''Arlette'' is a 1917 operetta in three acts by Austen Hurgon and

George Arthurs George Arthurs (13 April 1875 – 14 March 1944) was an English songwriter, playwright, composer, author and screenwriter who contributed lyrics to several successful musical comedies such as ''The Belle of Mayfair'' (1906), ''Havana'' (190 ...

with lyrics by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

and Clifford Grey. Produced by George Grossmith Jr. and Edward Laurillard it was adapted from the French with music by Jane Vieu, Guy Le Feuvre and Ivor Novello. It opened at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was ...

in London on 6 September 1917 where it ran for 260 performances. It starred Winifred Barnes,

Joseph Coyne Joseph Coyne (27 March 1867 – 17 February 1941), sometimes billed as Joe Coyne, was an American-born vaudevillian and musical comedy actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years, from 1883-1931. A popular performer in the U.S., he achieved major s ...

and Stanley Lupino.Gillan, Don
''Arlette'' (1917)
Stage Beauty, accessed 12 May 2019 Originally produced in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in October 1904 with music by Jane Vieu and a book and lyrics by Claude Roland and Louis Bouvet, it underwent considerable alteration for the British production resulting in only two of Vieu's songs remaining while the rest were specially written for the show by Ivor Novello and Guy Le Feuvre. The critic for ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' commented that these changes reduced the piece from an operetta to 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, movement ...

. The London production was directed by Austen Hurgon, and the musical director was Leonard Hornsey. The play's opening night coincided with the worst of the German air raids on London during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but the cast decided to continue with evening performances. In 1936 the show was revised and retitled ''How Do, Princess?'', with six new songs by Novello, but the subsequent tour of the British provinces was a financial disaster and quickly closed. On 14 October 1937 a one-hour condensed version was broadcast on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

with

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as Arlette and

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...

as Rono.

Synopsis

*Act 1: 3pm – The Prince's Private Apartments in the Palace *Act 2: Same Evening – The Casino *Act 3: Next Morning (3 am) – The Council Hall in the Palace *Time: The Present Prince Paul needs to marry a wealthy woman to save Perania, his bankrupt country, and he is advertised for marriage by his Ministers of State. The ad is seen by Cherry, the daughter of American millionaire Cyrus B. Waters, and as she is keen on the idea of becoming a princess the necessary arrangements are made. Soon afterwards, however, Arlette, the maid of honour to the country's Queen dowager, wanders by chance into the prince's private apartments where he is contemplating his financial difficulties. Arlette mistakes the prince for somebody else, and he, delighted by her naivety and charm, does not correct her. They discuss the many good attributes of the prince, and Paul gives her a private telephone number ("The Telephone Song"). Meanwhile, an armed revolution against Perania is being led by Kalitza, a woman who loves the prince's chief bodyguard, Rono. Rono (one of the army of four) is persuaded by Kalitza to assassinate the prince, but he bungles the attempt, angering Kalitza, and she decides to do the deed herself. In the evening a fancy dress ball is held at the casino during which it is discovered that the country's crown jewels have been stolen, but in reality they have been pawned by the Prince, who, caught by the comic gendarmes Anatole and Adhémar in disguise at the ball, arrest him. They are disconcerted to discover that the supposed thief is actually their prince. Paul abdicates so that he can put all these troubles behind him and marry his sweetheart, Arlette. Kalitza, disarmed by his abdication, decides to spare his life. His cousin, the Duke of Aristo, takes the throne and marries Cherry: the kingdom's finances are restored, the revolutionaries are pleased, and Arlette and Paul live in peace and happiness.Findon, B. W
Review of ''Arlette''
'' The Play Pictorial'', No. 189, Vol XXXI, November 1917, pp. 82–96

Cast

*Arlette – Winifred Barnes *Prince Paul of Perania –

*Rono, a common soldier – Stanley Lupino *The Duke of Aristo – Leonard Mackay *Cherry Waters – Adrah Fair *C.B. Waters, an American millionaire – Johnnie Fields *Kalitza, a revolutionary – Joan Hay *Sergine, Mistress of the Household – Mary Robson *Adhémar, 1st Policeman – Lucien Mussiere *Anatole, 2nd Policeman – Yvan Servais *Chancellor – A. G. Poulton *Minister of Finance – Wyn Weaver *Minister of the Interior – Murray Moore *Minister of Justice – Strafford Moss *1st Lady-in-Waiting – Mabel Melbourne *2nd Lady-in-Waiting – Blanche Stocker *3rd Lady-in-Waiting – Ursula Fenton *Court Officials, Ladies in Waiting and Revolutionaries J. P. Wearing
''The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''
Rowman & Littlefield (2014) - Google Books 17.199

Musical numbers

Act I

*Introduction (Music by Jane Vieu) *Entrance of the Prince – "Hail! All Hail!" (Grey & Novello) *Paul – "Going. Going. Gone" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Rono – "On the Staff" (Grey & Novello) *Cherry – "Love Bells" (Grey & Novello) *Duke – "The Man of Forty" (Grey & Novello) *Kalitza & Rono – "Revolution" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Arlette (Telephone Song) – "Love In My Heart Is Ringing" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Finale (Ross, Grey & Le Feuvre)

Act II

*Chorus (Ross, Grey & Le Feuvre) *Cherry, Duke & Waters – "Cousinly Love" (Grey & Novello) *Rono & Policemen – "Graft" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Sergine & Waters – "Someone Very Like You" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Arlette & Paul – "Didn't Know the Way To" (Grey & Novello) *Farandole (Ross & Vieu) *Cherry & Duke – "Stage Love" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Arlette – "The Fairy Ring" (Ross & Le Feuvre) *Finale (Ross & Le Feuvre)

Act III

*Arlette – "It's Just a Memory" (Grey & Novello) *Duke – "His Country First of All (The People's King)" (Grey & Novello) *Finale (Grey & Novello)''Arlette''
Production History, BroadwayWorld.com, accessed 15 May 2019 Ivor Novello contributed the music to eight songs in the production.Gordon, Robert and Olaf Jubin (eds.
''The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(2016), p. 203,

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The critic for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', writing of Novello's songs, commented on his "light and pretty numbers, without much character, but with plenty of agreeable melody." A cast album was released in 1917 recorded with the Mayfair Orchestra. Another album, titled ''Gems from 'Arlett'', was released by

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

in 1917 with the Light Opera Company and featured: "Love In My Heart Is Ringing (The Telephone Song)", "The Fairy Ring", "His Country First of All", "The People’s King", "On the Staff", "Didn’t Know the Way To", "Cousinly Love" and "It’s Just a Memory". It was conducted by George W. Byng, and the vocal artistes included George Baker, Bessie Jones and Ernest Pike.

Review

The critic for the '' Lloyds Weekly News'' wrote of the production:

The magnificence of the mounting of ''Arlette'' at the Shaftesbury will set old playgoers thinking for all that it is called an "operetta," it is molded on traditional lines, and possesses sparkling music. The tale is of the impecunious Prince Paul of Perania (Mr. Joseph Coyne), who prefers Arlette, a modest attendant on the Queen Dowager (Miss Winifred Barnes), to all the vast wealth of Miss Walters from America (Miss Adrah Fair). There is here some sort of a likeness to ''The Merry Widow'', which first introduced Mr. Joseph Coyne as a peerless prince. Paul of Perania (perennial it might almost be) is, however, much more of what we term a Bertrand Wallis part, and a lady has even to look at a photograph of the princeling and talk of his good looks. Mr. Coyne makes much fun of this incident, but somehow it doesn't assist the love interest.Review of ''Arlette'', '' Lloyds Weekly News'', 9 September 1917

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arlette (musical) Original musicals 1917 musicals 1917 compositions British musicals