The Widow Jones is a musical comedy created by the writer John J. McNally as a star vehicle for the actress and singer May Irwin. The musical used song material in "Negro dialect" by a variety of songwriters. On April 21, 1896 at the Bijou Theatre the show's producer's, Rich & Harris of Boston, presented Irwin with a custom made silver perfume bottle and a plaque to celebrate the production's 300th performance given during the production's run (not all on Broadway, but collectively).
thumb|The Kiss
Thomas Edison hired the play's stars, May Irwin and John Rice, to recreate the kiss seen in act 1 of the play for the 1896 short film, The Kiss, made in Edison's Kinetoscope process. The film was acquired by the Film Library of the Museum of Modern Art in 1935.
Songs
- "His Legs Are Assorted Sizes" (music by Geo. H. Wilder, lyrics by Lawrence J. Sheehan)
- "I Love My Honey Yes I Do" (music and lyrics by Will C. Carleton)
- "The New Bully" (music and lyrics by Charles E. Trevathan)