Marinka (operetta)

The operetta is a retelling of the story of the Mayerling Incident, but with a happy ending replacing the infamous 1889 double suicide of Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress, Maria Vetsera.

It was first produced on Broadway by Jules J. Leventhal and Harry Howard with financial backing from Lee Shubert and Warner Bros.

[1] The production moved to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on October 1, 1945, running until December 8, 1945, for a total of 165 performances.

[2] The opening night cast included Joan Roberts (Marinka), Harry Stockwell (Rudolph), Romo Vincent (Bratfisch), Michael Barrett (Sergeant Negulegul), Paul Campbell (Count Hoyos), Ronnie Cunningham (Tilly), Bob Douglas (Lieutenant Baltatzy), Leonard Elliott (Francis), Jack Gansert (Lieutenant Palafy), Noel Gordon (Naval Lieutenant), Adrienne Gray (Countess Huebner), Taylor Holmes (Count Lobkowitz), Jack Leslie (Waiter), Ethel Levey (Madame Sacher), Reinhold Schünzel (Emperor Franz Josef), Elline Walther (Countess von Diefendorfer), Ruth Webb (Nadine), and Luba Malina (Countess Landovska).

In the prologue, youngsters at a movie palace watch a film about the Mayerling story and feel that it is too tragic.