 KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY
a musical play in two acts. Book and Lyrics by Maxwell Anderson.
Music by Kurt
Weill. Suggested by "Father Knickerbocker's History" by
Washington Irving
Ethyl Barrymore Theatre, New York, 19 October 1938 (168 perfs)
Summary
In New Amsterdam in 1647, Brom, a young man, falls in love with
the Town Councillor's daughter, Tina. The Town Councillor, however,
is furious and tries to have him hanged but the arrival of Peter
Stuyvesant, the new Governor, saves Brom's neck. Stuyvesant reveals
himself as a dictator, and Brom, protesting, is carted off to jail.
Stuyvesant then announces that the country shall go to war, as a
peaceful country is a stagnant one. This is stopped when it is pointed
out that he had better change his ways if he is going to be remembered
kindly in history and all ends happily with Brom and Tina getting
married.
STORY
ACT I
Washington Irving, the great American historian, is sitting idly
at his desk in 1809 and starts to relate the story of the Dutch
founding fathers of New York (then New Amsterdam) in 1647. Suddenly
the Council is with us: Van Tienhoven, Van Rensselaer, Roosevelt,
De Vries, Vanderbilt - all fat, self-important, corrupt (Hush-Hush)
- and faintly ridiculous! They have a problem: the Governor is
arriving by ship and they want a public hanging to impress him,
but all the prisoners have jumped jail! The Council picks on young
handsome Brom Bröck, back after an absence to see his sweetheart,
Van Tienhoven's daughter Tina (It Never Was You) -he had
to keep away because his aversion to taking orders from anyone
always leads to trouble. Washington living, who acts like a narrator,
agrees with Brom that this makes him the first fully-fledged American
citizen (How Can You Tell an American?). Brom reminds Van
Tienhoven of his lawbreaking, but that counts as "making accusations
against the Council", which is a hanging matter, so he must
be strung up. The crowd is furious, and threatens the Councillors,
but Brom convinces the Councillors that the modern way to hang
is by the stomach, and when the new Governor, Peter Stuyvesant,
discovers him swinging by a rope around his waist, he is delighted
at Brom's cheek and pardons him. He explains his idea of an idyllic
existence for all, with him as absolute dictator, and enlists Van
Tienhoven as his henchman in illicit arms and liquor trade with
the Indians (The One Indespensable Man). Brom and Tina seek
Stuyvesant's permission to marry, but are shattered to find that
Van Tienhoven has promised her to Stuyvesant who, horror of horrors,
has a silver leg! Stuyvesant tries to persuade her to marry him
immediately, not to wait - "the days grow short when you reach
September" (September Song) - the disheartened Brom
complains loudly about the dictatorial Governor and gets marched
off to jail for hanging later, while Stuyvesant exhorts everyone
to hymn him (All Hail the Political Honeymoon).
Act II
Stuyvesant visits Brom in jail, listens to his thoughts and recommends
him to write a book while Sitting In Jail. Tina, suddenly
as rebellious as Brom and still determined to marry him, climbs
in through the "escape hole" and, when the jailer tries
to stop her, loses all her seven skirts in the attempt! She and
Brom are just about to escape when her father arrives to take her
away.
Washington living introduces the last scene, Pausing that when you're
on rock bottom There's Nowhere To Go But Up Back on the Battery,
the Army (that is, the Council plus several small boys) are parading
rebelliously before the irascible Stuyvesant (To War!). The
Council then gets a short, sharp lesson in economics, Stuyvesant-style,
which depresses them (Our Ancient Liberties). The wedding
starts but is interrupted by Brom and his friend Tenpin, escaped
from the jail which drunken Indians have burned down. The Council
is too frightened to fight, but Stuyvesant and Brom defeat the Indians,
though it seems Tenpin has been killed. In the rejoicing, Brom (and
the swiftly-recovered Tenpin) denounce Stuyvesant for having sold
the firearms and liquor to the Indians and Brom accuses him, not
only of corruption, but of undue efficiency! Stuyvesant has had enough
- he orders the rope for Brom and instructs the Council to pull it.
Led by Roosevelt, they summon up courage and refuse, whereupon Stuyvesant
threatens to turn the cannon on them. The day is saved by Washington
living, intervening across the centuries to remind Stuyvesant how
important a good historical reputation is, and all ends happily when
old Silverleg admits he can't take orders either!
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