Mary and Percy Shelley have both made their marks on the theatre, she through the numerous adaptations of her novel Frankenstein, and he through plays like The Cenci.
However, the two also collaborated on a pair of dramas based on Ovid's telling of Greek mythology. For both Proserpine and Midas, Mary wrote dialogue in iambic pentameter while Percy supplied special songs in more ornate verse.
The plays remained unpublished during their lifetimes, but after Percy's death, Mary published her husband's songs as free-standing poems. Frequently, the two writers edited one another's work, but in this case their collaboration was much fuller. With Mary as what musical theatre artists call the "book writer" and Percy as the lyricist, all they needed was a composer to come up with a Broadway hit!
Interestingly enough, Proserpine tells the story of the goddess of spring being abducted by Hades, a theme also explored in the musical Hadestown. Rather than calling the heroine Persephone, however, the play had "Proserpine" rhyme with "divine." The first song, "Arethusa," is sung by the nymph Ino to Proserpine. Later, Proserpine sings her own song, beginning "Sacred Goddess, Mother Earth."
In Midas, the Shelleys take a more humorous look at mythology. The play begins with King Midas of Phrygia judging a musical contest between Apollo and Pan. Midas chooses Pan, winning a pair of ass ears from Apollo. He gets into even worse trouble by helping Bacchus find his foster father Silenus. The god offers him anything he wants, and Midas foolishly asks that all he touches turn into gold. Predictable problems ensue.
Both works date to 1820, after the Shelleys had already matured as authors. Sadly, the full plays are rarely (if ever) performed, but the songs have continued to enjoy a celebrated afterlife.
