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Why Women Sin
An original musical melodrama of the underworld
adapted from a 1903 play by
Will C. Murphy
Why Women Sin
An original musical melodrama of the underworld
adapted from a 1903 play by
Will C. Murphy
Don't shoot him! I'll go with him!
Todd Stace, Sabrina Doyle, Brianna Browman. July 2006
Todd Stace, Sabrina Doyle, Brianna Browman. July 2006
Will C. Parker’s 1903 shocker, Why
Women Sin, about “White Slavery” and
New York’s underworld, was such a
scandal that it sold out theatres all over
the U.S. – it was even denounced from
the pulpit! Sounds like a great show –
unfortunately, we don’t have it! Instead,
the Marks Brothers Archive contains a
pirated version called The Lure of the
Lights. We have adapted that script,
along with what we have learned about the original show, into a musical play and
added lots of great songs from the era of ragtime and blues to make this “musical
melodrama” memorable and entertaining.
Women Sin, about “White Slavery” and
New York’s underworld, was such a
scandal that it sold out theatres all over
the U.S. – it was even denounced from
the pulpit! Sounds like a great show –
unfortunately, we don’t have it! Instead,
the Marks Brothers Archive contains a
pirated version called The Lure of the
Lights. We have adapted that script,
along with what we have learned about the original show, into a musical play and
added lots of great songs from the era of ragtime and blues to make this “musical
melodrama” memorable and entertaining.
Rose is a young girl from a small town who
is lured to New York City (“The Big Smoke” in 1910 slang) by an unscrupulous gangster. Thrown into a world of vice and violence, she is helped by a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold and a dope-addict convict.
It is funny, sad, touching, moving, tuneful and riveting theatre in a crowd- pleasing style that made it one of the best-selling of our Marks Brothers Melodramas.
Rose is a young girl from a small town who
is lured to New York City (“The Big Smoke” in 1910 slang) by an unscrupulous gangster. Thrown into a world of vice and violence, she is helped by a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold and a dope-addict convict.
It is funny, sad, touching, moving, tuneful and riveting theatre in a crowd- pleasing style that made it one of the best-selling of our Marks Brothers Melodramas.
Songs in the show:
In the Heart of the City That Has No HeartThe Curse of an Aching Heart
You Can’t Get along with ’Em or Without ’Em
I’m the Guy Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle
Turn Back The Universe (And Give Me Yesterday)
I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome
Fatima Brown
Are You Sincere?
I Found a Rose in the Devil’s Garden
Everybody Two-step
Gray Morn
I’d like to Know What Happened to Mary
Clouds That Pass in the Night
You Broke My Heart to Pass the Time Away
Eve Wasn’t Modest (’Til She Ate That Apple)
Hold Me
I Told You So
Broadway Rose
You Tell Me Your Dream and I’ll Tell You Mine
Goodbye, Rose
Hold Me -- Rose at The Devil's Garden
Sabrina Doyle. July 2006
Sabrina Doyle. July 2006
I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome
Brianna Browman, Ron Cosens. July 2006
Brianna Browman, Ron Cosens. July 2006
New York City, about 1912
Act One and Two
The basement of Frisco Jennie's "establishment" on the Lower East Side
Act Three
The Devil's Den, a below-grade speak-easy in Manhattan
Act Four
Again, the basement of Frisco Jennie's
4 acts / 1 intermission
4 men / 2 women / piano / 2 non-speaking extras
2 int. sets
Act One and Two
The basement of Frisco Jennie's "establishment" on the Lower East Side
Act Three
The Devil's Den, a below-grade speak-easy in Manhattan
Act Four
Again, the basement of Frisco Jennie's
4 acts / 1 intermission
4 men / 2 women / piano / 2 non-speaking extras
2 int. sets