The Rita Mario Orchestra

I’ve only been able to pick up a few facts about the Rita Mario Orchestra, an all-girl ten piece band that seems to have been most active from around 1916 through 1925. By 1917 they were Keith headliners; also Anthony Slide reports them playing at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in 1918. I find mentions of them also in Fort Wayne, Niagara Falls, Galveston, San Antonio and Boston. She is billed differently in the Milwaukee ad. The fact that this band is “of Boston”, and I find reference to one of her musicians being based out of Providence tend to make me think the band originated in the hub. I’d love to learn more, so if if you know anything, please chime in!

To find out more about the variety artspast and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

And don’t miss my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc