This book provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of light opera and musical comedy in turn-of-the-century America. Strang offers detailed biographies of some of the era's most famous performers, including Lillian Russell, Anna Held, and Fay Templeton. He also discusses the cultural context of this popular entertainment form, examining topics such as the rise of urbanization and the emergence of the middle class. This book will appeal to theater enthusiasts and social historians alike. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.