''Morocco Bound'' is a

farcical Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

English

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

in two acts by Arthur Branscombe, with music by

F. Osmond Carr Frank Osmond Carr (23 April 1858 – 29 August 1916), known as F. Osmond Carr, was an English composer who wrote the music for several Victorian burlesques before turning to the new genre of Edwardian musical comedy, and also composing some comic ...

and 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 ...

. 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 d ...

in London, on 13 April 1893, under the management of Fred J. Harris, and transferred to the

Trafalgar Square Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt (singer), Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death i ...

on 8 January 1894, running for a total of 295 performances. A young

George Grossmith, Jr. George Grossmith Jr. (11 May 1874 – 6 June 1935) was an English actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies. Grossmith was also an important inn ...

was in the cast (where he made the most of the small role of Sir Percy Pimpleton by adding ad-libs), as was

Letty Lind Letitia Elizabeth Rudge (21 December 1861 – 27 August 1923), known professionally as Letty Lind, was an English actress, singer, dancer and acrobat, best known for her work in burlesque at the Gaiety Theatre, and in musical theatre at Daly's ...

Harry Grattan Harry Grattan (c. 1867 – 25 September 1951) was a British stage actor, singer, dancer and writer best known for his performances in musical comedies in the decades around 1900. Life and career Gratton started early as a child actor (along wi ...

and Richard Temple later joined the cast. This musical opened in the same year as

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's ''

Utopia, Limited ''Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress'', is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a ...

'' and shared a number of features with that opera, including a distant, exotic locale, and both presented British archetypes as exemplars.William Hicks thesis
/ref> ''Morocco Bound'' crystallized the music-hall influenced "variety musical" form and was more representative than ''Utopia'' of the prevailing taste of London theatre audiences, which was turning away from

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

Roles

*Spoofah Bey (An Irish Con-Man) - Mr. John L. Shine *Squire Higgins (One Of The Nouveau-Riche) -

Charles Danby Charles Clemson Percy Danby (1858 – 7 September 1906) was a British actor, singer and comedian of the late Victorian era who regularly appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in London. During his career he made 37 tours of the United States and th ...

*Vivian Higgins (The Squire's Eldest Son) - Sydney Barraclough *Dolly Higgins (Another Of The Squire's Sons) - Alfred C. Seymour *Josiah Higgins (The Squire's Brother) -

Herbert Sparling Herbert Sparling (1864–1944) was a British comedy and musical theatre actor and director. In 1889 Sparling was sued for breach of contract at Brompton County Court by the "dramatic author" Henry Plunkett Gratton (1808–1889), who alleged t ...

*Lord Percy Pimpleton -

George Grossmith Jr. George Grossmith Jr. (11 May 1874 – 6 June 1935) was an English actor, theatre producer and Actor-manager, manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies. Grossmith was also a ...

*Sid Fakah (Moroccan Grand Vizier) - Colin Coop *Musket (A Servant) - Douglas Munro *Maude Sportington (Dolly's Girl-Friend) -

*Ethel Sportington (Vivian's Girl-Friend) -

Violet Cameron Violet Lydia Thompson (7 December 1862 – 25 October 1919), known professionally as Violet Cameron, was an English actress and singer who gained fame in Robert Planquette's operettas ''Les cloches de Corneville'' and ''Rip Van Winkle'', and Fr ...

*Comtesse De La Blague (Spoofah's Sister, A Phoney "Countess") -

Jennie McNulty Jennie McNulty or Jenny McNulty (1866 – 1927) was an American-born British actress. Beginning her career as a Gaiety Girl, she went on to act in featured roles on the London stage in musical theatre around the close of the 19th century, i ...

*Lady Walkover (Maude's Friend) - Agnes Hewitt *Rhea Porter (A Lady Journalist) -

Marie Studholme Caroline Maria Lupton (10 September 1872 – 10 March 1930),Peter Bailey"Studholme, Marie (1872–1930)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press (2004), Retrieved on 27 June 2008 known professionally as Marie Studho ...

*Eva Sketchley - Eva Westlake *Hilda Adlette - Ruby Temple

Synopsis

An Irish adventurer enlists the help of a retired

costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers i ...

and an assortment of British characters to travel to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, where the Irishman had hopes of winning the right to sell theatre concessions. Once there, he fools the local Vizier into believing that his companions are representatives of "the flower of the British music hall" and eventually secures his business venture.

Musical numbers

;Act I - Mokeleigh Hall, an English stately home *No. 1 - Opening Chorus - "England is diversified by eligible mansions..." *No. 2 - Song - Musket - "I've serv'd the boards of 'aughty lords..." (three verses) *No. 3 - Duet - Maude & Lady Walkover - "The latest social appetite, of course, you know..." *No. 4 - Song - Ethel - "When maidens fair in days of old..." *No. 5 - Song - Spoofah - "If I had cash to cut a dash, I'd run as straight as any..." *No. 6 - Duet - Comtesse & Spoofah - "In pastoral seclusion how happily we'll fare..." *No. 7 - Chorus - "Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for the Squire..." *No. 8 - Song - Squire ("Honesty Jim") - "I never 'ad friends for to foster, or give me a show at a stall..." *No. 9 - Chorus and Solos - Vivian & Squire - "Gladly greet our future master, welcome home our coming lord..." *No. 10 - Song - Ethel - "If I were a royal lady, and he were of low degree..." *No. 11 - Trio and Dance - Spoofah, Squire & Josiah - "The thought of ev'ry Englishman, who's not a Laboucherian..." *No. 12 - Song - Vivian - "Stars come out in the skies that darken, silent above..." *No. 13 - Pas Seul *No. 14 - Duet - Ethel & Vivian - "There's a word, or possibly two..." *No. 15 - Song - Spoofah & Chorus - "I have stay'd for a time at each palace sublime..." *No. 16 - Finale Act I - "I'll tell you what I'll do..." ;Act II - The Palace of Spoofah Beh in Old Tangier, Morocco *No. 1 - Opening Chorus Act II - "Fareshah! Fareshah! Fareshah! Mareshah! Chareshah oum!..." *No. 2 - Song - Vizier, with Chorus - "I am the very Grand Vizier, to all the land extremely dear..." *No. 2a - "Morocco Boot" - Grotesque Exit *No. 3 - Scene and Song - Squire, with Chorus - "My lord, it comes..." *No. 4 - Song - Vivian - "Light of love that only made my life so bright..." *No. 5 - Chorus - "Once more we have the leave to enter in procession..." *No. 6 - Song - Maude and Chorus - "I'm the queen of merry Monaco, known to all the visitors who go..." *No. 7 - Drinking Song (singer unspecified) - "Oh, morning bids the hunter wake and blow the merry horn..." *No. 8 - Song - Spoofah and Chorus - "I will tell you all that happen'd to the plan..." *No. 9 - Cymbal Dance - Pas Seul *No. 10 - Duet - Squire and Spoofah - "If you go to a swell Music Hall..." *No. 11 - Concerted Piece - Finale - The Red Morocco Boot - "If you should ask for our advice..." {{col-end

References

External links

Midi files, lyrics and opening cast listDiscusses the musical as compared with ''The Nautch Girl
'' and ''

'']
Information about London productions that opened in 1893
1893 musicals West End musicals British musicals