''The Toreador'' is an

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 James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls, 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 Percy Greenbank and music by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later ...

and

Lionel Monckton Lionel John Alexander Monckton (18 December 1861 – 15 February 1924) was an English composer of musical theatre. He became Britain's most popular composer of Edwardian musical comedy in the early years of the 20th century. Life and career ...

. It opened at the Gaiety Theatre in London, managed by

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 17 June 1901 and ran for an extremely successful 675 performances. It starred

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 ...

Gertie Millar Gertrude Ward, Countess of Dudley ( Millar; 21 February 1879 – 25 April 1952), known as Gertie Millar, was an English actress and singer of the early 20th century, known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies. Beginning her care ...

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 ...

Edmund Payne Edmund James "Teddy" Payne (14 December 1863 – 15 July 1914), was an English actor, comedian and singer best known for creating comic roles in a series of extremely successful Edwardian musical comedies. He was often paired with the comic ac ...

, George Grossmith, Jr. and the young

Sidney Bracy Sidney Bracey (born Sidney Bracy; 18 December 1877 – 5 August 1942) was an Australian-born American actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he performed in more than 320 films between 1909 and 1942. Early lif ...

Gabrielle Ray Gabrielle Ray (born Gabrielle Elizabeth Clifford Cook, 28 April 1883 – 21 May 1973), was an English stage actress, dancer and singer, best known for her roles in Edwardian musical comedies. Ray was considered one of the most beautiful actresse ...

later joined the cast. The show also enjoyed Broadway runs in 1902 and 1904 and toured internationally. Key songs include "Captivating Cora", "I'm Romantic", "When I Marry Amelia", "Keep Off the Grass", and "Archie". As was customary for musicals at the time, other songs were interpolated into the show. For example Christie MacDonald performed "Moon, Moon" in the show, which was written by Nathaniel D. Mann.

Roles and original cast

*Augustus Traill (of the British Consulate at Villaya) – Lionel Mackinder *Pettifer (a dealer in wild animals) – Fred. Wright, Junr. *Sir Archibald Slackitt, Bart. (Lieut. Welsh Guards) – George Grossmith, Jr. *Rinaldo (Carlist) – Robert Nainby *Governor of Villaya –

*Bandmaster –

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 ...

*Carajola (a toreador) – Herbert Clayton *Mr. Probitt (a solicitor) – A. Hatherton *Moreno (Carajola's friend) –

*Waiter – Frank Greene *Sammy Gigg (a tiger) –

*Dora Selby (a Ward in Chancery) –

(later replaced by Adrienne Augarde) *Susan (proprietress of the Magazin des Fleurs, Grand Hotel, Biarritz) – Violet Lloyd *Mrs. Malton Hoppings (a widow) (a.k.a. Amelia) –

Connie Ediss Connie Ediss (born Ada Harriet Whitley; 11 August 1870 – 18 April 1934) Gänzl, Kurt"The real Connie Ediss, or 'She was a Milliner's Daughter'" Kurt of Gerolstein, 6 November 2020 was an English actress and singer best known as a buxom, good-h ...

*Doña Teresa –

Queenie Leighton Queenie Leighton (18 July 1874 – 19 November 1943) was a British music hall star of the Edwardian era. Leighton was born in Islington in London as Lilian Caroline Augusta Rickard, the youngest of three children of William Henry Rickard, ...

*La Belle Bolero – Maidie Hope *Cora Bellamy (a bridesmaid) –

*Ethel Marshall – Maie Saqui *Isabella – Sybil Arundale *Inez – Kitty Mason *Nancy Staunton (friend of Dora) – Florence Collingbourne

Musical numbers

ACT I – Interior of Susan's Flower Shop, Biarritz *No. 1 – Opening Chorus – "Where the gigantic ocean Atlantic breaks in a beautiful bay..." *No. 2 – Chorus of Bridesmaids – "We're all of us lovely and young, so draw no distinction between us..." *No. 3 – Song – Mrs. Hoppings & Chorus – "I have always had a passion for a man of rank and fashion..." *No. 4 – Song – Carajolo & Chorus – "I'm the glory and pride of the land of Spain..." *No. 5 – Quartet – Dora, Nancy, Mr. Probitt, & Porter – "Oh, a journey by train is a terrible strain..." *No. 6 – Trio – Dora, Nancy, & Susan – "We're dear little girls, you know, and dear little lives we've led..." *No. 7 – Song – Archie – "I'm an awf'lly simple fellow as I'm sure you'll all agree..." *No. 8 – Duet – Susan & Gigg – "If ever I marry, my husband must be in some occupation attractive to me..." *No. 9 – Song – Pettifer & Chorus – "Whenever you're my way, quite close to Ratcliffe Highway..." *No. 10 – Duet – Dora & Nancy (with Kate) – "Now I have married you, Sir! – Now I have married you, Madam! ..." *No. 11 – Quartet – Dora, Nancy, Gus, & Archie – "Away to España, today or manaña..." *No. 12 – Song – Nancy & Chorus – "If you want to know your passion in a floral kind of fashion..." *No. 13 – Scena – Teresa & Gigg – "Oh, Señor, pray be bold of heart, do not delay, but make a start..." *No. 14 – Finale Act I – "Hear me, Amelia! When you saw me lately, appearances might seem against me greatly..." ACT II – Market Square, Villaya *No. 15 – Opening Chorus – "With all the town in bright array upon this most auspicious day..." *No. 16 – Song – Governor & Chorus – "We are that person glorious – the Governor, the Governor..." *No. 17 – Trio – Gus, Archie, & Gigg – "Oh, memory's a funny thing indeed, it's often very feeble and uncertain..." *No. 18 – Song – Pettifer & Chorus – "Oh, when I marry my blushing bride, it will cost a monarch's ransom..." *No. 19 – Song – Nancy & Chorus – "Oh, I'm a little maid who's not at all afraid of what my friends may think or say..." *No. 20 – Song – La Belle Bolero & Chorus – "Hark to the sound of multitudes assembling, keen with excitement..." *No. 21 – Duet – Susan & Gigg – "You all know me, I'm Mr. Punch, you see; observe the funny hump upon my back..." *No. 22 – Song – Cora & Bridesmaids – "When the children go to play in summer time, they will frolic all the day..." *No. 23 – Grand Chorus and March – "Here they come in glittering glory, bound to battle grim and gory..." *No. 24 – Song – Sir Archie & Chorus – "Sir Archie was a subaltern who sallied to the south..." *No. 25 – Finale Act II – "When I'm a little wife, I'll have some fun in life..." Addenda *No. 26 – Song – Mrs. Hoppings & Chorus – "Maidie's just the 'cutest thing that I have ever met..." *No. 27 – Song – Cora – "I love to see young people good, it's really so amusing..." *No. 28 – Duet – Cora & Dora – "At a wedding that is smart, if you want to lose your heart keep an eye on Cora..." *No. 29 – Song – Mrs. Hopping – "Never thought I'd live to see such a time as this is..." *No. 30 – Duet – Archie & Gigg – "When extremities encounter there is sure to be some fun..."

External links

Vocal scoreLinks to information about Broadway runs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toreador 1901 musicals West End musicals British musicals