Peggy (musical)

Illustration of Olive May as Doris Bartle, Phyllis Dare as Peggy Barrison and Gabrielle Ray as Polly Polino

Peggy is a musical comedy in two acts, written by British composer Leslie Stuart, with a book by George Grossmith, Jr. and lyrics by C. H. Bovill, based on Xanroff and Guérin's L'Amorçage.[1] It opened at the Gaiety Theatre under the management of George Edwardes, on 4 March 1911 and ran for 270 performances, starring Grossmith, Edmund Payne, Phyllis Dare and Gabrielle Ray in the title role. Ray left the production early in the run, to be replaced by Gladys Guy. When the popularity of the show began to wane, Edwardes had a new role written for Connie Ediss. The show also had a run in New York.[2]

Songs included "Friville", "The Lass with the Lasso", "Three Little Pebbles" and "Ladies, Beware! (When the Lights are low)". Critics praised Stuart's score but observed that the plot of the piece was thin. But they concluded that this did not matter:

[T]here is "Teddy" Payne with his quaint twists of the eye and his delightful lisp. ... Then there is that superlatively dressed young man, Mr. George Grossmith, jun. ... Are we interested in what he does? Of course not. We are interested in his airy, flamboyant manner of doing it. As for those sexy ladies, Miss Phyllis Dare and Miss Olive May, que voulez vous? We know they are going to fall in love with one or the other of the cast. ... They will sing sweetly and dance deliciously, and we shall gaze on their beautiful faces and listen to their enticing voices and ... there are the beauteous houris. ... What charms they possess and what charms they reveal! … What care for a plot when such visions of delight are about? Plot, indeed – be hanged...! And that is just what Mr. George Grossmith, jnr. said to himself when he was concocting the mélange which Mr. George Edwardes, with the assistance of Mr. Edward Royce, scene painters, costumiers, wig makers, and so forth, has served up in such a magnificent and costly manner at the Gaiety. 'Do you think I wanted to trouble about such commonplace things as a plot? ... I was well assured that my ear would be saluted with tuneful melodies and bright songs, for is not Mr. Leslie Stuart the composer?[3]
  1. ^ Culme, John. "Footlight Notes, no. 277" Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. 4 January 2002, accessed 11 August 2010
  2. ^ "Peggy at Casino, Is Queer Mixture", The New York Times, 8 December 1911, accessed 29 May 2012
  3. ^ B.W. Findon, editor, The Play Pictorial, 'Peggy' issue, no.107, vol.XVIII, London, 1911, p.27