Babes in Toyland was patterned after the highly successful production of The Wizard of Oz in 1902. The producers of that show commissioned Victor Herbert and Glen MacDonough to come up with a musical extravaganza, and the plot of Babes in Toyland ended up with themes similar to those of The Wizard of Oz; it featured the wits of innocent young people overcoming grasping and wicked adult authority figures. Despite the derivation, the inventive treatment of the subject made for an enjoyable show.

The stage spectacle is one of the most powerful perennial draws in Babes in Toyland, for the show features all kinds of toys that come to life, as well as characters from children's fairy tales. Herbert's score is skillfully wrought and displays his intimate knowledge of classical compositional practices. His large orchestral numbers add to the show's overall magnificence, while his smaller ensembles and set pieces capture the innocence of youth, and contribute charm and delicacy to the atmosphere. Familiar songs from the show include "March of the Toys," "I Can't Do That Sum," and "Toyland."

The show first opened in Chicago, Illinois, at the Grand Opera House, on June 17, 1903. It quickly made its way to the Broadway stage, and played for almost 200 performances at the Majestic Theater. The show toured extensively and has had many revivals over the years. Two major motion pictures were made, one with Laurel and Hardy by MGM in 1934, and another in 1961 by the Walt Disney studios. There were televised broadcasts in 1955 and 1960. The strength of the score, the appeal of the story line, and the entertaining diversionary scenic effects all ensure that Babes in Toyland will remain popular down through the years.

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March of the Toys

Victor Herbert (1859-1924) was born in Dublin, educated in Stuttgart as a cellist and composer, and moved to New York to advance his career. In short order, he moved from being the principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera to the director of the Armory Band and, in 1898, he became the music director of the Pittsburgh Orchestra. Being a performer was, however, only a sideline. His real career was as the composer of symphonic works, chamber works, and a series of 40 comic operettas. Perhaps the most spectacular and successful of these was Babes in Toyland. Written with librettist Glen MacDonough in attempt to outdo the extremely popular musical version of The Wizard of Oz then playing on Broadway, Babes in Toyland was premiered in the Grand Opera of Chicago in 1903. It was immediately embraced as a classic of children's music and continued to be performed in one form or another for three generations (it was filmed in 1934 as March of the Wooden Soldiers featuring Laurel and Hardy, and then again in 1961 with Ray Bolger and Ed Wynn). The best-known portion of the score was The March of the Toys, used in the sequence in which the evil Toymaker displays his toys for the human children who have strayed into Toyland. From the tinny trumpet fanfares at the start, through the faux-militant maneuvers of the opening march theme, to the grand peroration for full orchestra in the closing march, Herbert's March of the Toys is evocative of its time and place, but still exciting for the young at heart.

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