''Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera'' is an English musical with book, music, and lyrics by
Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper ...
and
Ki Longfellow
Ki Longfellow (born Baby Kelly, formerly Pamela Kelly; December 9, 1944 - June 12, 2022) was an American novelist, playwright, theatrical producer, theater director and entrepreneur with dual citizenship in Britain. She is best known in the Un ...
-Stanshall written for the Crackpot Theatre Company aboard the
Old Profanity Showboat in Bristol, England. The show is based on a series of tales written by Longfellow about Stinkfoot, a New York City alley cat. It had been intended for children, but when told by a New York City
literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...
that "No mother in America would want her child identifying with Stinkfoot the alley cat, never mind its name,"
[Discovery: an English Radio Two interview aired in 1990.] the story went into a drawer, and didn't reappear until 1985 when Vivian and Ki decided to base a musical on its lead character, Stinkfoot.
[Interview with Longfellow at ]Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
, San Francisco, California, 2008.
Plot
The story concerns Soliquisto, a once great
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
artist, now reduced to playing small venues, and his former star, a cat called Stinkfoot. The cat disappeared nine years before the action of the play, and he is left with an act consisting of his nephew Buster and his other cat, Persian Moll.
Productions
Stinkfoot was staged twice. Once in 1985 for the ship where it was produced by Longfellow and directed by Stanshall. Stanshall also designed the set, the costumes, the make-up, and even the hair. Pete Moss assumed the musical task completely for the second staging in 1988 at the
Bloomsbury Theatre
The Bloomsbury Theatre is a theatre on Gordon Street, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, owned by University College London. The Theatre has a seating capacity of 547 and offers a professional programme of innovative music, drama, come ...
in London. The first production was a sell-out for its entire run and garnered wonderful national reviews. The second show (partly financed by friend
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
) also sold out, but without the participation of either Longfellow or Stanshall, as well as miscast, was a muddle of misdirection.
Book
The entire script of the original ''Stinkfoot: An English Comic Opera'' with an introduction by Ki Longfellow-Stanshall and illustrations by Vivian Stanshall was published in 2003 by Sea Urchin Editions based in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
.
Songs and music
;Act I
* "Bad Bad Ways" – Persian Moll
* "Threnody: Stinkfoot is Drowned" – The Coastguard & Woeful Sirens
* "You Can’t Confound a Flounder" – Isaiah
* "A Foundling’s Song, or Born in a Bag" – Polly
* "Drowned Sailor’s Dream" – Elma the Electrifying Elver
* "No Time Like the Future" – Isaiah & Polly
* "Ow! Ow! Wasn’t I Good Tonight!" – Persian Moll
* "Quickchange Artiste" – Buster
* "Follow Your Nose" – Soliquisto
* "Sphinx & Minx" – Mrs. Bag Bag
* "Sharks of Mechanical Time" – Isaiah & Company
* "Cut My Hands" – Moll & Elma
;Act II
* "The Meow Blues" – Persian Moll & Buster
* "Landing on my Feet Feet" – Stinkfoot
* "Imagination" – Polly
* "Parakeet to Meet You" – Polly & Company
* "See Me Sometime" – Persian Moll
* "What My Public Wants" – Soliquisto & Company
* "It's Wonderful What People Will Do" – Stinkfoot
* "Why Me Legs Won’t Work" – Screwy
* "Murder Living Next Door" – Polly & Persian Moll
* "Only Being Myself" – Persian Moll
* "Drowned Sailor’s Dream (Reprise)" – Elma & Woeful Sirens
* "Grand Finale/No Time Like The Future" – Entire Company
Main characters, original cast
*The Great Soliquisto — Andy Black
*Stinkfoot — Steve Howe
*Screwy —
Jon Beedell
*Buster —
Richard Smith
*Persian Moll — (originally played by Nikki Lamborn of
Never the Bride
Never the Bride are an English band founded in the early 1990s. The group is led by singer Nikki Lamborn (formerly known as Nikki "B" Bentley) and keyboardist/guitarist/singer Catherine "Been" Feeney, who co-write the music. The band's sound in ...
)
*Pollyanna, the Foundling Budgerigar – Cindy Stratton
*Mrs. Bag Bag – Sydney Longfellow (Ki's daughter)
*Isaiah, the Flounder – Pete Coggins
*Elma, the Electrifying Elver – Hirut Araya Bihon
In the original programme the cast list (in alphabetical order) is:
*Nikki B as Persian Moll, A Siren & The Left Half of Screwy's Brain;
*John Beedell as Screwy, The Ocean Liner and Chorus;
*Andy Black as Soliquisto, and The Partly Cooked Shrimp;
*Pete Coggins as Isaiah, the Coastguard & The Public;
*Hirut as Black Pearl and A Woeful Siren;
*Steve Howe as Stinkfoot, Drowned Sailor and the Balanced Nose;
*Tria Linning as Jellyfish, A Woeful Siren and Raggedy Alma;
*Sydney Longfellow as Mrs Bag Bag and A Woeful Siren;
*Richard Smith as Buster and The Giant Squid;
*Cindy Stratton as Big Polly, A Siren, The Right Half of Screwy's Brain;
*Lights: Paul Neville;
*Choreography: Vivian Stanshall and Tria Linning;
*Music director: Pete Watson;
*Costumes: Caroline Poland;
*Hair: Nikki B and James;
*Set and prop painting: Mark Millmore;
*Stage carpenter: Mike Wilson;
*Make-up: Helen and Julie-Anna.
Secondary characters, original cast
*God —
Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper ...
*The Giant Squid – Richard Smith
*The Ocean Liner – Jon Beedell
*The Angry Sea – The Company
*The Public – The Company led by Pete Coggins
*The Right & Left Sides of Screwy's Brain – Nikki Lamborn, left brain, Cindy Stratton, right brain
*The Partly Cooked Shrimp – Andy Black
*The Coastguard – Pete Coggins
*The Drowned Sailor – Steve Howe
*Three Woeful Sirens – Sydney Longfellow, Hirut Araya Bihon, Nikki Lamborn
Critical reception
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
theatre critic
David Foote
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
wrote in his review of the musical's opening night in Bristol, "Backed artistically by Pamela Ki Longfellow, Vivian has given us an offbeat Christmas show that is funny, bluesy, and loony…the marvel is that here is an original, unusual musical, smelling of the salt sea, with
Coward
Cowardice is a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cow ...
,
Cagney, and
Mae West
Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
around to keep us happily buoyant."
[Stinkfoot Reviews](_blank)
– various print reviews reproduced at GingerGeezer website (Ki Longfellow).
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'' (fou ...
’s theatre critic Richard Gilbert wrote of the Bristol opening, "...a watery tale set alternatively at the end of a seaside pier and under the ocean, peopled by an angst-ridden music hall artiste, his Faustian apprentice, a tomcat under the influence of James Cagney (Stinkfoot himself), a Mae Westian glamour-puss (Persian Moll) and an oracular ventriloquist's dummy, Screwy. Under the waves there is more derring-do from a cynical flounder, a giant squid and a partly cooked shrimp. The cast of local singers, fringe actors and musicians seems to have absorbed the complexities of the highly moral plot where regeneration triumphs over evil and all optimists ultimately defeat the pessimists. The story-line is less important than the ambitious and resonant songs and music. The length of the Old Profanity boat is cunningly exploited by the marine set...and deserves to be seen in London on dry land at a larger venue."
The
Bristol Evening Post
The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...
’s theatre critic David Harrison said, "Stinkfoot is a joy – a wondrous collection of bizarre characters, eccentric ideas, and at least one top ten contender among the songs. There is unlikely to be another Christmas show as innovative and challenging as this."
Notes and references
External links
Stinkfoot Concert reviewin
WORD MagazineStinkfoot Concert on the Thekla and new 2010 production
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stinkfoot, A Comic Opera
1985 musicals
West End musicals
Original musicals
British musicals