“D arn T hat M erry W idow H at ”: T he O n- and O ffstage L ife of a T heatrical C ommodity , C irca 1907–1908

Abstract: Decades before the rise of the international megamusical, Franz Lehár’s operetta Die lustige Witwe ( The Merry Widow ) traveled the world, becoming a franchise surrounded by a constellation of commodities. Within two years of its opening in Vienna on 30 December 1905, the romantic tale of Hanna Glawari’s second chance at love was playing in theatres across Europe and in “virtually every city in the German-speaking world,” including colonial communities in Africa and Asia. In Argentina, as many as five versions of the operetta opened simultaneously in Buenos Aires, each in a different language. By 1908, three Merry Widow road companies were touring the United States, and numerous burlesques of the piece were vying for the attention of theatregoers.