- Musical in 1 Act (book, lyrics and music by Dean Burry)
- I woman and piano
- Premiered February 10, 2011Spadina Museum, Toronto
Sweetheart is a one-woman musical that explores the professional life of a remarkable Canadian artist and businesswoman, Mary Pickford. Born in 1892 as Gladys Smith into poverty in Toronto, Ontario, she first became a stage actress, eventually becoming an important Broadway performer and eventually a star in the nascent film industry winning an Oscar in 1929. Her entrepreneurial acumen was revealed when at 27, she created United Artists Studios with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith thus breaking the control of the major studios.
Dante once said “Worldly fame is but a breath of wind that blows now this way, and now that, and changes name as it changes direction ”. That may indeed be true but now and then individuals come along who seem to be able to change the very wind itself. Growing up I had heard the barest information about the Canadian woman who became America’s Sweetheart; a brief mention in a history book or a ‘heritage moment” on television. She certainly did register as one of the most important figures in the creation of Hollywood and the cult of modern celebrity.
Several years ago I was reading a biography of American songwriter Irving Berlin which described a dinner party attended by the royal couple of the movies: Mary and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. The mention encouraged me to find out more about this supposed icon and I was quickly floored by the life and times of this incredible woman. Not only did she play a key role in the creation of an industry, she did it her own way and at a time when women were still expected to do what they were told. This was a story filled with elation and heartbreak wrapped in the glittering lights of Tinseltown – the perfect basis for a musical. This was a story that needed to be told about one of the most influential Canadians of the 20th century. I have to thank Berlin for leading me to an incredible story and a quote that Mary Pickford understood more than most: “There’s no business like show business!” -Dean Burry
