''Three Little Maids'' is an English musical by Paul Rubens with additional songs by

Percy Greenbank Percy Greenbank (24 January 1878 – 9 December 1968) was an English lyricist and librettist, best known for his contribution of lyrics to a number of successful Edwardian musical comedies in the early years of the 20th century. His older brothe ...

and

Howard Talbot Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot (9 March 1865 – 12 September 1928), was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent. He was best known for writing the music to several hit Edwardian musi ...

. The story concerns three simple

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

's daughters who go to London to earn their livings serving tea in a

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

tea shop. They become the romantic rivals of three ladies of fashion but succeed because of their freshness. The musical opened at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London on 10 May 1902 and later transferred to the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

, running for a total of 348 performances.

Edna May Edna May Pettie (September 2, 1878 – January 1, 1948), known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies. Life and career May was ...

, Delia Mason and Lily Elsie (on tour) each starred as Edna Branscombe.

Ada Reeve Ada Reeve (born Adelaide Mary Reeves, 3 March 1874 – 5 October 1966) was an English actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime and music hall as a child. She gained fame in Edwardian musical comedies in the 1890s. R ...

was a replacement as Ada Branscombe. Choreography was by

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 ...

, scenery by

Hawes Craven Henry Hawes Craven Green (3 July 1837 – 22 July 1910) was an English theatre scene-painter. He collaborated with Henry Irving, Richard D'Oyly Carte and Herbert Beerbohm Tree, producing stage sets of unprecedented realism. Craven's career la ...

and Joseph Harker, and costumes by

C. Wilhelm William John Charles Pitcher (21 March 1858 – 2 March 1925), known as Wilhelm or C. Wilhelm, was an English artist, costume and scenery designer, best known for his designs for ballets, pantomimes, comic operas and Edwardian musical comedies. ...

. There were also a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production in 1903 and international tours. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the show a rave review after its opening night in New York: "It is just possible that there have been better musical comedies ... but if there have, nobody in the audience could think of them at the end of the evening.... It was the marvel of ... good looks, good dancing, and good acting working together for the common weal.""''Three Little Maids; A Masterpiece of Musical Comedy at Daly's"
''The New York Times'', 2 September 1903, p. 3. The paper particularly praised the humour of G. P. Huntley and Maurice Farkoa. The title characters were played in New York by Maggie May, Madge Crichton, and Delia Mason. Another rave review was published in the ''

New York Dramatic Mirror The ''New York Dramatic Mirror'' (1879–1922) was a prominent theatrical trade newspaper. History The paper was founded in January 1879 by Ernest Harvier as the ''New York Mirror''. In stating its purpose to cover the theater, it proclaimed t ...

''.

Synopsis

;Act I The Branscombe girls are three simple

's daughters from the countryside, not far from London. They meet Lady St. Mallory (proprietress of a fashionable tea shop) and her friends from London, including three young gentlemen to whom they immediately are attracted. The girls happily accept Lady St. Mallory's offer to go to London to work as waitresses serving tea in her

tea shop. ;Act II The three men, Lord Cheyne, Brian Molyneux and Monsieur de Lorme flirt with the girls at the tea shop, not recognizing them from the earlier out-of-town meeting, as the girls' serving uniform is the costume of Holland. Each of the men also has a London girlfriend of position in London society who becomes jealous of the Branscombe sisters. The society girls decide to disguise themselves as waitresses to meet their rivals on their own ground. The three men prefer the Branscombe girls and invite them to a dance at Lady St. Mallory's country house. ;Act III At the country house, the three girls charm the men and defeat their rivals, who are philosophical about their loss.

Roles

*Edna, Hilda and Ada Branscombe (Daughters of the Rev. Theodore Branscombe) –

, Hilda Moody,Hilda Moody profile
/ref> and Madge Crichton *Lady St. Mallory –

Lottie Venne Lottie Venne (28 May 1852 – 16 July 1928) was a British comedian, actress and singer of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, who enjoyed a theatre career spanning five decades. Venne began her stage career in musical burlesque before moving into ...

*Lady Rosemary Beaulieu, Venetia Grafton, and Lady Marjory Crichton (Protégées of Lady St. Mallory) – Millie Legarde, Betty Belknap and Ruby Ray *Miss Deare (Postmistress at Market Mallory) –

Sybil Grey Ellen Sophia Taylor (3 January 1860 – 20 August 1939), known professionally as Sybil Grey, was a British singer and actress during the Victorian era best known for creating a series of minor roles in productions by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Comp ...

*Miss Crane (A Village Girl) – Hilda Jeffreys *Miss Price (Manageress of the Tea Shop) – Jane May *Hon. Bobbie Windsor (An Eton Boy) – Miss Vincent *Miss Effie Thames – Effie Rivers *Lord Cheyne (Nicknamed "Daisy") – G. P. Huntley *Brian Molyneux – J. L. Mackay *Rev. Theodore Branscombe (Vicar of Market Mallory) – John Beauchamp *"Cupid" (A Caddy) – George Carroll *M. De L'Orme (of the French Embassy) –

Maurice Farkoa Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

Musical numbers

ACT I - Golf Links at Market Mallory *No. 1 - Chorus - "Since daybreak the sun very brightly has shone" *No. 2 - Mrs. Deare & Chorus - "When I first saw Market Mallory, there wasn't much Market then" *No. 3 - Edna, Hilda & Ada - "When the season's over, and you want a holiday 'mong the corn and clover" *No. 4 - Country Girls & London Girls - "A mouse once lived in the country" *No. 5 - Cupid - "I keep my eye on those maidens three, and strictly entre nous" *No. 6 - de l'Orme & Chorus - "Of all the games that a man can play, Love is the hardest to beat" *No. 7 - Edna & Brian - "In the future, come what may, I shall not forget today" *No. 8 - Ada - "I'm sure you've never seen a gal like my gal Sal" *No. 9 - Cheyne & Ada - "Golf is an excellent game in its way – But ev'rything's all 'in the way,'" *No. 10 - Finale Act I - "All the luggage has been put upon the cart" ACT II - A Bond Street Tea Shop *No. 11 - Chorus - "When Society goes shopping in the regions of the West" *No. 12 - Hilda & Chorus - "A miller's daughter liv'd beside a mill" *No. 13 - de l'Orme - "When you are by my side, the world seems gay" *No. 14 - Edna - "When I think of all the tales you've told me" *No. 15 - Ada - "You men are a terrible bore, why were you ever invented?" *No. 16 - Cupid & Chorus - "Tho' I'm only a boy it is true, women play havoc with me as with you" *No. 17 - Cheyne - "You must have met a friend of mine called Algy" *No. 18 - Edna, Hilda & Ada - "We are little tea girls, as you see" *No. 19 - Ada, Edna, Hilda, Cheyne, Brian & de l'Orme - "You pull at a lever or press a knob" *No. 20 - Finale Act II ACT III - Lady St. Mallory's Drawing-room at Market Mallory *No. 21 - Chorus - "Lady St. Mallory's friends this ev'ning are highly delighted" *No. 22 - Edna - "When a maid loves a man, 'tis a sad to-do" *No. 23 - Hilda & Chorus - "When a little lady first comes out, she'll find no end of men about" *No. 24 - Ada & Chorus - "I don't believe I'm witty, I cannot think I'm smart" *No. 25 - Hilda & de l'Orme - "Je vous adore, ev'ry day more, oh! how I long for the day when you're mine" *No. 26 - Edna & Brian, Hilda & de l'Orme, Ada & Cheyne - "Oh, what a splendid thing, to have a wedding ring" *No. 27 - Finale Act III (reprise of no. 26) - "Oh, what a splendid thing..." Addendum *No. 28 - Hilda, with Cheyne - "It won't be very long before I get to town"

References

External links

Midi files, lyrics and London cast list''Three Little Maids''
at the IBDB database
Vocal score''Life'' magazine note on the musical

Another ''New York Times'' article about the musical
*{{Theatricalia, 241 1902 musicals West End musicals British musicals