William B. Friedlander

William Barr Friedlander (January 12, 1884 – January 1968) was an American songwriter, librettist, composer, producer, director, and theater manager whose career spanned Broadway productions from 1920 through 1944. Born in 1884, he worked across multiple theatrical roles throughout his career, with particular activity during the 1920s and 1930s.

Friedlander's earliest documented work dates to 1905, when he wrote lyrics for two songs: "The Man with the Jingle," set to music by Charles E. Mullen, and "My Lovin' Henry," set to music by Terry Sherman. He married Nan Halperin, a Russian-born vaudeville performer, and composed the songs she performed in her vaudeville act. During the 1910s and 1920s, he produced a number of tabloid shows for vaudeville circuits through his company, W.B. Friedlander Inc. Among these was The Suffragettes, a tab show featuring Halperin that achieved considerable success. In 1916, the company produced several vaudeville productions booked through vaudeville houses, including Salamander Sallies, co-written with Will M. Hough, The Night Clerk headed by Frank Ellis, and The Four Husbands with Howard Burkholder and George W. Jenks. The company also announced plans for a new revue featuring seven complete stage settings and a company of 34 performers.

Friedlander's Broadway career began in 1920 with two productions at different venues. He wrote the music and lyrics for Frivolities of 1920, a musical revue that opened at the 44th Street Theatre on January 8, 1920, produced by G.M. Anderson. Despite poor reviews citing a lack of wit and music, the show ran for seven weeks. Later that year, his musical Pitter Patter opened at the Longacre Theatre on September 28, 1920, running for fourteen weeks. The cast of Pitter Patter included James Cagney, who would later become a prominent film star. In 1921, Friedlander and L. Lawrence Weber formed a partnership to present dramatic, musical, and vaudeville attractions at the Longacre.

The Longacre Theatre remained central to Friedlander's work in the mid-1920s. In January 1924, he collaborated with composer Con Conrad on Moonlight, a small musical that opened at the Longacre on January 30, 1924. Critics described it as tuneful fun, and the production ran for 174 performances before embarking on a successful tour. The following year, Conrad and Friedlander brought Mercenary Mary to the Longacre, opening April 13, 1925. Based on the 1923 farce What's Your Wife Doing?, the musical comedy featured Allen Kearns in its cast and ran for more than four months, with reviewers noting the strength of the cast despite reservations about the score. Friedlander received credit on Mercenary Mary as composer, lyricist, and book writer. Also in 1925, he directed Marion Wightman's The Dagger, which opened at the Longacre on September 9 and was poorly received by critics.

Friedlander continued producing and directing through the latter half of the 1920s. He produced and directed The Shelf, which opened at the Morosco on September 27, 1926, with a cast headed by Frances Starr, running for 32 performances. In January 1927, he produced the musical comedy Piggy at the Royale Theatre, where comedian Sam Bernard carried the production through 79 performances despite a weak script. Bernard died shortly after the show closed.

In April 1930, Friedlander produced and directed Jonica at the Craig Theatre, a musical comedy with a book by Dorothy Heyward and Moss Hart, music by Joseph Meyer, and lyrics by William Moll. The production was considered a failure. Hart later claimed minimal involvement with the show, and it has been suggested that Friedlander substantially rewrote the script without taking credit; the original script is believed to be lost. Friedlander subsequently produced Under Glass, starring Ross Alexander, which opened at the Ambassador Theatre on October 30, 1933, and closed after eight performances. The following year, he directed Hiram Sherman's farce Too Much Party, which opened at the Theatre Masque on March 5, 1934, and also closed after eight performances.

Friedlander's longest-running production was the comedy Separate Rooms, written by Alan Dinehart and Joseph Carole, which he directed and staged. The production opened at the Maxine Elliott Theatre on March 23, 1940, transferred to the Mansfield Theatre on April 15, 1940, and then moved to the Plymouth Theatre on June 10, 1940, where it ran until September 6, 1941, accumulating 613 performances in total. The cast included Alan Dinehart, Glenda Farrell, and Lyle Talbot.

His later Broadway work met with sharply negative reception. A revival of the 1907 musical comedy The Time, the Place and the Girl, for which Friedlander served as lyricist, opened at the Mansfield Theater on October 21, 1942, and drew a scathing review in Billboard from Eugene Burr, who described the direction as resembling a below-average burlesque skit. His final Broadway production, Good Morning, Corporal, which he staged and presented at the Playhouse Theater beginning August 8, 1944, closed after ten days. William Barr Friedlander died in January 1968 at the age of 83.