Valli Valli (1882-1927)

"The Dollar Princess"
By Willner and GrunBaum, music by Leo Fall.
Produced at The Knickerbocker Theatre, New York, 6th July, 1909.

E. J. Connolly, Albert Hart, Frank Tierney, Donald Brian, F. Pope. Stamper, Percival Knight, Will Wast, J. J. Horwitz, Valli Valli, Adrienne Augarde, Louie Pounds, Jane Hall, Kitty Melrose, Pauline Francis, Mary Mackid, Hazel Neason.

"Eine Dollar Prinzessin," which came to the Knickerbocker Theatre last night from Vienna, via England, bears all the earmarks in its present form of a London musical comedy, and seems to have lost a great deal of its Austrian flavor. The fact that the three principal women characters were played by actresses who have made their successes in London, that many even of the chorus girls had seen the Gaiety, added to the impression.

The production itself showed all the evidences of good taste that an English musical comedy production usually carries. It was on the whole a simple, graceful, delicate, and charming evening, but on the other hand there was little excitement. It is evident that the translators of the piece, which, in its original form, was more or less contemporaneous with "The Merry Widow," have wrought great changes, and they are not necessarily for the worse. It only depends on what you like. If you care for the charm and grace of English musical comedy you are quite sure to enjoy "The Dollar Princess." If you are looking for Austrian fire and dash you are quite likely to be disappointed.

The story concerns, an American girl, who is the daughter of the President of the Coal Trust, and known as the Dollar Princess. She falls very much in love with a young Englishman, and in spite of her dollars she is unable to secure him until just before the curtain falls on the last act, when, of course, he succumbs in a potpourri of all the waltz motifs of the evening. The millionaire has an affair with an alleged Countess, who turns out to be a lion tamer, and his niece, Daisy, marries a young Marquis, and then refuses to be anything but his friend. The three plots go hand in hand through much charming melody. For, aside from one or two of the principal interpreters of the piece, "The Dollar Princess" must depend upon its music, which is really delightful, for its success.

Last night two of the numbers, which sounded very much like interpolations, aroused the most applause of the evening. They were Will West's "Truly Rural" and "A Boat Sails on Wednesday," which included a burlesque of the Apache dance, which was very amusing. Dr. Fall's score, however, was much above, these trivialities. "The Dollar Princess" waltz is very lovely, and is already well known here. "My Dream of Love," the "Inspection" waltz, and "Reminiscence" are bound to become popular.

Miss Valli-Valli, who is a sort of pocket edition of Miss Mary Garden, looked very lovely, sang very well and played the part of the Dollar Princess for all there was in it. Her resemblance, both in face and in action, to the Manhattan Opera House singer is striking, and was emphasized by her gowns. Donald Brian received the warmest welcome of the evening when he first appeared, and although he has no such part as Prince Danllo in which to further his fame, he has some of the best songs of the evening, and in the last act he does a dance with an extraordinary amount of deftness and grace. Miss Adrienne Augarde was pretty. Miss Louie Pounds did not seem to be the best choice for the part of the Dompteuse. F. Pope Stamper was very good in the part of the Marquis. Percival Knight played a bit very well and Will West was a favorite with the audience.

The staging of the piece was in perfect taste. Except for the evening gowns of the chorus in the second act, which were not attractive, scarcely any musical comedy has been staged so charmingly on Broadway recently. The scenes, depicting the private office of the Coal King, the Winter Garden in his house, and a bit of the Franco-British exhibition in London, were all well painted.

New York Times, 7th July, 1909