# Edward Royce (director)

Edward Royce or Edward Royce Jr. (born James William Reddall; 14 December 1870 – 15 June 1964) was an English director and choreographer of musical theatre, best remembered for his series of successful productions on Broadway. His father was the actor, dancer, singer and stage manager E. W. Royce.
Royce choreographed and/or directed more than a dozen comic operas and Edwardian musical comedies in London from 1902 to 1916, most of them for George Edwardes. Moving to Broadway, he directed a series of musicals, including several Princess Theatre musicals, including Oh, Boy! (1917), and such other successes as Irene (1919), Sally (1920), and several Ziegfeld productions.
Royce also directed in Australia and elsewhere in the United States, choreographed a few motion picture musicals, and later returned to England to direct a revival of A Waltz Dream (1934) and co-author a musical comedy, Fritzi (1935).

## Life and career

Royce was born in Bath, England. He studied scenic art before becoming a dancer. On the London stage, early in his career, he choreographed and/or staged Merrie England (1902–1903), A Princess of Kensington (1903 also dancing a duet with Winifred Hart-Dyke), and shows for George Edwardes, including A Waltz Dream (1908), Our Miss Gibbs (1909), The Dollar Princess (1909), The Girl in the Train (1910), Peggy (1911), The Count of Luxemburg (1911), Gypsy Love (1912) The Marriage Market (1913) and The Happy Day (1916).
Moving to Broadway, he directed The Century Girl (1916), Sally (1920), The Ziegfeld Follies (1920–1921), several other Ziegfeld shows, the hit musical Irene (1919), and Kid Boots (1923) among many others. For No, No, Nanette, Royce directed the show's pre-Broadway run in Chicago, in 1924, but did not direct the Broadway run in 1925. A series of musicals, known as the Princess Theatre musicals, were produced on Broadway between 1915 and 1919, written by the team of Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton and (usually) P. G. Wodehouse. Royce directed the most successful show in the series, Oh, Boy! (1917), which ran for 463 performances (the last few months at the Casino Theatre), making it the third-longest running Broadway musical in the 1910s. Royce directed two other shows in 1917 created by the Princess Theatre team, Leave It to Jane and Have a Heart, which were presented at other Broadway theatres. The same busy year, he also directed an unrelated Broadway hit, Going Up. The following year, he directed the final two Princess Theatre musicals, Oh, Lady! Lady!! and Oh, My Dear!.
Royce also directed in Australia and on the West Coast of the United States. He later choreographed such motion picture musicals as Married in Hollywood (1929), Words and Music (1929), and the British film Aunt Sally (1933) which was released in the U.S. as Along Came Sally (1934).
He returned to London to direct a revival of A Waltz Dream (1934) and co-authored a romantic musical comedy, Fritzi (1935). His last production was at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1954. He died in London at the age of 93.

## Theatre credits
### Britain

| Show | Opening | Role | Theatre |
| Merrie England | 1902 | Stage manager/ Dance & choral effects arranger | Savoy |
| A Princess of Kensington | 1903 | Stage manager/ Dance & choral effects arranger | Savoy |
| The Earl and the Girl | 1905 | Director | Prince's, Bristol |
| A Waltz Dream | 1908 | Director | Hicks |
| Our Miss Gibbs | 1909 | Director | Gaiety |
| The Dollar Princess | 1909 | Stage Director | Daly's |
| The Girl in the Train | 1910 | Director | Vaudeville |
| Peggy | 1911 | Stage director | Gaity |
| The Count of Luxemburg | 1911 | Stage director | Daly's |
| Gypsy Love | 1912 | Director | Daly's |
| The Doll Girl | 1913 | Choreographer | Globe |
| The Marriage Market | 1913 | Producer & director | Daly's |
| Tina | 1915 | Stage director | Adelphi |
| The Happy Day | 1916 | Stage director | Daly's |
| A Waltz Dream | 1934 | Director | Winter Garden |
| Fritzi | 1935 | Co-author (book) | Adelphi & Shaftesbury |
| A Waltz Dream | 1942 | Director | Bristol Hippodrome |
| Salute the Soldier | 1944 | Director | Bristol Hippodrome |
| The Count of Luxemburg | 1954 | Director | Bristol Hippodrome |

### United States

| Show | Opening | Role | Location$^a$ |
| The Doll Girl | 25 August 1913 | Choreographer | Globe Theatre |
| The Marriage Market | 22 September 1913 | Director | Knickerbocker Theatre |
| The Laughing Husband | 2 February 1914 | Director | Knickerbocker Theatre |
| Betty | 3 October 1916 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| The Century Girl | 6 November 1916 | Director | Century Theatre |
| Have a Heart | 11 January 1917 | Director | Liberty Theatre |
| Oh, Boy! | 20 February 1917 | Director | Princess Theatre |
| Leave It to Jane | 28 August 1917 | Director | Longacre Theatre |
| Kitty Darlin' | 7 November 1917 | Director | Casino Theatre |
| Going Up | 25 December 1917 | Director | Liberty Theatre |
| Oh, Lady! Lady!! | 1 February 1918 | Director | Princess Theatre |
| Rock-A-Bye Baby | 22 May 1918 | Director | Astor Theatre |
| The Canary | 4 November 1918 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| Oh, My Dear! | 27 November 1918 | Director | Princess Theatre |
| Come Along | 8 April 1919 | Director | Nora Bayes Theatre |
| She's a Good Fellow | 5 May 1919 | Co-director | Globe Theatre |
| Apple Blossoms | 7 October 1919 | Co-director | Globe Theatre |
| Irene | 18 November 1919 | Director | Vanderbilt Theatre |
| Lassie | 6 April 1920 | Director | Nora Bayes Theatre |
| Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 | 21 June 1921 | Director | New Amsterdam Theatre |
| Kissing Time | 11 October 1920 | Director | Lyric Theatre |
| Sally | 21 December 1920 | Director | New Amsterdam Theatre |
| Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic (1920) | 1 February 1921 | Director | Ziegfeld Roof |
| Ziegfeld 9 O'Clock Frolic | 8 February 1921 | Director | Danse de Follies |
| Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 | 21 June 1921 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| The Love Letter | 4 October 1921 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| Good Morning Dearie | 1 November 1921 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| Orange Blossoms | 19 September 1922 | Director/Producer | Fulton Theatre |
| Irene | 2 April 1923 | Director | Jolson's 59th Street Theatre |
| Cinders | 3 April 1923 | Director/Producer | Dresden Theatre |
| Sally | 17 September 1923 | Director | New Amsterdam Theatre |
| Kid Boots | 31 December 1923 | Director | Earl Carroll Theatre |
| Annie Dear | 4 November 1924 | Director | Times Square Theatre |
| No, No, Nanette | 1924 | Director | Harris Theatre, Chicago (pre-Broadway production) |
| Louie the 14th | 3 March 1925 | Director | Cosmopolitan Theatre |
| Princess Ida | 13 April 1925 | Director | Sam S. Shubert Theatre |
| No Foolin' | 24 June 1926 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| The Merry Malones | 26 September 1927 | Co-director | Erlanger's Theatre |
| She's My Baby | 3 January 1928 | Director | Globe Theatre |
| Billie | 1 October 1928 | Director | Erlanger's Theatre |
* $^a$Broadway, unless otherwise specified

## Filmography

Filmography :
| Title | Year | Role |
| Married in Hollywood | 1929 | Dance director |
| Words and Music | 1929 | Ensemble director |
| Aunt Sally (in the US, titled Along Came Sally (1934)) | 1933 | Choreographer |