Robert Ayres Barnet (September 3, 1853[1][2] – June 26, 1933) was an American musical theatre lyricist from New York City,[3] active in New York and Boston in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[4][5] He is most remembered for his collaborations with the Boston Men's Army Cadets.

Career

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Barnet wrote lyrics for 1492 and Excelsior, Jr.[6] Collaborators included Robert Melville Baker,[7] George Whitefield Chadwick,[8] Edward Warren Corliss,[9] Louis F. Gottschalk, Harry Lawson Heartz,[10] David Kilburn Stevens,[11] Lewis Sabin Thompson,[12] and George Lowell Tracy.[13] He belonged to the Boston Cadets, and contributed to the group's amateur theatricals.[14] For example, his Jack and the Beanstock premiered in 1896 at Boston's Tremont Theatre. It was performed by the "Boston Cadets, who always present Barnet's pieces before they are staged professionally. The new piece is ... a fairy Mother Goose burlesque. The music is by A.B. Sloane. ... Augustus Pitou, Klaw & Erlanger, E.E. Rice, and other prominent gentlemen" attended.[15] The female impersonator Julian Eltinge appeared in the early shows. Barnet died in New York in 1933.[16]

Images

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References

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  1. ^ New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
  2. ^ 1900 United States Federal Census
  3. ^ Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915
  4. ^ Barnet, R. A. (Robert Ayres) 1850?-1933, WorldCat
  5. ^ W. L. Hubbard, ed. (1908), The History of American Music, Toledo, Ohio: I. Squire, OCLC 851074, OL 7037981M
  6. ^ Harry Prescott Hanaford; Dixie Hines, eds. (1914), Who's who in music and drama: an encyclopedia of biography of notable men and women in music and the drama, NY: H.P. Hanaford
  7. ^ Baker, Robert Melville 1868-1929, WorldCat
  8. ^ Carl Engel (July 1924), "George W. Chadwick", Musical Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 3
  9. ^ Corliss, E. W. (Edward Warren) 1872-1916, WorldCat
  10. ^ Heartz, H. L. (Harry Lawson), WorldCat
  11. ^ Stevens, D. K. (David Kilburn) 1860-1946, WorldCat
  12. ^ Thompson, Lewis Sabin 1868-1908, WorldCat
  13. ^ Tracy, George Lowell 1855-1921, WorldCat
  14. ^ Alfred T. Waite (January 29, 1898), "Soldiers as Actors", Harper's Weekly
  15. ^ "R.A. Barnet's new burlesque: 'Jack and the Beanstock' produced by the Boston Cadets", New York Times, February 7, 1896
  16. ^ Anne Alison Barnet (2004), Extravaganza King: Robert Barnet and Boston Musical Theater, Northeastern University Press

Further reading

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  • Barnet, Anne Alison. Extravaganza King: Robert Barnet and Boston Musical Theater. Northeastern University Press, Boston: 2004.
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  • New York Public Library
    • I love you Evaline, words by R.A. Barnet ; music by Geo. L. Tracy; from Excelsior Jr. (Boston: Bates & Bendix, 1895)
    • O lovely home, libretto by R.A. Barnet ; music by G.W. Chadwick; from Tabasco, 1894