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.
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.
It was performed by the "Boston Cadets, who always present Barnet's pieces before they are staged professionally.
[15] The female impersonator Julian Eltinge appeared in the early shows.