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Elsie
Janis, Stage Star
Janis’s
debut on a professional stage came in 1896 at age seven when she
appeared at Columbus’s Southern Theatre in East Lynne. As a
child, Janis entertained Governor William McKinley and Mrs. McKinley
at the Neil House. When Janis’s New York debut was delayed by the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a child
protection agency that actively enforced child labor laws, she
alternated bookings in vaudeville, summer park theatres, and touring
productions. An important opportunity came in 1905 when Janis
replaced Anna Held for the tour of Florenz Ziegfeld’s The
Little Duchess. During this tour, Janis turned sixteen and was
offered her first Broadway script, The Vanderbilt Cup,
quickly followed by The Hoyden (1907) and The Fair Co-Ed.
According to the Columbus
Citizen (21 October 1908), “The
Fair Co-Ed is the best vehicle Elsie Janis ever had…Elsie
makes her first appearance in a red cape and a student cap, and
satirizes Portia’s merry speech in defending a ‘conned’
student. In the second
act she makes a stunning ‘boy’ masquerading as a naval
lieutenant. In the
third act… a football song is wonderfully well done and is
predicted to make a hit with the O.S.U. contingent.
Miss Janis appears more graceful and to better advantage as a
dancer than ever before.” The Fair Co-Ed led to her next success, The Slim Princess, produced for Janis by the great producer Charles
Dillingham. The Slim Princess
was a landmark for Janis as the first show that featured her as a
composer/lyricist, including her song “For the Lord’s Sake, Play
a Waltz” which she also recorded.
The Lady of the Slipper in which Janis starred with Dave Montgomery
and Fred Stone (arguably the most popular music comedy team of their
time) marked the beginning of Janis’s acquaintance with composer
Victor Herbert.
|
The Theatre Magazine (December 1909), cover. |
| The American Stage of To-Day: Biographies and Photographs
of One Hundred Leading Actors and Actresses.
Introduction by William Winter.
New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1910. |
Click to Enlarge
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Program cover advertising Janis in The Fair Co-Ed,
appearing at the Southern Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, 1910. |
| From “Scenes in Geo. Ade’s New Comedy The Fair
Co-Ed at the Knickerbocker …. Act II. Cynthia (Elsie
Janis) finds a fight on her hands.”
The Theatre Magazine (March
1909), 93. |
Click to Enlarge
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Program with cover advertising Janis in The Slim Princess,
appearing at the Hartman Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, 1912. |
| Excerpt from the program for The Lady of the Slipper,
presented at the Globe Theatre, New York, 1912. |
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Elsie Janis with Fred Stone and Dave Montgomery in The
Lady of the Slipper. |
| The Theatre Magazine (March 1917), cover. |
Click to Enlarge
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