Music by Leo Fall
Directed by Elizabeth Margolius. Conducted by Anthony Barrese.
Complete video available to watch for a limited time.
Folks Operetta’s U.S. and Chicago premiere in 2008 and 2015.
Chicago Folks Operetta brings the charm and humor of the Viennese waltz operetta genre to life in Chicago with its imaginative production of The Girl in the Train at The Athenaeum Theatre. Just-in-time for Oktoberfest, this rarely performed operetta has all the trademark Viennese melodies and dances of the waltz operetta genre. Leo Fall is perhaps best known for his beautiful waltz melodies, lush Viennese harmonies as well as fun dance numbers that defined the Viennese Silver Age of operetta. They made his music a staple of café society and dance halls around the world. However, his skewering of Viennese social conventions and witty dialogue is what made him a one time rival of Franz Lehàr in popularity. The Girl in the Train was known as The Divorceè in Europe and it wasn’t until it was presented by George Edwardes in London that it was altered, reflecting a vogue for the word “girl” in Edwardian productions. Folks Operetta has retained the Edwardian title but given the show a brand new English translation by Hersh Glagov and Gerald Frantzen that closely traces the German version and brings all the Viennese wit and humor of the original to life.