Marie Jansen (born Harriet Mary Johnson; November , â€" March , ) was
an American musical theatre actress best known for her roles at the
end of the th century. She starred in a number of successful comic
operas, Edwardian musical comedies, and comic plays in New York,
Boston, Philadelphia and London during the s and s.After gaining
notice for her role in the American production of Olivette (), she
became known for her performances in the title role of the original
American production of Iolanthe (), in the long-running comic opera
Erminie (), the title roles in Featherbrain () and Nadjy (), and her
role in The Oolah (). Later in her career, she performed in vaudeville
and formed her own touring theatre company. Jansen ran into financial
difficulties, by the late s, partly due to losses as a producer, that
left her in reduced circumstances for the remainder of her life.Jansen
was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where she was adopted as an infant
by Benjamin and Harriet Johnson and named Harriet "Hattie" Mary
Johnson. Her father was a merchant with the means to send his daughter
to the New England Conservatory of Music. While there, she appeared in
music hall concerts and caught the eye of the British-American
orchestra conductor and composer John Braham, who felt that she had
stage presence and later helped her secure a position with the
Comley-Barton Opera Company.Jansen made her professional stage debut
at the Park Theatre in Boston on September , in B. E. Woolf's musical
comedy, Lawn Tennis. The play made its New York debut a few weeks
later at the Bijou Theatre and ran until Christmas Eve. Olivette, the
English adaption of Les noces d'Olivette, a comic opera with music by
Edmond Audran, debuted at the Bijou on Christmas Day with Jansen as
the Waiting Maid to the Countess. In May Olivette opened at the
Boston Globe, with Jansen assuming the role of the Countess, with
great success. She next played in The Vicar of Bray and Billee Taylor.
Jansen was married in , while starring in Olivette, to James Barton
(â€"), an actor, theater manager and singer who was a co-founder of
the Comleyâ€"Barton Opera Company. He was a son of Philip Barton Key
II and grandson of Francis Scott Key. They divorced, she said, by the
time she introduced the song "Ohé, Mamma" in .
an American musical theatre actress best known for her roles at the
end of the th century. She starred in a number of successful comic
operas, Edwardian musical comedies, and comic plays in New York,
Boston, Philadelphia and London during the s and s.After gaining
notice for her role in the American production of Olivette (), she
became known for her performances in the title role of the original
American production of Iolanthe (), in the long-running comic opera
Erminie (), the title roles in Featherbrain () and Nadjy (), and her
role in The Oolah (). Later in her career, she performed in vaudeville
and formed her own touring theatre company. Jansen ran into financial
difficulties, by the late s, partly due to losses as a producer, that
left her in reduced circumstances for the remainder of her life.Jansen
was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where she was adopted as an infant
by Benjamin and Harriet Johnson and named Harriet "Hattie" Mary
Johnson. Her father was a merchant with the means to send his daughter
to the New England Conservatory of Music. While there, she appeared in
music hall concerts and caught the eye of the British-American
orchestra conductor and composer John Braham, who felt that she had
stage presence and later helped her secure a position with the
Comley-Barton Opera Company.Jansen made her professional stage debut
at the Park Theatre in Boston on September , in B. E. Woolf's musical
comedy, Lawn Tennis. The play made its New York debut a few weeks
later at the Bijou Theatre and ran until Christmas Eve. Olivette, the
English adaption of Les noces d'Olivette, a comic opera with music by
Edmond Audran, debuted at the Bijou on Christmas Day with Jansen as
the Waiting Maid to the Countess. In May Olivette opened at the
Boston Globe, with Jansen assuming the role of the Countess, with
great success. She next played in The Vicar of Bray and Billee Taylor.
Jansen was married in , while starring in Olivette, to James Barton
(â€"), an actor, theater manager and singer who was a co-founder of
the Comleyâ€"Barton Opera Company. He was a son of Philip Barton Key
II and grandson of Francis Scott Key. They divorced, she said, by the
time she introduced the song "Ohé, Mamma" in .
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