Palmer Cox's Brownies: History and Key Facts

Palmer Cox's Brownies is a musical in three acts with a libretto by Palmer Cox and music by Malcolm Douglas. It is based on Cox's children's literature series The Brownies. It was given its premiere at the Park Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 15, 1894. The show transferred to the Fourteenth Street Theatre in Manhattan where it opened on November 12, 1894. It ran there for 96 performances. The production was produced by Klaw and Erlanger, directed by Ben Teal, choreographed by Carl Marwig, and used sets by Charles Getz and J. W. Sommer.

After the close of the Broadway run, a national tour of Palmer Cox's Brownies began in Trenton, New Jersey in October 1895. Robert Cummings performed the part of the villain demon Dragonfel in the touring cast. The show traveled during the 1895-1896 and 1896-1897 seasons to theaters in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Utah, Tennessee, California, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Georgia. The tour continued to run after this, closing after nearly five years on the road.

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