The Earle Roxyettes
David Harvey
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The Roxyettes were an all-female group of stage performers at the Earle Theater in Washington D.C. during the 1930s. Though not musicians, they nonetheless found themselves thrust into the spotlight of marimba music and marimba history. Clair Musser, [Photo 1] while head of the Deagan mallet instrument division during the 1930s, spearheaded a public relations campaign aimed at making the marimba a household feature throughout the United States, just like parlor pianos in so many homes.
Musser’s messaging for influencing non-musicians to purchase marimbas was to convince average consumers that anyone could learn to play the marimba easily. Among Musser’s many schemes to propagate this theme was the idea to have a highly publicized stage performance by the Earle Roxyettes playing Deagan marimbas. Because the women of the Roxyettes did not have a musical background, if they could play the marimba easily, this would be an example that average people could relate to. The date was set for an October 1939 stage production of marimba music, titled “Marimba Melodies.”
A Washington, D.C. music retail store purchased sixteen Diana #40 4-octave marimbas from the Deagan company of Chicago for sixteen Roxyette performers. A professional marimbist from Philadelphia, Charles Newton, was contracted to instruct the Roxyettes in marimba technique. [Photo 2] Newton had previously been a member of Musser’s International Marimba Symphony Orchestra. Starting from scratch, the Roxyettes began practicing their marimbas, and rehearsing the show music. [Photo 3] Deagan promotional materials stated:
“None of the girls had ever played a marimba before. Under the direction of a competent teacher they began to play by playing. . . . Sixteen charming young ladies; 16 Deagan marimbas – and in no time the girls were swinging the mallets like veterans – and having a lot of fun besides.”
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After a preparatory period of a few weeks’, the sixteen Roxyettes were ready to play their marimbas onstage. [Photos 4 & 5] Based on press reviews, the marimba stage gala was received enthusiastically:
“No feature ever presented by the Earle has gained greater popularity than the Roxyettes, whose amazing versatility is climaxed this week by their two special numbers on Deagan marimbas – a surprising shift from dancers to musicians.”
“The Roxyettes . . . equipped with 16 marimbas, which they mastered with the same ease they showed toward ladder walking, etc. They virtually steal the show with it . . . “
“The production was staged with the showmanship and splendor for which the Earle Theater is famous. A sophisticated audience waited to pass judgment. “Delightful” – “almost unbelievable” – “terrific”! Such were the exclamations describing the success of “Marimba Melodies.”
The Deagan company proudly proclaimed:
“Critics joined patrons in singing the praises of a real accomplishment – from novices to sparkling marimbists in two weeks time.”
Locals in the audience who experienced the smash performance, along with advertising hyperbole about how easily these young women had “mastered” the marimba quickly and easily, now wanted to play the marimba themselves. Consequently, the retailer who supplied those rental marimbas immediately received sales orders for those sixteen marimbas, and over the course of the next year ordered many more marimbas to keep up with demand.
Deagan marketing ventures such as this stage performance were crucial in providing the marimba an initial foothold in American musical life. This was part of the path of musical and cultural acceptance that lead from the first industrialized marimbas to today’s global marimba community.
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