10

WHO'S PINKUS? WHERE'S CHELM? London run: Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, January 3rd (10 performances)

Music: Monty Norman

Lyrics & Book: Cecil P. Taylor & Monty Norman

Director: Charles Marowitz

Choreographer: Tutte Lemkow

Musical Director: Jack Nathan

Cast: Bernard Bresslaw (Izzy Pinkus), Nancy Nevinson (Rachel Pinkus), David Lander (Rabbi),

Anita Lockwood, Stanley Platts

Story: Set in Chelm, the town of fools in Jewish folklore, it charts the progress of Issy Pinkus from poverty to

affluence, from self-neglect to self-respect. At first he is Public Idiot No. 1, unable to get a job even on a

building site, so he sets off for the neighbouring town of Mazeltov to make his fortune. En route he discover

that “a man must follow his heart otherwise he stops being a man”, and equipped with this information, he runs

rings round the local rabbi and business tycoons and becomes a great success.

Notes: This was a “Brechtian” type musical where the songs interrupt the action to comment on the previous

scene or repeat the action in a stand-alone song and dance item. The director, Charles Marowitz, was known for

his experimental approach to theatre.

110 IN THE SHADE London run: Palace Theatre, February 8th (101 Performances)

Music: Harvey Schmidt

Lyrics: Tom Jones

Books: N. Richard Nash

Director: Joseph Anthony

Choreographer: Agnes de Mille

Cast: Stephen Douglas (Bill Starbuck), Inga Swenson (Lizzie Curry) , Ivor Emmanuel (File)

Songs: Lizzie’s Coming Home, Poker Polka, The Rain Song, Old

Maid, Everything Beautiful Happens at Night, Simple Little Things,

Wonderful Music

Story: This is the story of Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch

in the American southwest, and her relationships with File, the local

sheriff – a careful divorcé who is afraid of being hurt again. The

area is suffering from a drought, when along comes a charismatic

con-man, Bill Starbuck, who claims to be a rainmaker who can

bring relief to the drought-stricken area. Lizzie falls for him and

they are about to run away together when File at last reveals his

love for her. She decides to accept him and settle for the quiet

life—and at that very moment the heavens open.

Notes: In adapting his play “The Rainmaker” into a musical, Nash

has remained very faithful to the original, although many of the

interior scenes were moved outdoors to allow for the introduction of

a chorus of townspeople for ensemble numbers and dances. Many

of Jones' lyrics come directly from Nash's play. The music and

lyrics were created by the same team that wrote “The Fantasticks”

1967

Inga Swenson & Stephen Douglas

Photo by Houston Rogers

11

WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE SAY SOMETHING? London run: Arts Theatre, February 14th (12 Performances)

Music: David Allen

Lyrics & Book: David Baxter

Director: David Calderisis

Cast: Stephen Moore (Webster), David Baxter (Trebor), Susan Baxter (Girl)

Songs: Isn’t She a Lovely Child, Baby the Good Times Are Coming at Last, I’m the Kind of Girl, I’m in Love,

The Only Good Thing,

Notes: Not a musical, but a three-hander “play with songs”. It seems to have come and gone within two

weeks despite being chosen by Plays & Players for a full-text publication in their April 1967 issue.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF London run: Her Majesty's, February 16th (2,030 Performances)

Music: Jerry Bock

Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick

Book: Joseph Stein

Director-Choreographer: Jerome Robbins

Musical Director: Gareth Davies Producer: Harold Prince & Richard Pilbrow

Cast: Topol (Tevye), Miriam Karlin (Golde), Cynthia Greville (Yente),

Paul Whitsun-Jones (Lazar Wolf). Sandor Eles (Perchick),

Rosemary Nicols (Tzeitel), Jonathan Lynn (Motel), Caryl Little (Chava)

Songs: Tradition, Matchmaker Matchmaker, If I Were a Rich Man, To Life,

Sunrise Sunset, Miracle of Miracles, Anatevka

Story: Set in 1905 in Czarist Russia, the story focuses on Tevye the milkman, his wife, Golde and their three

daughters in the Jewish village of Anatevka. The eldest daughter, Tzeitel, marries a poor tailor even though

Tevye had promised her to the rich, middle-aged butcher, Lazar Wolf. The second daughter, Hodel, marries a

young revolutionary who is sent to Siberia. The third daughter, Chava, marries outside the faith. At the play's

end the police destroy the village during a pogrom and Tevye and what's left of his family are forced to begin a

new life in America.

Note: Based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem,

this was a musical offering neither attractive

costumes nor pretty scenery, and yet its theme of a

people vainly trying to preserve tradition in a

changing world proved to be enormously popular.

On Broadway it became the longest-running show

up to that time. Topol and Miriam Karlin played

the leading roles in London for the first year, and

then were replaced with Alfie Bass and Avis

Bunnage. Alfie Bass remained with the show for

the rest of the run, with occasional temporary

replacements by Les Goudsmit. Avis Bunnage

stayed a further eighteen months and was replaced

by Hy Hazell. Sadly Hy Hazell suddenly died ,

aged 48, after ten months in the role. Avis

Bunnage returned for the remainder of the run.

1967

Topol & Miriam Karlin Photo by Zoe Dominic

12

OLIVER (1st Revival) London run: Piccadilly Theatre, April 26th (331 Performances)

Music, Lyrics, Book: Lionel Bart

Director: David Phethean

Musical Director: Michael Moores Producer: Donald Albery

Cast: Barry Humphries (Fagin), Marti Webb (Nancy), Martin Dell (Bill Sykes), Paul Bartlet (Oliver),

Leslie Stone (Artful Dodger), Tom de Ville (Mr Bumble), Pamela Pitchford (Widow Corney),

Glyn Worsnip (Mr Sowerberry)

Notes: See New Theatre, June 1960 for original London production.

THE DESERT SONG (5th Revival) London run: Palace Theatre, May 13th (383 Performances)

Music: Sigmund Romberg

Lyrics: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein, & Frank Mandel

Director: Joan Davis

Choreographer: Virginia Courtney

Musical Director:

Cast: John Hanson (Pierre Birabeau), Patricia Michael (Margot Bonvalet),

Tony Hughes (Bennie Kidd), Lita Scott (Azuri), Dermod Gloster (Sid el Kar),

Raymond du Parc ( Capt Paul Fontaine), Carol Dorée (Clementina),

Doreen Key (Susan)

Songs: The Desert Song, The Riff Song, Romance, One Alone, One Flower Grows

Alone in Your Garden, I Want a Kiss, It, The French Marching Song.

Story: In North Africa the French occupying forces are striving to capture the Red Shadow, who is the leader

of the Riffs, an outlaw band of Moroccan tribesmen. The famous renegade is in love with Margot, but she is

infatuated with Pierre Birabeau, the handsome son of the French Governor. Margot is captured by the

mysterious Red Shadow and eventually falls in love with him,

although she does not know his identity – his face is always hidden

from her. However, the Red Shadow is himself captured and

imprisoned by the governor's soldiers, and only then does Margot

discover the Red Shadow is really Pierre in disguise. All ends

happily.

Notes: The original London production had been at Drury Lane in

1927, and due to its enormous popularity it was revived in the West

End in 1931, 1936, 1939 and 1943. From the late 1950s onwards the

actor-singer John Hanson had headed a semi-permanent UK touring

company presenting “The Desert Song” and other popular operettas.

He had played the Red Shadow over 600 times before finally

bringing his company into the West End.

It was inevitable that the critics would sneer at the “provincial”

scenery, costumes and production, and a fair bet that more than one

of them would go for “No Great Sheikhs” as a title for the review,

but John Hanson was enormously popular with the coach-party trade,

and he succeeded in filling the vast Palace Theatre for the best part of

a year.

1967

John Hanson

Photo by Dezo Hoffmann Ltd

13

QUEENIE London run: Comedy Theatre, June 22nd (20 Performances)

Music: Ted Manning & Marvin Laird

Lyrics & Book: Ted Willis

Director: Arthur Lewis

Choreographer: Leo Kharibian

Musical Director: Leo Mole Producer: Bernard Delfont & Arthur Lewis

Cast: Vivienne Martin (Queenie) ,Kevin Colson (James) , Bill Owen (Tom),

Simon Oates (Dick), Paul Eddington (Harry)

Songs: Here is the Key of the Door, We’re Gonna Be Dead and Gone, Special Kind of Man, How Does He

Look in the Morning?, Excuse Me for Speaking My Mind.

Story: This was the ballad tale of a young widow, the landlady of the Queen of Sheba public house, and her

attempts to re-marry. She has her heart set on James, her barman, and to try and get him to propose to her, she

pretends to take on a succession of three “trial” husbands: Tom, Dick and Harry. A sub-plot involves the love

affair of a much younger couple.

Notes: This “ballad-opera” began life as a short TV play – claimed to be the first ever play written entirely in

verse. The musical adaptation retained the rhyming couplets in an attempt to re-create the “ballad” feel.

However, the critics claimed the effect was similar to an exceptionally bad pantomime script. The show failed

after 20 performances.

ANNIE London run: Westminster Theatre, July 27th (156 Performances)

Revived February 1st 1968 ( 242 Performances)

Music: William L. Reed

Lyrics & Book: Alan Thornhill

Director: Henry Cass

Choreographer: Denny Bettis

Musical Director: Ray Cook

Cast: Margaret Burton (Annie Jaeger), Bill Kenwright (Bill Jaeger),

Donald Simpson, Norman Ghent, Angela Richards.

Songs: I Don’t Like Your Hat, It Fair Takes Your Breath Away, I Keeps Myself to

Myself, Who’s the Dictator Jim Parks?, We’re Going to Shake the Country, A

Basinful of Revolution.

Story: The life story of Annie Jaeger, an early member of the Moral Rearmament Movement, was the subject

of this musical, starting with her leaving her comfortable home surroundings in 1930s Stockport, and coming to

London to spread her message of moral rearmament amongst the people of the capital.

Notes: With its preachy message and parable-like scenes and songs, it was clearly not aimed at the ordinary

theatre-going public, but specifically at supporters of the Moral Rearmament Movement. It turned out that

there were more supporters than one might have thought: after a four and half month run, it was withdrawn for

the planned Christmas show at the Westminster, and then revived in February 1968 for a further six month run.

There were a few minor cast changes for the 1968 production.

1967

14

SWEET CHARITY London run: Prince of Wales Theatre, October 11th (476 Performances)

Music: Cy Coleman

Lyrics: Dorothy Fields

Book: Neil Simon

Director: Bob Fosse, restaged by Lawrence Carr

Choreographer: Bob Fosse, reproduced by Robert Linden

Musical Director: Alyn Ainsworth Producer: Bernard Delfont & Harold Fielding

Cast: Juliet Prowse (Charity), Rod McLennan (Oscar) ,

John Keston (Vittorio Vidal) Josephine Blake, Paula Kelly, Fred Evans,

Songs: Hey Big Spender, If My Friends Could See

Me Now, There's Gotta Be Something Better Than

This, Rhythm of Life, I'm a Brass Band, I Love to

Cry at Weddings

Story: Charity Hope Valentine works as a dime-a-

dance hostess at the Fan-Dango Ballroom. Her trusting, romantic nature gets her

involved with an Italian screen star, Vittorio Vidal, and with a “square” named Oscar

whom she meets when they are stuck in an elevator at the 92nd Street “Y”. Later they

also get stuck on a Coney Island Ferris wheel. Though Oscar promises to marry

Charity, he backs out, and she returns to the Fan-Dango, living “hopefully ever after”

Notes: Based on Fellini's film “Nights of Cabiria”, the South-African born actress Juliet

Prowse gained a great personal success in the London production.

MRS WILSON’S DIARY London run: Criterion, October 24th (175 Performances)

Music: Jeremy Taylor

Lyrics: John Wells

Book: Richard Ingrams & John Wells

Director: Joan Littlewood

Cast: Bill Wallis (Harold Wilson), Myvanwy Jenn (Gladys Mary Wilson),

Bob Grant (George Brown), Peter Reeves (Gerald Hoffman),

Sandra Caron (Audrey Callaghan), Johnny Lyons (Jim Callaghan),

Carl Forgione (David Frost), Kevin Smith (President Johnson)

Songs: Here I Kneel, Who Are the Bastards Now?, The Terrible Mr Brown, Why

Should I Worry?, Harold and Me

Notes:: This was a piece of gentle political satire based on the on-going lampoons in

the fortnightly magazine “Private Eye”. It was not really a musical – it was a satirical

play laced with some rather funny songs. It originally opened at the Theatre Royal

Stratford on September 21st and quickly transferred.

THE BOY FRIEND ( 1st Revival) London run: Comedy Theatre, November 29th (365 Performances)

Music & Lyrics : Sandy Wilson

Director: Sandy Wilson

Choreographer: Noel Tovey

Musical Director: Grant Hossack

Producer: Michael Codron

Cast: Ann Beach (Hortense), Cheryl Kennedy (Polly Browne), Tony Adams (Tony),

Nicholas Bennett (Bobby van Husen), Frances Barlow (Maisie),

Marion Grimaldi (Mme Dubonnet)

Notes: See Original London production, Wyndham’s, January 1954

1967

Rod McLennan & Juliet Prowse

Photo by Tom Hustler

Bob Grant as George Brown

Unknown credit

15

A PRESENT FROM THE CORPORATION London run: Fortune Theatre, November 30th (3 performances)

Music: John Gould

Lyrics: David Wood

Director: David Wood

Musical Director: John Gould

Cast: Terence Brady (Graham Slater), Julia McKenzie (Maggie Slater), John Gower, Gay Soper,

Michael Boothe, Sam Walters.

Story: Graham Slater and his wife Maggie move to a Northern town, where Graham has been appointed

Cultural Officer. They are met with a very cold response from a community that feels “arty, fancy” ideas from

the south are not welcome.

Notes: The original production ran for two weeks in rep at the Swan Theatre, Worcester. The local

theatregoers loved the show so much they contributed towards a fund to bring the show to London's Fortune

Theatre for a three performance “showcase” in the hope it would attract a management to take on the show and

give it a full West-End production. Sadly, no management was interested.

THE FOUR MUSKETEERS London run: Drury Lane, December 5th (462 Performances)

Music: Laurie Johnson

Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer

Director: Peter Coe

Choreographer: Donald MacKayle

Musical Director: Derek New Producer: Bernard Delfont

Cast: Harry Secombe (D'Artagnan), Jeremy Lloyd (Porthos), Glyn Owen (Athos),

John Junkin (Aramis), Stephanie Voss (Constance), Elisabeth Larner (Milady),

Kenneth Connor (King Louis XIII)

Songs: A Little Bit of Glory, Think Big, What Love Can Do, Nobody's Changing

Places With Me, Give Me a Man's Life

Story: D'Artagnan, a countrified gentleman, achieves all his deeds of daring by pure accident. Coming to

Paris in search of his beloved Constance, he meets up with the three musketeers of Dumas's story – except here

they are drunken and lecherous rioters – and then he is asked to go to Baden-Baden to retrieve a diamond from

the Queen's former lover (a necessary act if the Queen is to be saved from disgrace and scandal). The bumbling

adventures and mishaps all manage to end up bringing praise, success and a brave reputation to a man who is,

at heart, a good-natured country bumpkin.

Notes: The show was in trouble from the start: there were many re-writes and several cast changes and walk-

outs during rehearsals, including opera star Joyce Blackham, replaced at short notice by Elizabeth Larner. A

great deal of money had been lavished on the production, but the critics found the sets (Sean Kenny) ugly and

impractical, the costumes (Loudon Sainthill) dull. The dialogue was said to be infantile, the music a total mish-

mash of inappropriate operatic

numbers for Harry Secombe and

silly, sentimental or comedy

numbers, none of which seemed to

belong together. The only merit

was Harry Secombe himself, and

his presence in the cast managed to

keep the show afloat for fourteen

months. However, it never

recovered its costs and ended up

with a loss of £50,000.

1967

Harry Secombe & Elizabeth Larner

Photo by John Timbers

16

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN London run: Fortune Theatre, February 1st (116 Performances)

Music & Lyrics: Clark Gesner

Book: “John Gordon” (Clark Gesner)

Director: Joseph Hardy

Choreographer: Patricia Birch

Musical Director: Peter Martin Producer: Bernard Delfont & Harold Fielding

Cast: Gene Kidwell (Linus), David Rhys Anderson (Charlie Brown),

Courtney Lane (Patty), Gene Scandur (Schroeder), Don Potter (Snoopy),

Boni Enten (Lucy)

Songs: My Blanket and Me, Book Report, T.E.A.M., Suppertime,

Happiness

Notes: This is an average day in the life of Charlie Brown, based on the

comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz. Charlie flies his kite, writes a

book report for school, plays baseball, and meets up with his friends, the

piano-playing Schroeder, the bossy Lucy, the blanket-loving Linus and

the goggled canine Snoopy who imagines he’s the Red Baron. It managed

just over a three month run.

CABARET London run: Palace, February 28th (336 Performances)

Music: John Kander

Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Book: Joe Masteroff

Director: Harold Prince

Choreographer: Ron Field Producer: Harold Prince & Richard Pilbrow

Cast: Judi Dench (Sally Bowles), Barry Dennen (MC), Kevin Colson (Clifford),

Lila Kedrova (Fraulein Schneider), Peter Sallis (Herr Schultz), Richard Owens (Ernst Ludwig)

Songs: Willkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Tomorrow Belongs to

Me, Two Ladies, If You Could See Her Through My Eyes,

Cabaret, The Money Song

Story: A bitter evocation of Berlin in the 1930s just as the Nazis

are coming to power, this is the story of Sally Bowles, an aspiring

but untalented English actress working in a seedy nightclub. She

is involved in a doomed romance with a visiting American writer,

Clifford Bradshaw. The story is told in tandem with performances

at the Kit-Kat Club, presided over by a leering, sinister Master of

Ceremonies.

Notes: The original book was based on the “Berlin Stories” by

Christopher Isherwood, and on John van Druten’s stage-play

version of the stories, “I Am a Camera”. The musical

significantly changed the nationality of the leading man from

British to American, presumably for an “international” market.

This was another show which did so much better in New York

than in London: the Broadway show ran 1,165 performances

compared to London’s 336.

1968

Gene Scandur & Courtney Lane

Photo by Tom Hustler

Photo by Zoe Dominic

Judi Dench

17

CANTERBURY TALES London run: Phoenix, March 21st (2,082 Performances)

Music: Richard Hill & John Hawkins

Lyrics: Nevill Coghill

Book: Nevill Coghill & Martin Starkie

Director: Martin Starkie & Vlado Habunek

Choreographer: David Drew

Musical Director: Gordon Rose

Cast: James Ottaway (Chaucer), Nicky Henson (Squire, Nicholas, Alan, Damian),

Pamela Charles (Prioress, Prosperina), Jessie Evans (Wife of Bath, Old Woman),

Gay Soper (Alison), Kenneth J. Warren (Miller, Gervase, Pluto),

Wilfrid Brambell (Steward, Carpenter, January), Trevor Bannister,

Daniel Thorndike

Songs: I Have a Noble Cock, There’s the Moon, Some Call it Love, I’ll Give My Love a Ring, Love Will Conquer

All, If She Has Never Loved Before, April Song.

Notes: Based on Professor Nevill Coghill’s translation of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, the show primarily uses

four of the tales: “The Miller’s Tale” (two students competing for an affair with the carpenter’s wife); “The

Merchant’s Tale” (the wife of a rich old man cheats on him with the young Squire); “The Steward’s Tale” (multiple

bed-hopping in the house of the Miller) ; and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” (a witch turns into a beautiful young girl to

please an amorous Knight.) This was another example of how American and British musicals could differ: over

2,000 performances in London, and just 121 when the show flopped on Broadway

in 1969.

MAN OF LA MANCHA London run: Piccadilly Theatre, April 24th (253 Performances)

Music: Mitch Leigh

Lyrics: Joe Darion

Book: Dale Wasserman

Director: Albert Marre

Choreographer: Jack Cole

Musical Director: Denys Rawson Producer: Donald Albery

Cast: Keith Michell (Don Quixote), Joan Diener (Aldonza),

Bernard Spear (Sancho Panza), David King (Innkeeper), Alan Crofoot (Padre),

Peter Arne (Dr Carrasco), Olive Gilbert (Housekeeper)

Songs: Little Bird, It’s All the Same, Dulcinea, I Really Like Him,

Golden Helmet of Mambrino, The Impossible Dream.

Story: There are two threads to the story: the first deals with Cervantes

and his imprisonment for debts during the Spanish Inquisition, the

second deals with the adventures of Don Quixote that Cervantes tells his

fellow-prisoners. Most of the adventures deal with the Don’s love for the

servant girl, Aldonza – whom he calls his Dulcinea – and his battles to

save her honour. At the end, as the old man lies dying, he manages to

convey to the girl his belief in dreaming the impossible dream.

Notes: The show was adapted from Dale Wasserman’s TV play “I, Don

Quixote”, which itself was based on the novel by Cervantes. It had a very

long run in New York, playing 2,328 performances, almost ten times as

long as the London run! In the Broadway production Richard Kiley

played Quixote and gained great personal success. (He also appeared in

a London revival – see June 1969) . Joan Diener came from America to

repeat the role she had played in the original production.

1968

Bernard Spears and Keith Michell

Photo by Anthony Crickmay

18

I DO! I DO! London run: Lyric Theatre, May 16th (115 Performances)

Music: Harvey Schmidt

Lyrics & Book: Tom Jones

Director: Gower Champion (restaged by Lucia Victor)

Musical Director: Ian MacPherson Producer: H. M. Tennent Ltd

Cast: Anne Rogers, Ian Carmichael

Songs: I Love My Wife, My Cup Runneth Over, Love isn’t Everything,

Nobody’s Perfect, The Honeymoon is Over, Where are the Snows?, When

the Kids Get Married, Roll Up the Ribbons

Story: With a cast of just two people, the show covers 50 years in the life of a married couple, Agnes and

Michael, from their wedding day to the day they move out of their house. In between, they bring up a family,

quarrel, threaten to break up, reconcile, plan for a life

without children in the house, and reveal in song

exactly what they mean to each other.

Notes: Adapted from Jan de Hartog’s 1951 play “The

Fourposter”, a musical with a cast of just two was an

enormous risk, though the New York production was

helped by having two of Broadway’s biggest stars in

the show – Mary Martin and Robert Preston. It ran for

560 performances.

Perhaps Anne Rogers and Ian Carmichael did not have

the same pulling power in London, where the show

was regarded as over-sickly and rather dull. It has

become part of theatre folk-lore for the moment when

during Act Two there was an offstage knock on the

door, and a voice cried out from the front stalls “For

God’s sake let them in – whoever it is!”

CINDY London run: Fortune Theatre, May 30th (29 Performances)

Music & Lyrics: Johnny Brandon

Book: Joe Sauter & Mike Sawyer

Director: Alexander Bridge

Cast: Geraldine Morrow (Cindy Kreller), Johnny Tudor (Lucky), Kalman Glass (Irving Kreller),

Hy Hazell (Zeuida Kreller), Dudley Stevens (Chuck Rosenfeld)

Songs: Once Upon a Time, Is There Something to What He Said?, A Genuine Feminine Girl, Cindy, Think

Mink, Tonight's the Night, If You've Got It You've Got It, Got the World in the Palm of My Hand

Story: This was a version of the Cinderella story, which had done quite well in New York but did not succeed

in London.

Notes: Originally an off-Broadway success in 1964, written by British performer Johnny Brandon (who had

moved to the USA after appearing several West End shows, including a featured star role in “Love From

Judy”). The English production played a week of previews at the Palace Theatre Westcliff and moved into the

Fortune. The critics hated it and it managed a run of just 29 performances.

1968

Photo by Angus McBean

Ian Carmichael & Anne Rogers

19

GOLDEN BOY London run: Palladium, June 4th (118 Performances)

Music: Charles Strouse

Lyrics: Lee Adams

Book: Clifford Odets & William Gibson

Director: Arthur Penn, re-staged by Michael Thoma

Choreographer: Donald McKayle , re-staged by Jaime Rogers & Lester Wilson

Musical Director: Shepherd Coleman

Cast: Sammy Davis (Joe Wellington), Gloria de Haven (Lorna Moon),

Lon Satton (Eddie Satin), Mark Dawson (Tom Moody), Louis Basile (Roxy Gottlieb),

Frank Nastasi

Songs: Night Song, Everything’s Great. Don’t Forget 127th Street, Lorna’s Here, This is the Life, While the

City Sleeps, I Wanna Be With You

Story: Joe Wellington, a Negro-American, is a young man determined to get out, get rich and make it to the

top. Despite his family’s objections, he turns to boxing as a means of escaping his ghetto roots. He crosses

paths with Mephistopheles-like promoter Eddie Satin and eventually betrays his manager Tom Moody when he

becomes romantically involved with Tom’s white girlfriend, Lorna Moon.

Notes: The original play by Clifford Odets told of an Italian-American, Joe Bonaparte, a sensitive would-be

surgeon, fighting in order to pay his way through college, but careful to protect his hands from serious damage

so he could achieve his goal of saving the lives of blacks ignored by white doctors. In an ironic twist, the hands

he hoped would heal kill a man in the ring. The story was altered to reflect the situation at the onset of the

Civil Rights era. This was the first book musical to play the Palladium following its medium success on

Broadway. It closed in London after four months. On the second night Sammy Davis walked out half-way

through the show, claiming he was too upset to go on because of that day’s assassination of Senator Robert

Kennedy. His understudy took over. Sammy Davis received a very bad press for this and it was said this had a

serious effect on future ticket sales.

THE DANCING YEARS (3rd Revival) London run: Saville Theatre, June 6th (52 Performances)

Music: Ivor Novello

Lyrics: Christopher Hassall

Director: Joan Davis

Choreographer: Kenneth Tillsen

Musical Director: Robert Probst Producer: Tom Arnold

Cast: David Knight (Rudi Kleber), June Bronhill (Maria Zeigler),

Cathy Jose (Grete Schöne), Moyna Cope (Cäcile Kurt),

Nicholas Hawtrey (Franzl), Robert Crewsdon (Prince Charles Metternich)

Songs: Waltz of My Heart, I Can Give you the Starlight, My Dearest Dear,

Wings of Sleep

Story: The story begins in 1911 at an inn outside Vienna where poor Rudi Kleber and operetta star Maria

Ziegler meet and fall in love. Three years later their bliss is shattered as a result of a misunderstanding and

Maria leaves Rudi and marries a Prince Charles. In 1926 they meet again and discover that they are still in

love, but they decide to separate for the sake of their son, who mistakenly believes the Prince to be his real

father. Their paths cross again in 1938, following the German “Anschluss” with Austria. Rudi has been

arrested for opposing the Nazi regime, but Maria manages to get him released.

Notes: The original production had opened at Drury Lane in March 1939, and was forced to close after 187

performances when war was declared in September of that year.

1st Revival: Following a provincial tour, it returned to the Adelphi Theatre in London in March 1942, and ran

for 969 performances, again forced to close because of increased bombing activity.

2nd Revival: It undertook yet another provincial tour, returning for the third time to the Casino Theatre in March

1947 for 96 performances, followed by yet another tour. All in all the show had run almost consecutively for

ten years.

1968

20

THE STUDENT PRINCE (3rd Revival) London run: Cambridge Theatre, June 8th (9 months)

Music: Sigmund Romberg

Lyrics & Book: Dorothy Donnelly

Director: Leslie Branch

Music Director: Derek Taverner Producer: Bernard Delfont & Emile Littler

Cast: John Hanson (Karl Franz), Barbara Strathdee (Kathie),

George Hancock (Dr Engel), Kenneth Henry (Lutz),

Clare Herbert (Princess Margaret), Colin Thomas (Capt. Tarnitz),

Richard Loring (Detlef)

Songs: Golden Days, Come Boys Let’s All be Gay Boys, Drinking Song,

Deep in My Heart Dear, Serenade, Just We Two, Gaudeamus Igitur

Story: Set in 1860 , Crown Prince Karl Franz of Karlsberg has been

promised in marriage since childhood to the Princess Johanna. His

grandfather, King Ferdinand, sends him to Heidelberg University where

he will live incognito like a regular student, under the watchful eye of a

kindly mentor, Doctor Engel, and his snooty valet Lutz. At the University Karl falls in love with a waitress, Kathie,

who works at the Inn of the Three Golden Apples. They consider eloping, but Karl suddenly becomes King and

must return and honour the arranged marriage with Princess Johanna (who is also in love

with another man, Captain Tarnitz). He returns to Heidelberg two years later but

discovers that youth cannot be recaptured and the past must be left in the past, although

his true love will always be Kathie.

Notes: The original novel “Karl Heinrich” by Wilhelm Meyer-Forster was adapted into a

play called “Alt Heidelberg”, and Rudolf Bleichman’s English translation was a big hit

in New York around 1900. In 1924 Dorothy Donnelly and Sigmund Romberg turned it

into the longest-running Broadway musical of the 1920s (608 performances). The

London production at His Majesty’s Theatre opened on February 3rd 1926, but closed

after 96 performances. It was said to be “too German” and too close to the end of the

Great War for London audiences, although a subsequent UK tour was extremely

successfully. It saw London revivals in 1929 and 1944 (Stoll Theatre), and this, the 3rd

revival was a revised version including some extra songs.

LADY BE GOOD (1st revival) London run: Saville Theatre, July 25th (156 Performances)

Music: George Gershwin

Lyrics: Ira Gershwin

Book: Guy Bolton & Fred Thompson

Director: Hugh Goldie

Musical Director: Ed Coleman

Cast: Lionel Blair (Dick Trevor), Aimi Macdonald (Suzie Trevor) ,

Joe Baker (J. Watterson Watkins), Joe Chisholm (Jeff), Patyrick Rose (Jack Robinson),

Raymond Clarke (Bertie Bassett), Pauline Garner, Elizabeth Connor

Songs: Fascinating Rhythm, The Half of It Dearie Blues, Hang on to Me, Juanita, Swiss

Miss

Story: Dick and Suzie Trevor are a brother and sister dancing act who are rejected from the vaudeville circuit but

manage to continue their career by entertaining at the homes of wealthy friends. Along the way Suzie pretends to

be a Spanish heiress in order to claim a large inheritance, but she is found out. Somehow she and Dick come into

some money anyway, and she manages to save Dick from a disastrous marriage to a gold-digger.

Notes: The show was originally specially created for Fred and Adelle Astaire, who played it on Broadway from

December 1924 and then came with the show to London’s Empire Theatre from April 14th 1926 . It ran for 326

performances. (The song “The Man I Love” was cut from the original production)

1968

Barbara Strathdee and John Hanson

Photo by Dezo Hoffmann

21

THE BEGGAR’S OPERA (Revival) London run: Apollo Theatre, September 12th (32 Performances)

Music: Trad (arranged David Turner)

Book: John Gay Director: Toby Robertson

Producer: Richard Pilbrow & Harold Prince

Cast: Peter Gilmore (Macheath), James Cossins (Peachum),

Hy Hazell (Mrs Peachum), Jan Waters (Polly),

Angela Richards (Jenny Diver), Frances Cuka (Lucy Lockit)

Notes: This was a “modernised” version, with completely new

dialogue and up-to-date musical arrangements and had been first

produced at the Edinburgh Festival. It was generally liked by the

critics and the cast was highly praised, but lasted a few weeks

only .

VIVA! VIVA! London run: Arts Theatre, September 18th (17 Performances)

Music & Lyrics: William Thacker & Trevor T. Smith

Book: Ian Lindsay

Director: Ian Lindsay

Choreographer: Doremy Vernon

Musical Director: Gerald Gouriet

Cast: Julia Stanton (Sofronia), Nerys Hughes (Dona), Donald Layne-Smith (Nicomaco),

Gerald Moon (Pyro), Alec Bregonzi (Friar)

Story: The original story told of a father and son, both enamoured of Clizia, a ward in their home. (Clizia never

actually appears). The father plans to marry her off to one of his servants who can then be forced to share her

with his master. The son wants to marry her himself but his mother will not permit it since Clizia is an orphan

and her family background is unknown, thus making her an unsuitable wife. The mother, disgusted with her

love-sick husband, substitutes a male servant for the bride at the wedding, thus humiliating her husband when

he tries to bed the “bride”. Clizia’s father suddenly appears, proving she is of noble birth, and can therefore

marry the son.

Notes: Adapted from Machiavelli’s “Clizia”, this version was described by one critic as “lust of the lavatory

and codpiece variety” and another said “Like a dutiful mortuary attendant I stayed to the end”. It came off very

quickly.

HAIR

London run: Shaftesbury Theatre, September 27th

(1,198 Performances)

Music: Galt MacDermot

Lyrics: Gerome Ragni & James Rado

Director: Tom O’Horgan

Choreographer: Julie Arenal

Musical Director: Derek Wadsworth Producer: Robert Stigwood,

David Conyers & John Nasht

1968

The London “Tribe”

Unknown credit

22

HAIR London run: Shaftesbury Theatre, September 27th (1,198 Performances)

Music: Galt MacDermot

Lyrics: Gerome Ragni & James Rado

Director: Tom O’Horgan

Choreographer: Julie Arenal

Musical Director: Derek Wadsworth Producer: Robert Stigwood, David Conyers & John Nasht

Cast: Paul Nicholas (Claude), Oliver Tobias (Berger), Michael Feast (Woof),

Peter Straker (Hud), Annabel Leventon (Sheila), Linda Kendrick (Jeannie),

Marsha Hunt (Dionne)

Songs: Aquarius, Ain’t Got No, Frank Mills, Where Do I Go, Easy to be Hard,

Good Morning Starshine, Let the Sunshine In.

Story: The emotional turmoil of the Vietnam War Years co-incided with the “Flower-Power” generation of

hippies and their anti-war, anti-draft, anti-Establishment, anti work-ethic, and their pro-drugs, pro-anarchy,

and, above all, pro free-sex philosophy. A group of New York hippies including “Rinso-white” Berger, black

Hud, gay Woof, campaigning Sheila, pregnant Jeannie and others fail to persuade Claude to reject the USA

army draft, and they see their dreams of love and peace shattered when Claude is brought back from Vietnam

in a coffin.

Notes: Very much a piece of its time, this self-styled “American Tribal Love-Rock Musical” was a significant

milestone in the history of musical theatre. On September 26th 1968 British Theatre Censorship was finally

abolished after nearly 400 years. Bang on cue, the following night saw the opening of “Hair”. For the first

time ever on the English stage the performers regularly used a whole range of four-letter words and ended the

first half by throwing off their clothes and dancing naked.

However, more than that, the show gave voice to a whole new generation of young people, and its anti-war

message was powerful

and influential. Each

performance ended

with the audience

invited onto the stage

to dance along with the

cast for up to another

hour or so. The show

was a consistent sell-

out, and plans were

being made for a

special party to

celebrate its 2,000th

performance.

However, during the

night following the

1,998th performance

the ceiling of the

theatre collapsed into

the stalls. The theatre

closed and the show

came to an abrupt end.

(See June 1974 for the

first revival)

1968

Paul Nicholas

as Claude Photo by Michael Butler

23

MAN WITH A LOAD OF MISCHIEF London run: Comedy Theatre, December 9th (25 Performances)

Music: John Clifton

Lyrics: John Clifton & Ben Tarver

Book: Ben Tarver

Director: Tad Danielewski

Cast: Leon Eagles (Innkeeper), Julia McKenzie (Wife), Paul Dawkins (Nobleman),

Valentine Palmer (Manservant), Lady (Roberta d’Esti)

Songs: Wayside Inn, Rescue, Once You’ve Had a Little Taste, Hulabaloo-balay, Come to the Masquerade,

Make Way for My Lady.

Story: A tale of romance and intrigue set in a country inn in early 19th century England. A coach accident

forces four travelers to spend the night at the inn: a lovely Lady and her maid, and a handsome Nobleman and

his manservant. The Lady turns out to be a former actress who has become a royal mistress and has decided to

run away from her lover, the Prince. The nobleman thinks he could earn some money and royal favour if he

returns the Lady to the Palace. After much intriguing by the Innkeeper and his wife, the Lady ends up in love

with the manservant, and after a series of complicated misunderstandings they determine to lead a life together

free from the false pride and the foppish posturing of their shallow society.

Notes: Based on the 1924 play by Ashley Dukes, this small-scale musical had a successful off-Broadway run of

241 performances. It was compared in style to “The Fantasticks” and its somewhat “twee” humour did not

appeal to British audiences.

MR AND MRS London run: Palace Theatre, December 11th (44 performances)

Book, music & lyrics: John Taylor

Director: Ross Taylor

Choreographer: Norman Maen & Ross Taylor

Musical Director: Derek New Producer: George W. George & Frank Granat

Cast: John Neville (Henry Gow), Honor Blackman (Doris),

Hylda Baker (Mrs Rockett), Liz Edmiston (Elsie), Alan Breeze (Albert Godby)

Songs: Millions of People, Happy

Family, I Want to Dance, Big Wide

World, If the Right Man Should Ask

Me, Give Us a Kiss

Notes: These were two separate musicals. “Mr” was adapted

from Noel Coward’s “Fumed Oak” about the hen-pecked Henry

Gow who finally asserts himself,. “Mrs” was adapted from

“Still Life” which had earlier been the basis for the film “Brief

Encounter”. The adaptations were by Ross Taylor.

These intimate and much-loved one-act plays were expanded

and blown-up in a way that proved they did not need nor want

the musical and stage treatment they got. They were updated and

and vulgarised, and came in for a great deal of criticism. The

show lasted just 44 performances.

1968

Alan Breeze & Hylda Baker

Photo by Reg Wilson

24

THE YOUNG VISITERS London run: Piccadilly Theatre, December 23rd (63 Performances)

Music: Ian Kellam

Lyrics & Book: Michael Ashton

Director: Martin Landau

Choreographer: Malcolm Clare

Musical Director: Alexander Faris Producer: Martin Landau

Cast: Alfred Marks (Mr Ashford/Mr Salteena), Jan Waters (Miss Ethel Monticue),

Vivienne Ross (Nancy/Bessie Topp), Anna Sharkey (Maud/Rosie Topp), Frank Thornton (Butler) , Tom Chatto

Songs: Daisy Ashford’s Written a Book, First and Last Love, My Young Visiters and Me, The Kitchens at

Rickamere Hall, An English Gentleman, Crystal Palace, Belted Early, In Love with the Girl I See.

Story: The musical opens with a Prologue announcing that Daisy Ashford has written a story, and her family

members then assume the characters in this story of “The Young Visiters”. In the story, the lovely Miss Ethel

Monticue is pursued by Mr Salteena, who is not quite a gentleman, and his persistence takes them through the

surroundings of Rickamere Hall even

up to Buckingham Palace. However,

Mr Salteena is ultimately obliged to

settle for the hand of the maidservant,

Rosie Topp.

Notes: Based on the book written in

1919 by the nine-year-old Daisy

Ashford. Its gentle, delicate child-like

style was a bit lost in a large theatre,

and it did not run very long. However,

it did have something of an after-life in

smaller venues, especially as a family

show around Christmas times.

Frank Thornton (Butler) and Anna

Sharkey (extreme right)

Photo by Houston Rogers

1968