''Whirled into Happiness'' is a

musical comedy 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, movemen ...

with music by

Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be call ...

, and book and lyrics by Harry Graham, adapted from Stolz's ''Der Tanz ins Glück'', with a libretto by

Robert Bodanzky Robert Bodanzky, also known as Danton (born Isidor Bodanskie, 8 March 1879 – 2 November 1923), was an Austrian journalist, playwright, poet and artist. While he became famous for his apolitical poems before World War I, he turned an anarchist ...

and . The work, billed as a "musical farce", was presented in London in 1922.

History

The musical was staged in London by George Edwardes Ltd, a company controlled by the financier James White after the death of its founder

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 ...

. The piece opened at the Lyric Theatre in

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly Cir ...

on 18 May 1922 and ran for 246 performances, closing on 16 December 1922. The production was taken on tour in the provinces, with Mai Bacon from the original cast, and

Derek Oldham Derek Oldham (29 March 1887 – 20 March 1968) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. After performing in concerts as a boy soprano and workin ...

, Winnie Melville, George Gregory and Bert Weston. The J. C. Williamson company presented a production that toured Australia in 1924–25. A revised version of the show was staged in New York in 1925, under the title ''Sky High'', and ran for 217 performances. ''Der Tanz ins Glück'' was also adapted into Italian as "Dance la Fortuna" and French as "Danse vers le bonheur".

Roles and original London cast

*Matthew Platt –

Billy Merson Billy Merson (born William Henry Thompson; 29 March 1879 – 25 June 1947)Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.227-228 was an English music hall performer, comedian and songwriter. Biog ...

*Horace Wiggs – Austin Melford (replaced by

from 3 July 1922) *Florence Horridge – Lily St. John (Margaret Campbell from 3 July; Winnie Melville from 3 September) *Albert Horridge –

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

*Delphine de Lavilliere – Mai Bacon *Mrs Horridge – Frances Weatherall *Duke of Dulchester – Hastings Lynn *Duchess of Dulchester – Gladys Hirst *Lord Brancaster – Reginald Palmer *Lily – Wynne Bronte *Antoine – Frank Atkinson

Synopsis

Horace Wiggs, a hairdresser's assistant, visits the Majestic

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 ...

where, owing to a striking facial resemblance, the front of house attendant, Matthew Platt, mistakes him for the

Marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

of Brancaster, an intimate friend of one of the Majestic's stars, Delphine de Lavalliere. Horace is shown into the private box reserved for Brancaster and catches the eye of Florence Horridge, who is having a surreptitious night out with some girl friends. Platt introduces Florence to Horace, but their ''tête-à-tête'' is interrupted by her father, Albert Horridge, a nouveau-riche hatter. He has visited the Majestic because of his strong interest in Delphine. Horridge is at first indignant to find his daughter in such a place and alone with an unknown young man, but he is quickly won over when he is told that the young man is Lord Brancaster, son and heir of the Duke of Dulchester. He invites the supposed marquess to a party that evening at the Horridges' villa in the suburb of

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

. Horridge later invites Delphine to perform at the party. She readily accepts on learning that Lord Brancaster is to be present, as she feels that he has been neglecting her. At the party, all goes well until Horridge bids Platt ring the Duke to tell him that his son is engaged to Florence. Delphine has immediately recognised that Horace is not Lord Brancaster, but refrains from exposing him. The imposture is revealed when the Duke and Duchess arrive, along with the real Lord Brancaster. Horace returns to work at the hairdressing establishment, but after a sequence of farcical comings and goings there is a happy ending with Florence and Horace united.

Critical reception

London reviews were uniformly enthusiastic: In ''

The Play Pictorial ''The Play Pictorial'' was an English theatrical magazine that was published in London between 1902 and 1939. ''The Play Pictorial'' provided pictorial records of West End theatrical productions. Each issue described a single show, with descrip ...

'', B. H. Findon praised "the delightful strain of melody that runs through the piece … the charming dances … the merry humours of Billy Merson and Tom Walls, the vocal accomplishment of Lily St. John and Austin Melford, the diablerie of Mai Bacon and the excellent all-round interpretation … a really delightful entertainment." In ''

The Manchester 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 ...

'',

Ivor Brown Ivor John Carnegie Brown CBE (25 April 1891 – 22 April 1974) was a British journalist and man of letters. Biography Born in Penang, Malaya, Brown was the younger of two sons of Dr. William Carnegie Brown, a specialist in tropical diseases, ...

commented that the music was in the best Viennese traditions, but "naturalisation papers have been taken out for the humour … all-British clowning." ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' wrote, "As musical comedy plots go, it is brilliant. The chief people in the cast are extremely good.""Lyric", ''The Observer'', 21 May 1922, p. 11 Reviewing the touring production, however,

Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Guardian''s cricket correspondent in 1919 and it ...

wrote: "The bulk of the score is sheer revue. … It is rather sad to find Mr. Derek Oldham, with his pleasant voice and tasteful manner, thrown away on fustian."Cardus, Neville, "Prince's Theatre", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 16 January 1923, p. 5

Notes

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External links

Pathé newsreel film of scenes from ''Whirled into Happiness''''Sky High''
at the IBDB database Compositions by Robert Stolz 1922 musicals West End musicals