09-08|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/09/08/archives/history-made-over-in-glorious-betsy-play-deals-with-marriage-of.html| access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref> that was remade as a [[Glorious Betsy|silent film of the same name]] in 1928 directed by [[Alan Crosland]], was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay]]. The play ''The Lottery Man'' opened at [[Bijou Theatre (Manhattan)|Bijou Theatre]] in 1909 and ran for 200 performances. The [[The Lottery Man (1916 film)|film version from 1916]] featured [[Oliver Hardy]]. ''Ragged Robin'', a musical set in Ireland in 1830, is based on a book by Young. It opened at [[Academy of Music (Manhattan)|Academy of Music]] in 1910 and ran for only 16 performances.<ref>[https://americanhistory.si.edu/es/collections/search/object/nmah_682008 "Michael McGuinness"].[[National Museum of American History]].</ref>
 [[File:MariettaVH2.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Sheet music for "Ah! Sweet Mystery of life" from ''[[Naughty Marietta (operetta)|Naughty Marietta]]'' (1910)]]
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Additional Broadway productions with contributions from Young include ''Barry of Ballymore'' (1911), ''Next'' (1911, a play), ''Macushla'' (1912, with music by [[Ernest R. Ball]]), ''The Red Petticoat'' (1912, with music by [[Jerome Kern]]), ''The Isle o' Dreams'' (1913, with music by Ernest R. Ball), ''The Girl and the Pennant'' (1913, a play), ''Shameen Dhu'' (1914, a play),<ref>{{cite news|title=Olcott in ''Shameen Dhu''|date=1914-02-03|work=[[The New York Times]]| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/03/archives/olcott-in-shameen-dhu-rida-johnson-youngs-new-play-pleases-at-grand.html| access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref> ''Lady Luxury'' (1914, with music by William Schroeder), ''Captain Kidd, Jr''. (1916, 128 performances),<ref>{{cite news|title=''Captain Kidd, Jr.'' Full of Laughter|date=1916-11-14|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/11/14/archives/captain-kidd-jr-full-of-laughter-humor-of-rida-johnson-youngs-farce.html| access-date=2008-08-09}}</ref> ''Her Soldier Boy'' ([[Astor Theatre, New York City|Astor Theatre]] 1916, with music by [[Emmerich Kalman]], 198 performances), ''His Little Widows'' (1917, with music by William Schroeder), ''[[Maytime (musical)|Maytime]]'' ([[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]] 1917, 492 performances), ''Sometime'' ([[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]] 1918, 283 performances), ''Little Simplicity'' (Astor Theatre, 1918, with music by [[Augustus Barratt]]), ''Little Old New York'' ([[Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre|Plymouth Theatre]] 1920, a play, 308 performances), ''[[The Dream Girl (operetta)|The Dream Girl]]'' ([[Ambassador Theatre (New York City)|Ambassador Theatre]] 1924, with music by [[Victor Herbert]], 117 performances) and ''Cock O' the Roost'' (1924, a play).<ref name=comp/> She also wrote the screenplay for the 1919 [[Bessie Love]] film ''[[The Little Boss]]''.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62922552 "Bessie Love at the Pav."], ''[[The Register (Adelaide)|The Register]]'', Adelaide, South Australia, July 6, 1920, p. 8, accessed January 11, 2015</ref>
-In 1926, at the age of 51, Young died in [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]], Connecticut after a long struggle with breast cancer.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}
+In 1926, at the age of 51, Young died in [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]], Connecticut after a long struggle with breast cancer.<ref>Engle, Sherry D. (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=biyBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 New Women Dramatists in America, 1890-1920]''. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. p.&nbsp;191. {{ISBN|978-1-349-53443-2}}.</ref>
 ==References==

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