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Me and My Girl
This year’s Summer School
is a wonderful example of the British musical comedy at its best. Here
we have a cockney bloke who suddenly becomes heir to an Earldom. However
the Earldom’s financial situation is bleak and can only be resolved by
finding the legitimate heir.
The Hareford clan are
blue-blooded to the tips of their finely manicured fingers and the
thought of the heir, not only being a common swaggering lay-about, but
the result of an unacceptable dalliance by the 13th Earl of Hareford, a
commoner whose name is Bill Snibson!
This hilarious musical was
first performed in 1937. There were a bundle of original songs by Noel
Gay which have stood the test of time
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The Sun Has Got His Hat
On, Leaning On A Lamp-Post, The Lambeth Walk
and many more. The show
got off to a slow start, but as the result of a live broadcast
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the first
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from the Victoria Palace,
the songs and the show caught the imagination of the public. Lupino Lane
starred as the cheeky chappie Bill Snibson and the songs raised the
spirits of Londoners during the Blitz. Me and My Girl
was an immense hit in its original incarnation in 1937. It
ran for two years and 1,700 performances. It spawned toys, an
international dance craze and a film. Then the show fell into near total
obscurity.
In 1985, Richard Armitage,
Noel Gay’s son, decided to try a revival of this popular musical comedy.
Stephen Fry was engaged to rewrite the book into a more contemporary
style, the show opened in London and was an immediate triumph! Who would
have thought that an elderly musical revival based on snobbery and
cockney songs could still fill theatres. The show went on to Broadway
and took five Drama Desk Awards. In 1986 Me and My Girl went on to earn
eleven Tony Award nominations, and win three, for Actor (Musical),
Actress (Musical) and Choreography.
Once thought “too British”
for Broadway, Me and My Girl was the 50 year old English comedy that
proved them wrong!
Ray Dyer Director
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