Charles M. Barras (1826 – March 31, 1873) was an American actor and playwright best known for writing the book inspiring the hit musical play The Black Crook.
Early in his life, Barras trained as a carpenter and served for three years in the US Navy. In 1860, he married danseuse and soubrette Sallie St. Clair. In 1861, he was manager of Pike's Opera House in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he earned acclaim for his performance of the title character in an adaptation of Molière's The Imaginary Invalid.
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The Black Crook is a work of musical theatre first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified The Black Crook as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a musical. The book is by Charles M. Barras. The music, selected and arranged by Thomas Baker, consists mostly of adaptations, but it included some new songs composed for the piece, notably "You Naughty, Naughty Men". The story is a Faustian melodramatic romantic comedy, but the production became famous for its spectacular special effects and skimpy costumes.
It opened on September 12, 1866 at the 3,200-seat Niblo's Garden on Broadway in Manhattan and ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. It was then toured extensively for decades and revived on Broadway in 1870–71, 1871–72 and many more times after that. The Black Crook is often considered a prototype of the modern musical in that its popular songs and dances are interspersed throughout a unifying play and performed by the actors.
View the full Wikipedia page for The Black Crook