The Cingalee

The Cingalee
or Sunny Ceylon
Wright (Chambhuddy) and Leigh (Peggy)
MusicLionel Monckton
Paul Rubens
LyricsAdrian Ross
Percy Greenbank
BookJames T. Tanner
Productions1904 West End
1904 Broadway

The Cingalee or Sunny Ceylon is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner, with music by Lionel Monckton, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and additional material by Paul Rubens.[1] The story is set in the Edwardian era in the then-tranquil island of Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) and follows the story of British colonial tea planters (one of the most popular songs in the score is called "Tea, tea, tea").

The piece opened at Daly's Theatre in London, managed by George Edwardes, on 5 March 1904 and ran until 11 March 1905 for a total of 365 performances.[1] The setting in an exotic Asian locale followed the precedent set by The Mikado that was continued in The Geisha, San Toy, The Nautch Girl, A Chinese Honeymoon and others. There is little in the music to give The Cingalee an Eastern flavour. However, Monckton's catchy sextet, "The Island of Gay Ceylon", his "Pearl of Sweet Ceylon" and Ruben's "White and Brown Girl", "Sloe Eyes", "Monkeys" and "You and I" are highlights of the musical score. The London cast included Hayden Coffin, Rutland Barrington, Huntley Wright and Isabel Jay. A young Lily Elsie also appeared in the show, as did Topsy Sinden.[2]

The musical had a short Broadway run, opening at Daly's Theatre in New York on 24 October 1904, and running for 33 performances.[3] A production in Sydney, Australia, in May 1905 by J C Williamson's Royal Comic Opera Company, opened on 6 May, starring Margaret Thomas as Nanoya.[4]

  1. ^ a b J. P. Wearing "Productions 1904: The Cingalee; or, Sunny Ceylon", The London Stage 1900–1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd edition, Scarecrow Press; 5 December 2013), p. 176
  2. ^ "Daly's Theatre", The Times, 11 November 1904, p. 4
  3. ^ The Cingalee, Guide to Musical Theatre, accessed 3 April 2018
  4. ^ Rutledge, Martha, "Margaret Jane Gordon (1880–1962)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 20 October 2023