ABSTRACT
Operetta in New York was still dominated by another emigre, Victor Herbert, composer of the extravaganza Babes in Toyland. Herbert cemented his American reputation with a 1910 production called Naughty Marietta. Herbert's librettist was Rida Johnson Young, one of the few women active as a writer or composer on Broadway. One of the first women to have any impact was Rida Johnson Young, a native of Baltimore, who seems to have met Victor Herbert through his publishing house, Witmark. Her creative career began as a playwright, but her reputation as an effective librettist wasn't firmly established until the success of Naughty Marietta. The "Italian Street Song" is a good illustration of why many amateur companies today still have trouble performing Naughty Marietta. The Merry Widow and Naughty Marietta's rousing success showed that glamorous operetta—whether imported or homegrown—still held a solid place in Broadway theaters.
