I Went To A Marvellous Party
"I Went to a Marvellous Party" (sometimes known as "I've Been to a Marvellous Party") is a song with words and music by Noël Coward, written in 1938 and included in his Broadway revue, ''Set to Music'', in which it was performed by Beatrice Lillie in January 1939. Lillie introduced the song to London audiences in June of that year in cabaret at the Café de Paris. It was later included in the revues ''All Clear'' (1939), ''Cowardy Custard'' (1972) and ''Oh, Coward!'' (1972). Both Lillie and Coward made recordings of the song, which is among his most popular. Description The lyric of ''I Went to a Marvellous Party'' is a first-person description of five parties attended by the singer on the French Riviera. The character of the song is humorous and giddy. It has been suggested that the activities described in the lyrics were typical of the "frantic, addleheaded search for amusement" of the Train bleu society, which flocked to the Riviera each summer in the 1920s and '30s. In 1953 C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise"."Noel Coward at 70" ''Time'', 26 December 1969, p. 46 Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as '' [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sondheim Theatre
The Sondheim Theatre (formerly the Queen's Theatre) is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue on the corner of Wardour Street in the City of Westminster, London. It opened as the Queen's Theatre on 8 October 1907, as a twin to the neighbouring Hicks Theatre (now the Gielgud Theatre) which had opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in June 1972. In 2019 the theatre's name was changed from the Queen's to the Sondheim Theatre (after Stephen Sondheim) after a 20 week refurbishment. The theatre reopened on 18 December 2019. History The original plan was to name the venue the ''Central Theatre''. However, after lengthy debate, it was named the Queen's Theatre and a portrait of Queen Alexandra was hung in the foyer. The first production at the Queen's Theatre was a comedy by Madeleine Lucette Ryley called ''The Sugar Bowl''. Although it was poorly received and ran for only 36 perf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Comedy Songs
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. Novelty songs are often a parody or humor song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a dance or TV programme. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1938 Songs
Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Safinaz Zulficar, who becomes Queen Farida, in Cairo. * January 27 – The Honeymoon Bridge at Niagara Falls, New York, collapses as a result of an ice jam. February * February 4 ** Adolf Hitler abolishes the War Ministry and creates the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military. In addition, he dismisses political and military leaders considered unsympathetic to his philosophy or policies. General Werner von Fritsch is forced to resign as Commander of Chief of the German Army following accusations of homosexuality, and replaced by General Walther von ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films and television series. Stritch was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995. She is often considered by critics as one of Broadway’s greatest female performers. Stritch made her Broadway debut in the 1946 comedy ''Loco'' and went on to receive four Tony Award nominations: for the William Inge play ''Bus Stop'' (1956); the Noël Coward musical '' Sail Away'' (1962); the Stephen Sondheim musical ''Company'' (1970), which included her performance of the song " The Ladies Who Lunch"; and for the revival of the Edward Albee play '' A Delicate Balance'' (1996). Her one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. Stritch relocated to London in the 1970s and starred in sever ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Songs Of Noel Coward
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Divine Comedy (band)
The Divine Comedy are a pop band from Northern Ireland, formed in 1989 and fronted by Neil Hannon. Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation except drums. The band has released 12 studio albums. Between 1996 and 1999, nine singles released by the band made the UK Top 40, including the 1999 top-ten hit "National Express". History The beginning and early success (''Fanfare'' to ''Promenade'') The Divine Comedy were founded in 1989, by Neil Hannon who had been the only ever-present member of the band until he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. Their first album, '' Fanfare for the Comic Muse'', enjoyed a minor success and was later deleted. A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs – ''Timewatch'' (1991) and ''Europop'' (1992) – followed, with newly recruited member John Allen handling lead vocals on some tracks. After the commercial failure of the ''Europop'' EP, this line-up soon f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Matz
Peter Matz (November 6, 1928 – August 9, 2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television and studio recording spanned fifty years, and he worked with a number of prominent artists, including Marlene Dietrich, Noël Coward and Barbra Streisand. Matz won three Emmys and a Grammy Award and is best known for his work on Streisand's early albums as well as for his work as the orchestral conductor and musical director for ''The Carol Burnett Show''. Biography Peter Matz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 6, 1928, to Louis N. Matz and Alice (née Krieger) Matz. He studied Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, but after playing woodwinds in local dance bands to support himself, he soon realised that music was his real vocation. After graduating Matz spent two years in Paris studying piano and music theory. In 1954, he returned to New York and acquired a job as a rehearsal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roderick Cook
Roderick Cook (9 February 1932 – 17 August 1990) was an English playwright, writer, theatre director and actor of stage, television and film. Cook is known for creating, directing and starring in the musical review ''Oh, Coward!'' and portraying Count Von Strack in the Oscar-winning film '' Amadeus''. Career Cook attended Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating in 1953, and then began his career appearing in plays at London's West End during the 1950s. He made his professional stage debut in 1954 as Feste in '' Twelfth Night''; a production directed by Peter Hall. That same year, he worked under Hall again in the English language premiere of '' Waiting for Godot'' by Samuel Beckett at the Arts Theatre, London. He also starred alongside Maggie Smith in the original 1954 production of ''Listen to the Wind'' at the Oxford Playhouse. Cook worked with Smith again in the original 1957 production of ''Share My Lettuce'' at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. In 1956, Cook worked und ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patricia Routledge
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in 1992 and 1993. Her film appearances include ''To Sir, with Love'' (1967) and '' Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'' (1968). Routledge made her professional stage debut at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1952 and her Broadway debut in ''How's the World Treating You'' in 1966. She won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in ''Darling of the Day'', and the 1988 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for ''Candide''. On television, Routledge came to prominence during the 1980s in monologues written by Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood; appearing in Bennett's ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1982), as Kitty in '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' (1985–1986), and being nominat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Danny La Rue
Danny La Rue, (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish singer and entertainer, best known for his on-stage drag queen, drag persona. He performed in drag and also as himself in theatrical productions, television shows and film. Early life Born Daniel Patrick Carroll in Cork (city), Cork City, Ireland, in 1927, La Rue was the youngest of five siblings. The family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Covent Garden, central London. When the family home was destroyed during the Blitz, his mother, a seamstress, moved her children to Kennford, a Devon village where young Daniel developed an interest in dramatics. "There weren't enough girls so I got the pick of the roles ... My Juliet was very convincing", La Rue recalled. He served in the Royal Navy as a young man following in his father's footsteps, and for a time worked delivering groceries. He became known as a drag queen, female impersonator, or "comic in a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |