''Salad Days'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

with music by

Julian Slade Julian Penkivil Slade (28 May 1930 – 17 June 2006) was an English writer of musical theatre, best known for the show ''Salad Days'', which he wrote in six weeks in 1954, and which became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s, with over ...

and lyrics by

Dorothy Reynolds Dorothy Reynolds (26 January 1913 – 7 April 1977) was a British writer and actress. She is mainly known for writing a number of musicals in collaboration with Julian Slade. The best known were ''Salad Days "Salad days" is a Shakespearean ...

and Julian Slade. The musical was initially performed in 1954 in the UK in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and then in the West End, where it ran for 2,283 performances.

Background

Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds had been working together on writing musicals since 1952, writing the book, music and lyrics. Reynolds was also an actress. They wrote ''Salad Days'' as a "summer musical for the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

's resident company." The title is taken from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'': "My salad days, When I was green in judgment, cold in blood, To say as I said then!", and the phrase has come to be used generally to refer to one's days of youthful inexperience. The musical's enduring popularity lies in its light-hearted innocence and apparent simplicity, in sharp contrast to the many "hard-nosed" American musicals of the era, and its bright score including the songs "We Said We Wouldn't Look Back", "I Sit in the Sun", and "We're Looking for a Piano".

Synopsis

Jane and Timothy Dawes meet in a park, soon after their graduation, to plan their lives. They agree to get married, and do so in secret, but Timothy's parents have urged him to ask his various influential uncles—a Minister, a

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

official, a General, a scientist—to find him suitable employment. He and Jane, however, decide that he must take the first job that he is offered. A passing tramp offers them £7 a week to look after his mobile piano for a month, and, upon accepting, they discover that when the piano plays it gives everyone within earshot an irresistible desire to dance. After attempts by the Minister of Pleasure and Pastime (Timothy's Ministerial uncle) to ban the disruptive music, the piano vanishes, and Timothy enlists his scientific Uncle Zed to take them in his

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

to retrieve it. When it is found, the tramp reappears to tell them that their month is up and the piano must be passed on to another couple. He also reveals that he is a hitherto unknown uncle of Timothy (whose parents had referred to as "the one we don't mention"). Timothy and Jane look forward to the future with confidence.

Musical numbers

; Act I * "Opening" – Orchestra * "The Things That Are Done by a Don" – Company * "We Said We Wouldn't Look Back" – Jane and Timothy * "Find Yourself Something to Do" – Father, Mother, Aunt Prue, and Timothy * "I Sit in the Sun" – Jane * "Oh, Look at Me!" – Jane and Timothy Dawes * "Hush Hush" – Uncle Clam, Fosdyke, and Timothy * "Oh, Look at Me!" (Reprise) – Company * "Out of Breath" – Company ; Act II * "Cleopatra" – Manager * "Sand in My Eyes" – Asphynxia * "It's Easy to Sing" – Timothy, Jane and Nigel * "We're Looking for a Piano" – Company * "The Time of My Life" – Jane * "The Saucer Song" – Jane, Timothy, and Uncle Zed * "We Don't Understand Our Children" – Timothy's Mother and Jane's Mother * "Oh, Look at Me!" (Reprise) – Company * "We Said We Wouldn't Look Back" (Reprise) – Jane and Timothy

Productions

Salad Days performance Bristol Old Vic Sat 12 June 1954

''Salad Days'' premiered in the UK at the Theatre Royal, Bristol in June 1954, and transferred to the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

in London on 5 August 1954, running for 2,283 performances to become the longest-running show in musical theatre history until overtaken by ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'' in the U.S. (1956) and ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'' in the U.K. (1960). In the

Evening Standard Awards The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

for 1955, ''Salad Days'' was given the Award for Most Enjoyable Show (although ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his c ...

'' won as Best Musical). The musical was produced by Denis Carey, with dances arranged by Elizabeth West, and with a cast that featured Dorothy Reynolds in a variety of roles, John Warner as Timothy and

Eleanor Drew Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

as Jane. Slade played one of the two pianos. The reviewer in ''The Guardian'' wrote: "There is no pointed satire, only a passable line of wit, but the effect is one of genuine high spirits and those who liked it on Thursday were ready to call it the gayest piece of entertainment since ''The Mikado''. Others were heard to compare it to a children's party, meaning that they found the fun jejune, 'undergraduate,' and limited." It played to over 1.25 million people and grossed over $1.8 million. The Canadian premiere of ''Salad Days'' in 1956 was at the Hart House Theatre,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

for several monthsMorse, Barry. "Those Were My Salad Days", ''Remember With Advantages'' (2006), McFarland & Company, Inc. , pp. 126–31 with

Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...

as director and Alan Lund as choreographer. The Canadian cast included

Jack Creley Jack Creley (March 6, 1926 – March 10, 2004) was an American-born Canadian actor."A 'great man of words and theatre'". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 19, 2004. Although most prominently a stage actor, he also had film and television roles. Backg ...

, Betty Leighton, Barbara Franklin, John Clark, Roland Bull, Norma Renault and

Eric Christmas Eric Cuthbert Christmas (19 March 1916 – 22 July 2000) was a British actor, with over 40 films and numerous television roles to his credit. He is probably best known for his role as Mr. Carter, the principal of Angel Beach High School, in th ...

. The show transferred to the

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

and then to Her Majesty's Theatre in Montreal. Morse wrote that it played "successfully" and was "again a triumph". Morse revived the production at the Crest Theatre, Toronto, and then brought it to New York with a slightly different cast. The New York production, featuring

Richard Easton John Richard Easton (March 22, 1933 – December 2, 2019) was a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial '' The Brothers''. Life and career Easton was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Mar ...

, opened at the Barbizon Plaza Theatre (then located at

Avenue of the Americas Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

and 58th Street) on November 10, 1958 and ran for 80 performances. Morse described the theatre as "not a Broadway theatre ... a perfectly comfortable and centrally situated theatre which was housed in a hotel." He further wrote "as rotten luck would have it there was a newspaper strike which started just a few days before we opened." There were no reviews, and the show closed in January 1959 when, according to Morse, "our financial resources were used up." The show was revived in the West End in April 1976 at

The Duke of York's 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 and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

, running for 133 performances, and featured Elizabeth Seal. ''Salad Days'' was next revived in April 1996 at London's

, directed by

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of ra ...

and featuring Simon Connolly, Nicola Fulljames and Richard Sisson. In his review for ''The Guardian'', Michael Billington wrote: "Time has also changed both the show and our attitude towards it. What seemed hopelessly innocent in 1954 has now acquired the patina of camp." The show received a new production by Tête à Tête opera company, directed by Bill Bankes-Jones, originally produced in November 2009 at

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment in ...

in London, and revived for over two months in 2010–11. That revival was a sell-out and the production was revived again for Christmas & New Year 2012–13 at

Recordings

The Original Cast recording (1954) was recorded by Oriole Records. The Original Cast recording of the Duke of York's Theatre revival was released by That's Entertainment.Julian Slade - Discography"
musical-theatre.net, accessed March 17, 2012 A 40th anniversary studio cast recording was produced by EMI in 1994, featuring

Janie Dee Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award ...

."'Salad Days' Studio Cast, 1994"
broadwayworld.com, accessed March 17, 2012 and an Original Cast recording of the 40th anniversary production at the Vaudeville Theatre was released by First Night, consisting of four songs. It was filmed for Australian television in 1958. A recording of the 2013 Tête à Tête production is available from the websit

Cultural impact

The musical was parodied, in a particularly bloody manner, by

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

in their sketch " Sam Peckinpah's ''Salad Days''". £7,000 from the Salad Days profits – a large sum in those days— was given to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School towards the purchase and conversion of two large adjoining Victorian villas at 1 and 2 Downside Road in Clifton. In 1995 the enduring benefit to students of that donation was formally recognised when a new custom-built dance and movement studio in the School's back garden was named the Slade/Reynolds Studio.

Notes

References

*Everett, William A. and Paul R. Laird (2002)
"Analysis of ''Salad Days''" in ''The Cambridge Companion to the Musical''
Cambridge University Press {{ISBN, 0-521-79639-3

. 1954 musicals British musicals West End musicals Musicals set in London