''A Runaway Girl'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

in two acts written in 1898 by

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

and Harry Nicholls. The

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

was

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later ...

, with additional music by

Lionel Monckton Lionel John Alexander Monckton (18 December 1861 – 15 February 1924) was an English composer of musical theatre. He became Britain's most popular composer of Edwardian musical comedy in the early years of the 20th century. Life and career ...

and lyrics by

Aubrey Hopwood Aubrey Hopwood (4 April 1863 – 25 October 1917) was a British lyricist of Edwardian musical comedy and a novelist and author of nonsense books for children. He co-wrote the lyrics for the musicals '' Alice in Wonderland'' (1886), ''A Runaway ...

and

Harry Greenbank Harry Greenbank (11 September 1865 – 26 February 1899) was an English author and dramatist best known for contributing lyrics to the successful series of musicals produced at Daly's Theatre by George Edwardes in the 1890s. Life and career Harr ...

. It was produced by

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

at the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known a ...

, opening on 21 May 1898 and ran for a very successful 593 performances. It starred Hicks's wife,

Ellaline Terriss Mary Ellaline Terriss, Lady Hicks (born Mary Ellaline Lewin, 13 April 1871 – 16 June 1971), known professionally as Ellaline Terriss, was a popular British actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies. Sh ...

and

Edmund Payne Edmund James "Teddy" Payne (14 December 1863 – 15 July 1914), was an English actor, comedian and singer best known for creating comic roles in a series of extremely successful Edwardian musical comedies. He was often paired with the comic act ...

. The work had stiff competition in London in 1898, as other successful openings included ''

A Greek Slave ''A Greek Slave'' is a musical comedy in two acts, first performed on 8 June 1898 at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and ran for 349 performances. The score was composed by Sidney Jones with additional songs by Lionel Monckto ...

'' and '' The Belle of New York''. The piece ran at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

in New York City in 1898 and again in 1900."Daly's Theatre"
Internet Broadway Database, accessed November 29, 2018 The story concerns an Englishwoman who joins a group of musicians in Italy who are really bandits.

Roles

*Brother Tamarind (A Lay Brother of St Pierre) – Harry Monkhouse *Guy Stanley (Lord Coodle's Nephew) –

W. Louis Bradfield Walter Louis Bradfield (13 June 1866 – 12 August 1919), was an English actor and singer who starred in Edwardian musical comedy and other theatrical works. Biography The son of William Bradfield, a civil servant, Bradfield was born on 13 Ju ...

*Lord Coodle (A Tea House Keeper) – Fred Kaye *Signor Paloni (Consul at Corsica) –

Robert Nainby Robert Nainby (1869–1948) was an Irish male actor. Filmography References External links * 1869 births 1948 deaths Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish male film actors 20th-century Irish male actors {{Ireland-actor-stub ...

*Mr. Creel (An Entomologist) –

Willie Warde Willie Warde (1857 – 18 August 1943) was an English actor, dancer, singer and choreographer. The son of a dancer, his first theatre work was with a dance company. He was engaged to arrange dances for London productions and was later cast as a ...

*Sir William Hake (A Cook's Tourist) – Fred Wright *Leonello (Head of a Wandering Troupe of Musicians) – John Coates *Pietro Pascara (Also of the Troupe) – Edward O'Niell *Flipper (A Jockey) –

*Alice (Lady Coodle's Maid) –

Katie Seymour Katie Seymour (9 January 1870 – 7 September 1903)Drawing Room Entertainment. ''London Stratford Times and Bow and Bromley News and South Essex Gazette,'' 15 March 1876, p. 5Gänzl, Kurt, 2001. ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre,'' p. 1 ...

*Dorothy Stanley – Ethel Hayden (replaced by Grace Palotta) *Carmenita (A Street Musician) –

Connie Ediss Connie Ediss (born Ada Harriet Whitley; 11 August 1870 – 18 April 1934) Gänzl, Kurt"The real Connie Ediss, or 'She was a Milliner's Daughter'" Kurt of Gerolstein, 6 November 2020 was an English actress and singer best known as a buxom, good-h ...

*Lady Coodle – M. Talbot *Fraulein Ehrenbreitstein Von Der Höhe (A Cook's Tourist) – Grace Palotta *Winifred Grey (An Orphan) –

Musical numbers

;Act I *No. 1 - Opening Chorus and Scene" - "Breathe soft, wind of the South..." *No. 2 - Song - Winifred and Chorus - "The Sly Cigarette." *No. 3 - Song - Leonello and Chorus - "Sea-girt land of my home..." *No. 4 - Chorus - "Hark, the Convent Bell is ringing..." *No. 5 - Scene II - Opening Chorus and Scene - "Bright and blue our sunny skies..." *No. 6 - Song - Guy and Chorus - "There are girls of every station..." *No. 7 - Song - Winifred and Chorus - "I'm only a poor little singing girl..." *No. 8 - Duet - Winifred and Guy - "Of all the maids I've ever seen..." *No. 9 - Concerted Piece an Dance - "The Man from Cook's." *No. 10 - Duet - Carmenita and Tamarind - "We've left Barcelona society..." *No. 11 - Finale - Act I - "To Venice." ;Act II The Runaway Girl -Ireland

*No. 12 - Act II Opening Chorus and Scene - "In Venice when fêtes are swinging..." *No. 13 - Trio - Winifred, Guy and Flipper - "We have left pursuit behind us..." *No. 14 - Song - Hake and Chorus - "When you're out on the spree..." *No. 15 - Song - Dorothy and Chorus - "Soldiers in the Park." *No. 16 - Song - Winifred and Chorus - "The lazy town is dreaming..." *No. 17 - Carnival Chorus - "Welcome to the Water Fête..." *No. 17a - Song - Leonello and Chorus - "Comrades all! Come, see the sight..." *No. 18 - Song - Winifred and Chorus - "There was once a little boy..." *No. 19 - Duet - Alice and Flipper - "When de twilight's fallin'..." *No. 20 - Song - Carmenita and Chorus - "Though my family's pedigree..." *No. 21 - Finale - Act II - "I'm only a poor little singing girl..." and "Soldiers in the Park." *Addendum 1 - Song - Winifred and Chorus - "When the little pigs begin to fly..." *Addendum 2 - Song - Carmenita and Chorus - "I thought it my duty to say so." *Addendum 3 - Song - Winifred and Chorus - "Merry little gipsy maid." (marked as "No. 4.") *Addendum 4 - Song - Carmenita and Chorus - "Pussy Jumps." (2 verses only)

References

External links

midi files, lyrics and cast list
*
Photo of programme cover
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runaway Girl 1898 musicals West End musicals British musicals