description May Wine Overview
May Wine is a two-act Broadway musical with music by Sigmund Romberg, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Frank Mandel. It opened at the St. James Theatre in New York on December 5, 1935, and ran for 213 performances. The story, adapted from The Happy Alienist, follows Professor Johann Volk, a psychology professor whose romance with Marie, a baroness, is entangled with the schemes of Baron Kuno Adelhorst ([IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/may-wine-12039); [May Wine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Wine)).
help May Wine FAQ
When did May Wine open on Broadway?
It opened at the St. James Theatre in New York on December 5, 1935, and ran for 213 performances. It was a two-act Broadway musical arriving in the middle of the Great Depression-era theatre scene.
Who wrote May Wine?
The music is by Sigmund Romberg, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Frank Mandel. Romberg and Hammerstein's partnership went back to The Desert Song (1926), making this a late reunion of a famous operetta team.
What is May Wine based on?
It is adapted from The Happy Alienist, a stage comedy, transformed into a musical romp. The title refers to the traditional German springtime punch, and the story keeps a Germanic setting and romantic-comedy complications.
Was May Wine a success?
Its 213-performance run in 1935–36 made it a moderate success, though it did not become a lasting classic like Romberg's earlier operettas. By the mid-1930s the Viennese-style operetta Romberg embodied was giving way to newer musical comedy fashions on Broadway.
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