Henry Wilson Savage

Henry Wilson Savage (1859 – 1927) was an American theatrical manager and real estate entrepreneur.

Henry Wilson Savage
Henry W. Savage in 1925
Born	(1859-03-21)March 21, 1859 New Durham, New Hampshire
Died	November 29, 1927(1927-11-29) (aged 68) Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation	Theatrical Manager
Years active	1900 - 1925
Known for	The Merry Widow The Prince of Pilsen The Girl of the Golden West The College Widow The Country Chairman
Spouse	Alice Louise Batcheler ​ ​ (m. 1989; death 1927)​
Children	Two, John and Bettina

Biography

Henry Wilson Savage was born in New Durham, New Hampshire, on March 21, 1859.^[1] He earned his degree from Harvard in 1880. In 1895, he was recognized as a wealthy real estate investor in Boston before he got involved with the theater. His initial foray into the theatrical field was in 1900.^[2]

Savage was the first pioneer in performing Grand opera in English. He lavishly staged these productions, making each performance a grand spectacle for the viewer. Savage staged some of the most popular musical shows of the early 1900s, earning a second fortune. Before he stepped away from production in 1925, he was acknowledged with over 50 stage successes.^[3]

He was the president of the Henry W. Savage Company, Inc., Castle Square Opera Company of Boston, and the Director of the National Association of Theatrical Producing Managers of America.^[3]

Productions

Savage's more notable productions include the following:

• The Sho-Gun
• The Prince of Pilsen
• The Girl of the Golden West
• The Merry Widow
• The College Widow
• The County Chairman
• The Chocolate Soldier
• Madama Butterfly (the first American performance in 1906)
• Little Boy Blue (1912)
• Somewhere Else (1913)
• Toot-Toot (1917) – featuring "The Last Long Mile"
• Everywoman (1913–14)
• Mr. Wu (1914)
• Lass O'Laughter starring Flora Le Breton in 1925, Savage's last production in New York

Death

Savage died in Boston on November 29, 1927.^[1] In the 1953 memoir Bring On the Girls! (by P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton), he is depicted as an "extraordinarily manipulative and money-grubbing entrepreneur."^[4]

• Henry W. Savage produced musicals
• 
  Pom-Pom starring Mitzi Hajos 1916
• 
  "The Merry Widow" 1908
• 
  "Peggy from Paris" showgirls 1904.
• 
  "The Florist Shop" Marion Lorne and Louise Drew 1909
• 
  Wagner's "Parsifal" Flower Maidens 1917

References

1. "Henry W. Savage, Producer, is dead". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 30, 1927. p. 25. Retrieved March 5, 2024 – via timesmachine.nytimes.com/.
2. McPherson, J. (Autumn 2002). "The Savage Innocents: Part I, King of the Castle: Henry W. Savage and the Castle Square Opera Company". The Opera Quarterly. 18 (4). Baltimore, Maryland: Oxford University Press: 503–533. doi:10.1093/oq/18.4.503. ISSN 1476-2870. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
3. "SAVAGE, Henry Wilson". Internet Archive. New York : Dodd, Mead. 1914. p. 492. Retrieved March 5, 2024. New international encyclopedia
4. Wodehouse, P.G.; Bolton, G. (1997). Bring on the Girls!: The Improbable Story of Our Life in Musical Comedy, with Pictures to Prove it. Akadine Press. ISBN 978-1-888173-17-8. Retrieved March 6, 2024.

External links

• Works by Henry Wilson Savage at Project Gutenberg
• Henry W. Savage at the Internet Broadway Database