Island-born Broadway star to be showcased in new play
One of the Island's greatest musicians will be profiled in a new made-in-PEI play.
Diane Barnes, a P.E.I. playwright, is composing a show about John "Honey" Stromberg.
Stromberg was one of Broadway's most beloved composers and conductors in the late 19th century, although Barnes said most Islanders today have probably never heard of him.
"Possibly because he predated motion pictures and things like that, these things tend to be forgotten about," she told Mainstreet P.E.I. on Wednesday.
One of Broadway's prominent composers
Stromberg was born in Milton, P.E.I. in 1858, where his early training was as a musician.
At the age of 20, he moved to New York City. But it wasn't until 1895 that he landed his first hit with My Girl's a Corker, She's a New Yorker, said Barnes.
"That was a tune that was regularly whistled by the people on the streets of New York City," she said.
In the following years, Stromberg became one of Broadway's most prominent composers and musical directors under the direction of comedy duo Weber and Fields.
Some of the productions he worked on include Helter Skelter, Hoity-Toity and Fiddle-Dee-Dee.
He also worked with many stars including Lillian Russell, the "Marilyn Monroe of her time," and others such as Fay Templeton and DeWolf Hopper, said Barnes.
"He was hugely talented, he was a multi-instrumentalist, he could play any instrument, he could write any song," she said.
"And when he died they say that the lights of Broadway were dimmed for the first time in history and anyone who was anyone came to pay tribute to John Stromberg."
An Islander at heart
Barnes said she stumbled upon Stromberg's story in a classic book on historical Charlottetown while doing research on another musical play.
She was impressed by his story, and started researching him.
Stromberg has since been inducted to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also named in the Internet Broadway Database.
Barnes said she also got in touch with some of Stromberg's distant cousins on the Island, who helped her with information and photographs.
Despite his star-studded life in New York City, she discovered that he was still very connected to his relatives on P.E.I., mostly through letters.
In one of them he wrote about his property in Freeport, Long Island.
"Like any good Islander, he was a farmer there," she said. "And of course, he planted potatoes."
Play will keep close to Stromberg's life story
Barnes is now adding the finishing touches to her play. She said it keeps close to the actual story, though she has condensed some of the story and timeline and taken some creative licence.
"But I really try to honour the memory of the people and keep their reputations intact as much as possible," she said.
She also hopes the play will bring an awareness and sense of pride to Islanders about Stromberg's accomplishments in the international music scene.
"I would hope that there'd be a new appreciation for John Stromberg and that his memory would not be forgotten again," she said.
"He was very well loved, he was very humble despite his immense talent, and he could do anything and he was a very loving person."
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