''The Merveilleuses'' is a
musical play
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 ...
in three acts, with a book adapted from the French original of
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...
by
Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood (5 April 1864 – 7 August 1917) was a British dramatist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including ''The Merry Wi ...
, 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 music by
Hugo Felix
Hugo Victor Felix (19 November 1866 – 25 August 1934), born Felix Hugo Hayman, was an Austrian composer of operettas and musicals born in Budapest, Austrian Empire. Gänzl, Kurt"Felix the composer" ''Kurt of Gerolstein'', 19 December 2018
F ...
. The main plot is a love story, concerning Dorlis, an ''émigré'' aristocrat who has just returned from enforced military service in Italy, and Illyrine, his ex-wife. The English title was sometimes rendered as The Lady Dandies.
It opened 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 ...
, London, under the management of
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 ...
, on 27 October 1906, with a cast that included
Evie Greene
Edith Elizabeth "Evie" Greene (14 January 1875 – 11 September 1917) was a much-photographed English actress and singer who played in Edwardian musical comedies in London and on Broadway. She starred as Dolores in the international hit musical ' ...
,
Denise Orme
Jessie Smither, Duchess of Leinster (25 August 1885 – 20 October 1960),Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd (2003), p. 2300 known by her stage name Denise Orme, was a ...
and
Robert Evett
Robert Evett (16 October 1874 – 15 January 1949) was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer. He was best known as a leading man in Edwardian musical comedies and later managed the George Edwardes theatrical empire.
In 1892, at ...
in the leading roles,
and ran for 196 performances.
Plot synopsis
The story is set in
Revolutionary France
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
in the closing years of the 18th century, during the period when the
Directoire
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced by ...
, led by
Barras Barras may refer to:
Places
* Barras, Cumbria, England
* Barras, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
* Barras, Piauí, Brazil
* Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* Sete Barras, São Paulo, Brazil
Other uses
* Barras (surname)
* Barras (market), a st ...
, held power. Fashionable Parisian society is led by the ''Incroyables'', or dandies, and their feminine equivalents, the ''Merveilleuses''. The latter have adopted classical robes as their form of dress and the succouring of distressed conspirators as their mission.
;Act I — The Tent of the Café du Caveau in the Palais Royal Gardens
Illyrine, who had been led to believe that Dorlis had deserted her and had divorced him in consequence, has just been married to a second husband, St. Amour, the rich but low-bred secretary to Barras. Dorlis intrudes on the wedding party at the Café du Caveau and demands that Illyrine return to him. She explains what had happened and tells him that she still loves him.
;Act II — The Stock Market; St. Amour's Town House
After a visit to the stock market on the Perron at the
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...
, Dorlis, accompanied by his friend Lagorille, one of the ''Incroyables'', goes to the wedding reception at St. Amour's Town House determined to kill St. Amour. However, the latter is warned by police agents, who have learned of the plot. Illyrine hides Dorlis in her private apartment, but St. Amour forces him to reveal his whereabouts by giving a false alarm of "Fire!", whereupon Dorlis and Lagorille are arrested.
;Act III — Tricolour Fête at the Palais of the Luxembourg
At a fete given by Barras, Illyrine manages to persuade Barras to pardon Dorlis, with whom, after divorcing St. Amour, she is re-united. Meanwhile, the ''Merveilleuses'', led by Lodoiska, succeed in freeing Lagorille, only to see him carried off by Pervenche.
Roles and original cast
* Dorlis, ''a refugee aristocrat'' –
Robert Evett
Robert Evett (16 October 1874 – 15 January 1949) was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer. He was best known as a leading man in Edwardian musical comedies and later managed the George Edwardes theatrical empire.
In 1892, at ...
* Lagorille, ''The Incroyable'' –
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 ...
* St. Amour, ''secretary to the Director Barras'' –
W. H. Berry
William Henry Berry (23 March 1870 – 2 May 1951), always billed as W. H. Berry, was an English comic actor. After learning his craft in pierrot and concert entertainments, he was spotted by the actor-manager George Grossmith Jr., and appeared ...
* Malicorne, ''police agent of Barras'' – Fred Kaye
* Des Gouttières, ''secretary to the Directors'' –
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 ...
* Tournesol, ''police agent of the Director Carnot'' –
Fred Emney
Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1902 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian.
Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1902 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: ...
* Alexis, ''head waiter at the Café du Caveau'' –
Scott Russell
* Melval and Valcourt, each ''a dandy'' – V. O'Connor and Gordon Cleather
* Ragot, ''a contractor'' – A. J. Evelyn
* Gifflart, ''a
Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = Pa ...
'' – J. Murphy
* An officer – J. Boddy
* Pervenche, ''Ragot's daughter'' –
Mariette Sully
* Illyrine, ''Ragot's niece'' –
Denise Orme
Jessie Smither, Duchess of Leinster (25 August 1885 – 20 October 1960),Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd (2003), p. 2300 known by her stage name Denise Orme, was a ...
* Liane – Elizabeth Firth
* Églé, ''wife of Des Gouttières'' – M. Perceval
* Dioné, Amaranthe, Aurélie, Cléopatre and Pandore, each ''a Merveilleuse'' –
Eleanor Souray,
Nina Sevening
Nina Gladys Sevening (1885 – 1958) was an English stage actress and singer who played minor comedy roles in a long string of Edwardian musical comedies in London and on tour.
Background
Sevening was born in Westminster, London. Her parents were ...
, D. Dunbar, M. Erskine and E. Barker
* Lodoiska, ''La Merveilleuse'' –
Evie Greene
Edith Elizabeth "Evie" Greene (14 January 1875 – 11 September 1917) was a much-photographed English actress and singer who played in Edwardian musical comedies in London and on Broadway. She starred as Dolores in the international hit musical ' ...
Musical numbers
* "How I Took the Redoubt" – Dorlis
* "I'm Sorry" – Illyrine
* "Cuckoo" – Illyrine
* "The Gay Director" – Illyrine
* "It Might Have Been" – Dorlis and Illyrine
* "Gina, Mina, Nina, Fina" – Pervenche
* "Our Picnic" – Pervenche
* "Watch-winding" – Liane
* "Illyrine" – Dorlis
* "The Merveilleuse Brigade" – Lagorille
* "An Authoritative Source" – St. Amour
* "Not So Silly As I Look" – St. Amour
* "Les Merveilleuses" – Lodoiska
* "Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses" – Lodoiska
Critical reception
Reviews of the show were generally positive. ''
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 ...
'' opened: "There is plenty of life in ''Les Merveilleuses'' yet. A feeble comedy, it makes good material for a comic opera; and by that honourable title the piece produced at Daly's on Saturday may justly be called." It was "a well-made, well-mounted comic opera, empty of wit but full of movement and fun, with a bright plot that runs right through without a break, and plenty of amusing and extravagant people." Of the performers, "Mr W H Berry, who took up the part at very short notice
George Graves, who was ill">George_Graves_(actor).html" ;"title="e replaced George Graves (actor)">George Graves, who was ill did wonders with it. ... His picture of a coward is capital. Mr Bradfield wears something of the real 'Incroyable' air, and Mr Evett is an admirable singer for this kind of work. Miss Evie Greene ... makes the most of her fine voice; Miss Denise Orme keeps hers in strict control ... but the actress who was most in the spirit of the thing was Miss Mariette Sully". If ''The Times'' saw a fault, it was in Hugo Felix's music: "As a rule, his music strikes us as clever rather than original. The source of several of his tunes is pretty obvious, but his treatment and his use of his orchestra are fresh, and, if he does not aim very high, he achieves surely and neatly what he wishes."
''The Play Pictorial'' noted that the name of the show had created some difficulty: "'The Women Dandies' scarcely expresses it, and so it was decided eventually to let the French name stand." On the production, it concluded: "The chorus sang well and showed an exceptional amount of life and animation, and for this and for the production generally, Mr J A E Malone is to be heartily congratulated on the successful accomplishment of an arduous task."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merveilleuses
1906 musicals
Adaptations of works by Victorien Sardou
Musicals set in the 1790s
Musicals set in Luxembourg
Musicals set in Paris
West End musicals