YOUNG, RIDA JOHNSON

(1869-1926)

Born into high society in Baltimore, Rida Johnson Young spent a brief apprenticeship acting withE. H. SothernandViola Allenbefore she turned to writing plays,operettas, and musicals. Her nonmusical plays includeBrown of Harvard(1906),The Boys of Company"B" (1907),The Lancers(1907),Glorious Betsey(1908),The Lottery Man(1909),Next(1911), andThe Girl with the Pennant(1913). She wrote a series of musical plays forChauncey Olcott, includingRagged Robin(1910),Barry of Ballmore(1911),Macushla(1912),The Isle o ' Dreams(1913), andShameen Dhu(1914). Her most enduring contributions were the books and lyrics for two operettas,Naughty Marietta(1910; music by Victor Herbert) andMaytime(1917; music by Sigmund Romberg), both of which were frequently revived and became popular motion pictures.