''London Calling!'' was a
musical revue
''Musical Revue'' is a live album featuring Prince Far I and Suns of Arqa released on ROIR Europe in 1988. The album was produced by Phil Rainford and features a live recording of Prince Far I with Suns of Arqa at Band on the Wall in Mancheste ...
, produced by
André Charlot
Eugène André Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French-born impresario known primarily for the musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He later worked as a character actor in numerous American films.
Born in ...
with music and lyrics by
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...
, which opened at the
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...
, London on 4 September 1923. It was Noël Coward's first publicly produced musical work. The song "Parisian Pierrot", sung by
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born in 1 ...
, was his first big hit and became one of his signature tunes.
Background
The basis of ''London Calling!'' began at the Swiss resort of
Davos
Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...
in Christmas 1922, when Coward joined his close friend and benefactor
Lord Lathom. In the words of Coward's biographer Cole Lesley:
After Charlot arrived Coward worked from the early mornings and presented his work to Lathom and Charlot in the afternoon. He recalled in his memoirs that "a series of cigar-laden conferences" decided the whole plan of the show, and provisionally cast Coward,
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born in 1 ...
and
Maisie Gay
Maisie Gay (born Maud Daisy Noble, 7 January 1878 – 13 September 1945), was an English actress and singer known for comic character roles in Edwardian musical comedies, including several by James T. Tanner, and in works by Noël Coward and musi ...
in the star roles. Coward, realising the magnitude of his task, agreed that Charlot could call in another writer if necessary.
Ronald Jeans
Ronald Jeans (10 May 1887 – 16 May 1973) was a British playwright with a career spanning nearly 50 years.
Early life
Ronald Jeans was born in Oxton, Merseyside, the younger son of Sir Alexander Grigor Jeans (1849–1924), the founder and ma ...
was later brought in to co-write the book and
Philip Braham
Philip Braham (18 June 1881 – 2 May 1934) was an English composer of the early twentieth century, chiefly associated with theatrical work. From 1914, he composed music for such musicals and revues as ''Theodore & Co'' (1916) and '' London Calli ...
, the musical director of the show, contributed to the musical numbers.
In London, plans advanced for staging the revue, but were disrupted when Coward realised that Charlot intended to pay him considerably less than his co-stars. He declined to appear on those terms; Charlot could not replace him because Coward had a contractual right of veto in casting and turned down all other suggestions for the leading man. Charlot gave way, and paid him a weekly wage of like his co-stars. Coward was out of practice as a dancer and obtained the help of
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...
, who was appearing at the
Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theat ...
in the
West End with his sister
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
. Astaire coached him privately "with unending patience and not too frightful results". Astaire subsequently choreographed two numbers for the show – a duet for Lawrence and Coward –"You Were Meant for Me" (words and music by
Noble Sissle
Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry".
Ea ...
and
Eubie Blake
James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...
) and a solo dance for Coward in "Sentiment" (words by Coward, music by Braham).
The revue sketches made light of London society at the time, with one sketch called "The Swiss Family Whittlebot" poking fun at
the Sitwells
The Sitwells (Edith Sitwell, Osbert Sitwell, Sacheverell Sitwell), from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough, North Yorkshire and the family seat of Renishaw Hall, were three siblings who formed an identifiable literary and artistic cliqu ...
, known for their avant-garde poetry and ideas. Charlot secured an exclusive licence for use of
Laurens Hammond
Laurens Hammond (January 11, 1895 – July 1, 1973) was an American engineer and inventor. His inventions include the Hammond organ, the Hammond Clock Company, Hammond clock, and the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer, the Novachor ...
's patented 3-D "Shadowgraph" process which was employed later in the run. ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' reported, "By means of this, the members of the audience, if they wear the specially coloured glasses provided for them, gain the impression that those on the stage are very much nearer than they actually are".
"London calling" was the
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
of
2LO radio – forerunner of the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
– inaugurated in May 1922. Charlot was a strong opponent of broadcasting, which he saw as a rival, and ''
The Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...
'' called him "cold and calculating" for giving his new revue its title "so that the wireless people will be compelled to give him a free advertisement every time they broadcast".
Productions
The revue, directed by
Herbert Mason
Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produ ...
, opened at the
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...
on 4 September 1923 and ran for 316 performances. It was twice revised during its run. Soon after it opened, Charlot agreed with the American producer
Archie Selwyn to present a revue on
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 Stre ...
compiled from the best numbers and sketches from Charlot shows of recent years and starring
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989) was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedy performer.
She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debut in 1914 and soon gain ...
,
Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1890 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Gr ...
and – to Coward's great regret – Lawrence, who had to leave the London show to sail to New York in December.
[Coward, p. 158]
Dorothy Clarke and
Joyce Barbour
Joyce Barbour (27 March 1901 – 16 March 1977) was an English actress. She was the wife of the actor Richard Bird.
Barbour was born in Birmingham on 27 March 1901 the daughter of Horace and Miriam Barbour, her father was an assurance cler ...
replaced Lawrence and Eileen Molyneux for the second edition, starting on 1 December 1923. Coward provided two new numbers: "Temperamental Honeymoon" (for himself) and "I Prefer to be on the Safe Side" (for Barbour).
[Mander and Mitchenson, p. 77] For the third edition only Maisie Gay remained of the original stars. The new cast included
Teddie Gerard
Teddie Gerard (born Teresa Cabre, May 2, 1890''Teddie Gerard Engaged'', New York Times, October 24, 1928, pg.27. – August 31, 1942) was an Argentine film actress''Miss Teddie Gerard'', New York Times, September 2, 1942, pg. 23. and entertain ...
, A. W. Baskomb and Lance Lister. Coward wrote two more new numbers: "When we were Girls" (for Gay and Baskomb) and "A Spanish Grandee" (for Gerard).
[
]
Songs
Original run
*"Tamarisk Town" (Coward) – Gertrude Lawrence
*"Other Girls" (Coward) – Noël Coward and chorus
*"When My Ship Comes Home" (Coward) – Winifred Satchell
*"Carrie" (Coward) – Lawrence
*"There's Life in the Old Girl Yet" (Coward) – Maisie Gay and chorus
*"Russian Blues" (Coward) – Coward, Eileen Molyneux, Childs Brothers, Dolores Sisters, Betty Nicholas and chorus
*"Prenez Garde, Lisette" (Coward) – Gay
*"You Were Meant For Me" (Sissle and Blake) – Lawrence and Coward
*"Sentiment" (Philip Braham and Coward) –Coward
*"Parisian Pierrot" (Coward) –Lawrence
*"What Love Means to Girls Like Me" (Coward) – Gay
*"Follow a Star" (Coward) – Lawrence and company
Additions
Second edition, 1 December 1923
*"Temperamental Honeymoon" (Coward) – Coward and chorus
*"I Prefer to be on the Safe Side" – Joyce Barbour
Third edition, 26 February 1924
*"When We Were Girls Together" (Coward) – Maisie Gay and chorus
*"A Spanish Grandee" (Coward) – Teddie Gerard and chorus
Reception
Reviews were highly favourable. ''The Times'' commented:
The critic in ''The Eastern Post'' wrote:
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
1923 musicals
Revues
West End musicals
Musicals by Noël Coward
British musicals
Musicals set in London