''The Catch of the Season'' 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 ...

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

and

Cosmo Hamilton Cosmo Hamilton (29 April 1870 – 14 October 1942), born Henry Charles Hamilton Gibbs, was an English playwright and novelist. He was the brother of writers Arthur Hamilton Gibbs, Francis William Hamilton Gibbs, Helen Katherine Hamilton Gibbs an ...

, with music by Herbert Haines and Evelyn Baker and lyrics by

Charles H. Taylor Charles H. Taylor may refer to: * Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician) (born 1941), US congressman from North Carolina * Charles H. Taylor (Michigan politician) (1813–1889), American politician who served as the Michigan Secretary of State ...

, based on the fairy tale

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

. A debutante is engaged to a young aristocrat but loves a page. The musical premiered at 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 in 1904 and ran for 621 performances. It starred Hicks,

Zena Dare Zena Dare (born Florence Hariette Zena Dones; 4 February 1887 – 11 March 1975) was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of ...

and Camille Clifford. Replacements included

Louie Pounds Louisa Emma Amelia "Louie" Pounds (12 February 1872 – 6 September 1970) was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical comedies and in mezzo-soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Originally intended for ...

. The New York production, in 1905, starred

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 ...

, 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 ...

. The show was produced internationally and was revived until the First World War.

Synopsis

Lady Caterham's stepdaughter Angela, who is a debutante about to 'come out' and is 'the catch of the season'. She becomes engaged to the young rake, Lord St. Jermyns, although she really loves the page, Bucket. Honoria Bedford, Lady Crystal's younger daughter, who is about to 'come out', has taken up smoking, which in 1904 was considered shocking.

Productions

''The Catch of the Season'' was produced by Agostino and Stefano Gatti and American

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

at the

in London, opening on 9 September 1904 and running for a very successful 621 performances. The production starred

as Angela, because Hicks' wife

Ellaline Terriss Mary Ellaline Terriss, Lady Hicks (born Mary Ellaline Lewin, 13 April 1871 – 16 June 1971), known professionally as Ellaline Terriss, was a popular British actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies. Sh ...

was pregnant. Later Terriss played the role for a time, ceding it to Dare's sister, Phyllis Dare. It also starred Hicks and

. Belgian-American actress Camille Clifford, who played Sylvia Gibson, became perhaps the most famous "

Gibson Girl The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in th ...

". Frohman produced the musical on both sides of the Atlantic, and one year after the premiere, with the London production still running, he exported ''The Catch of the Season'' to Daly's Theater in New York, where

starred with an English supporting cast and a chorus of English and French "Gibson Girls". The score was supplemented with numerous interpolations, principally by American music director William T. Francis and also by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

. Other international productions followed. In Budapest ''The Catch of the Season'' was translated as ''A bálkirálynő'' by

Jenő Heltai Jenő Heltai (11 August 1871 – 3 September 1957), until 1913 Eugen Herzl, was a Hungarian author, poet, journalist and producer. He was of Jewish descent, though he later converted to Christianity. Several of his novels and plays have been ada ...

in 1907. The Australian premiere was at

Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, refers to three theatres of the same name. One was a theatre which opened on 10 September 1887 and closed on 10 June 1933. It was located on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney, where Westfie ...

in 1909. In Vienna ''Die Ballkönigin'', translated by Fritz Lunzer and actor Karl Tuschl, was mounted twice in 1913, first at the Sommertheater Venedig in Wien, then as a holiday entertainment at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

. London revivals included a 1917 production at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

Roles and original cast

*Angela Crystal –

(replaced by

and later Phyllis Dare) *Duke of St. Jermyns –

*Higham Montague – Stanley Brett *William Gibson – Compton Coutts *Sir John Crystal – Charles Daly *Lady Crystal – Mollie Lowell *Lady Caterham – Rosina Filippi *Almeric Montpelier – Philip Desborough *

Lord Dundreary Lord Dundreary is a character of the 1858 British play ''Our American Cousin'' by Tom Taylor. He is a good-natured, brainless aristocrat. The role was created on stage by Edward Askew Sothern. The most famous scene involved Dundreary reading a lett ...

– Sam Sothern *Captain Rushpool – Mervyn Dene *Lord Yatton – Cecil Kinnaird *Miss Caw – Barbara Deane *Hon. Sophia Bedford – Ethel Matthews (

later played the role) *Duchess of St. Jermyns – Ruby Ray *Enid Gibson – Kate Vesey *Princess Schowenhohen-Hohenschowen – Lily Maynier *Clotilde – Helene Blanche *Bucket – Master A. Valchera *Honoria Crystal – Hilda Jacobsen *Sylvia Gibson – Camille Clifford *Footmen, Guests, Gibson Girls, Bridesmaids

Musical numbers

Broadway score (music by Haines and Baker and lyrics by Taylor, except as noted): ;Act I *Tea and tittle tattle – Lady Crystal, Lord Yatton, Almeric Montpelier, Footmen and Chorus *We've become the great attraction – Gibson Girls *(It's) All Done by Kindness (Music by William T. Francis) – Mr. William Gibson *I'll Be a Good Little Girl – Angela *If I Were King of Babylon – Bucket *(My Little) Buttercup (Music by Luke Forwood) – Angela *Fairy attendants! – Clotilde, Angela, Lady Caterham and Assistants ;Act II *Every year there's somebody – Chorus *Sylvia the Gibson Girl (Lyrics by Frank Compton, music by Hugh Rumbold) – Gibson Girls *Seaweed (Music and Lyrics by Fred Earle) – Mr. William Gibson *Hail! Miss O'Halloran – Chorus *Molly O'Halloran (Music and Lyrics by Jerome Kern) – Angela *A Little Bit of Dinner (with a Friend) (Music by William T. Francis) – Lord Yatton *Suppose – Angela and The Duke of St. Jermyns *Auf Wiedersehn (Lyrics by Vernon Roy, music by William T. Francis) – Talleur Andrews *The Church Parade – The Duke of St. Jermyns *Back to Harrow (Lyrics by J. J. Montague, music by William T. Francis) – Mr. William Gibson and Lord Yatton *Rainbow (Lyrics by Fred W. Leigh, music by Henry E. Pether) – Angela *Rosy Petals We Will Shower (Music by William T. Francis) *Cinderella! You Have Won! (Music by William T. Francis) – Angela The Broadway score cut the following songs by Haines, Baker and Taylor (except as noted) that had been included in the British production: *"Raining" *"Won't You Kiss Me Once Before You Do?" (by Kern and Harris) *"Cupid is the Captain of the Army" (by Dave Reed Jr.) *"Around the World (by Cass Freeborn and Grant Stewart) *"Cigarette" *"The Charms on My Chain"

References

External links

Cast lists and other information
* * ttp://www.gsarchive.net/british/catch/index.html ''The Catch of the Season''MIDI files
Information from a Zena Dare biographyInformation about 1908 benefit performances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catch of the Season 1904 musicals West End musicals Musicals based on secular traditions British musicals