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OverviewThis is the entertaining tale of Robert Barnet (1853-1933), a prosperous Boston sugar merchant, and the enormously popular musical theatricals he wrote and produced for the First Corps of Cadets, a volunteer militia of young upper-class Boston businessmen who sought money to build an armory as protection against feared immigrant uprisings. Barnet had already made a name for himself in local amateur theater circles when the Corps hired the middle-aged father of five to stage fund-raiser to erect the armory, known today as the Park Plaza Castle. Dubbed the Extravaganza King for his ever more elaborate productions, held annually in Boston from 1891 to 1906, Barnet almost single-handedly managed the lavish musical farces and Mother Goose buriesques, acting as librettist, director, stage manager, and costume designer. The male cadets, including several Harvard graduates trained in the Hasty Pudding tradition, played all of the roles in these overblown affairs, and Barnet himself starred as Queen Isabella of Spain in 1492, his most famous work. Donning dresses and wigs for the female parts, the hefty, muscular leading ladies raised laughter rather than eyebrows from the audiences of prominent Bostonians who attended the shows. In this lively and light-hearted account, Barnet's great-granddaughter, Anne Alison Barnet, reclaims the little known story of the Cadet Theatricals and the creative force behind the huge productions, many of which later toured the country and had Broadway runs. Drawing on a trove of photographs, scrapbooks, and family memorabilia, she traces Barnet's life and the colorful history of the Cadet shows. While Barnet gained national fame for his long run of successes in Boston, his fortunes reversed after moving in 1908 to New York City, where he failed to adapt his talents to evolving musical theater tastes and fell into professional obscurity. Barnet's captivating book transports the reader back to the turn of the last century, a time when extravaganzas - musical theater with enormous casts, elaborate scenery and costumes, special effects, and improbable, lightweight plots - were the rage in popular entertainment. It rescues Robert Barnet's astonishing career and illuminates his significant contribution to the rich heritage of American musicals. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Anne Alison BarnetPublisher: University Press of New England Imprint: Northeastern University Press Dimensions: Width: 16.30cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.40cm Weight: 0.499kg ISBN: 9781555536114ISBN 10: 1555536115 Pages: 192 Publication Date: 31 May 2004 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsThis book provides a fascinating picture of an era when theater was still the primary mode of public entertainment. It will interest all students and fans of early theater history. --Choice Author InformationAnne Alison Barnet holds a B.A. degree from Boston University and a M.Ed. from Cambridge College. A writer, researcher, and public speaker, she lives in Boston's South End, where she is a frequent lecturer on the neighborhood's history and Robert Barnet's career. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |