Stanlislaus Stange

Stanislaus Stange born in Liverpool, England in 1862. He emigrated to America in 1881 and attempted to establish himself as an actor and elocution teacher in Kansas City. He finally moved to New York, where he had more success as a writer. He teamed up with composer Julian Edwards to create a string of musicals, beginning with Madeline, or the Magic Kiss (1895).  With Edwards, Stange later created Brian Boru (1896), The Wedding Day (1897), The Jolly Musketeer (1898), and When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1902), which produced a popular patriotic song, "My Own United States". Stange also worked with Victor Herbert on The Singing Girl (1899) and Ludwig Engländer on The Two Roses (1904). His most lasting hit was the English translation of Oscar Straus’ Viennese operetta The Chocolate Soldier which was staged first on Broadway in 1909 and then in London.  In 1912 Stange suffered a stroke when working on revival production of The Chocolate Soldier. His health and productivity declined from that point. He died at the age of 54 on January 2, 1917