''Lady Madcap'' 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, composed by Paul Rubens with a book by Paul Rubens and Nathaniel Newnham-Davis, and lyrics by Paul Rubens and

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 ...

. The story concerns a mischievous Earl's daughter who holds a ball at her father's castle without permission, pretends to be her own maid, and causes general confusion. The musical was first performed at 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 ...

, London, on 17 December 1904, under the management of

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 ...

, garnering highly favourable reviews. It ran for 354 performances, nearly a year, closing in November 1905.Wearing, p. 212
/ref> It starred

Adrienne Augarde Adrienne Adele Augarde (12 May 1882 – 17 March 1913) was an English actress and singer popular for nearly a decade on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, primarily for her roles in Edwardian musical comedy. She began her career in 1898 in pant ...

in the title role, and G. P. Huntley as Trouper Smith. Various changes were made to the cast during the run. Among those who appeared in the piece were

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 ...

Lily Elsie Elsie Cotton (''née'' Hodder, 8 April 1886 – 16 December 1962), known professionally as Lily Elsie, was an English actress and singer during the Edwardian era. She was best known for her starring role in the London premiere of Franz Lehár's ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It then toured in the British provinces, starring Studholme. In 1906 it ran 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 Stree ...

at the Casino Theatre as ''My Lady's Maid'' with Madge Crichton in the title role. It also received an Australian production.

Synopsis

Lady Betty, the daughter of an

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

, Lord Framlingham, is an innocent-looking but mischievous girl. Without her father's knowledge, she has invited the officers of the East Anglian Hussars to their home, Egbert Castle, for a day and night of entertainment. She forges two telegrams that send her father into town on some urgent political pretext and later his butler to follow him. Her father wisely locks her in her room during his absence, but her friend, Gwenny, and lady's maid, Susan, secures a ladder to help her to escape from the window. Although she detests wealth, Lady Betty is interested in a rich, eccentric young trooper, who calls himself Smith, and whose prowess at cricket have caught her eye. She disguises herself as a servant, and has Gwenny impersonate her, so that she can get close to Smith. Meanwhile, two men from the village, attracted by the Earl's advertisement for a rich man to court his daughter, arrive at the castle and mistake each of Gwenny and Susan for Lady Betty; they are both impostors pretending to be wealthy. Betty flirts with Smith and persuades him to pretend to be the butler, which he does, donning the butler's uniform. That evening at the servants' ball, class distinctions disappear, as the officers enjoy the entertainment and company of servants and gentry alike. Betty continues her flirtations with Smith and is well-pleased with the progress of her elaborate mischief. Lord Framlingham returns angrily but is soothed that his daughter's suitor is, at least, rich. The impostors are discovered, and all ends happily.

Roles and original cast

*Count de St. Hubert – Maurice Farkoa *Bill Stratford (''known as Stony Stratford'') – Aubrey Fitzgerald *Posh Jenkins (''his confederate'') –

Fred Emney Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1902 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian. Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1902 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: ...

*Colonel Layton (''of the East Anglian Hussars'') –

Leedham Bantock Leedham Bantock (born Ernest Leedham Sutherland Bantock; 18 May 1870 – 16 October 1928) was a British singer, Edwardian musical comedy actor, early film director, dramatist and screenwriter. In 1912 he became the first actor to portray Fa ...

*Major Blatherswaite (''of the East Anglian Hussars'') –

Dennis Eadie Dennis Eadie (14 January 1869 – 10 June 1928) was a British stage actor who also appeared in three films during the silent era. Eadie was a leading actor of the British theatre, appearing in plays by Edward Knoblauch and Louis N. Parker. In ...

*Captain Harrington (''of the East Anglian Hussars'') – J. Edward Fraser *Lieutenant Somerset (''of the East Anglian Hussars'') – Spencer Trevor *Lord Framlingham –

Herbert Sparling Herbert Sparling (1864–1944) was a British comedy and musical theatre actor and director. In 1889 Sparling was sued for breach of contract at Brompton County Court by the "dramatic author" Henry Plunkett Gratton (1808–1889), who alleged ...

*Corporal Ham (''of the East Anglian Hussars'') – George Carroll *Palmer (''butler to Lord Framlingham'') – Roy St. George *Old Huntsman – Richard Kavanagh *Trooper Smith (''of the East Anglian Hussars'') – G. P. Huntley *Gwenny Holden (''friend of Lady Betty'') – Delia Mason; later Nina Sevening and

*Susan (''lady's-maid to Lady Betty'') – Eva Sandford; later

Mabel Russell Mabel Philipson (née Russell; 2 January 1886 – 9 January 1951), known as Mrs Hilton Philipson when not on the stage, was a British actor and politician. Having starred in multiple plays in London, including a period as a Gaiety Girl, Philips ...

and

*Mrs. Layton (''Colonel Layton's wife'') –

Blanche Massey Blanche Massey (c. 1878? – 1929) was a Gaiety Girl and actress best known for her stage appearances in London and the United States in the 1890s. Among her appearances in many productions with the George Edwardes company, especially in Edwardian ...

*Lady Betty Clarridge (''Lord Framlingham's daughter – The "Madcap"'') –

; later Madge Crichton,

and

::Sources: ''The Times''"Prince of Wales' Theatre", ''The Times''. 19 December 1904, p. 7

J. P. Wearing John Peter Wearing (born c. 1945) is an Anglo-American theatre historian and professor, who has written numerous books and articles about nineteenth and twentieth-century drama and theatre, including ''The Shakespeare Diaries: A Fictional Autobi ...

and the original vocal score by Chappel & Co. (1905)

Musical numbers

;Act I – Garden at Egbert Castle. *No. 1. Chorus – "We're simple rustic folk, we are" (composed by

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 ...

) *No. 2. Octet – Footmen and Housemaids – "We're flunkeys high and haughty" *No. 3. Gwenny – "Pretty Primrose" *No. 4. Lady Betty and Gwenny – "Grace and Disgrace" *No. 5. Entrance of Yeomanry – "Here they are, don't you see?" *No. 6. Harrington and Chorus – "A way we have in the Army" *No. 7. Chorus – "Can this be true? We're fill'd with consternation" *No. 8. Bill and Posh – "Ow do you do, if you please?" *No. 9. Susan – "Nerves" *No. 10. Comte – "Do I like love?" *No. 11. Lady Betty and Girls – "My lady's maid" *No. 12. Chorus of Girls – "Archery" *No. 13. Comte and Gwenny – "My Comtesse" *No. 14. Finale Act I – "Oh! I am the pet of Mayfair" ;Act II – Hall at Egbert Castle. *No. 15. Gwenny – "Who? Who? Who?" *No. 16. Chorus of Page-Boys – "We're pert little, plump little page-boys" *No. 17. Betty – "Her little dog" *No. 18. Susan – "I don't seem to want you when you're with me" *No. 19. Comte – "I like you in velvet" *No. 20. Susan and Chorus – "The Missis" *No. 21. Octet – "Leap Year" *No. 22. Betty and Chorus – "In Scarlet Uniform" *No. 23. Colonel and Chorus – "The beetle and the Boot" *No. 24. Comte and Smith – "I loved her" *No. 25. Finale Act II – "See me in a scarlet uniform, as I go marching down the street" ;Addendum * Susan and Ham – "Two Little Pigs"

Reception

Reviewing the first night, the critic in ''

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 ...

'' commented that the piece was "a conspicuous success" and "fully up to the high standard we have been led to expect" from musical comedies presented by George Edwardes. There was praise for Rubens's music – "a high level of excellence" above the normal standard for the genre."Prince of Wales Theatre: 'Lady Madcap'", ''

'', 18 December 1904, p. 5 The reviewer for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' praised all the cast, singling out Adrienne Augarde as "a bright and mischievous Madcap", but commented that the main attraction for audiences was G. P. Huntley, for his comic performance in various disguises.

In popular culture

The lyric of the song "I like you in velvet" was used by

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

in his song (on the same title) on his album '' Waltz Darling''.

Notes

Sources

* Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1900–1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel'', Rowman & Littlefield (2013) {{ISBN, 0-8108-9293-6

External links

Song list and links to Midi files, lyrics and cast listMusical score to ''Lady Madcap''

Chappell & Co Chappell & Co. was an English company that published music and manufactured pianos. Founded by pianist Samuel Chappell, the company was one of the leading music publishers and piano manufacturers in Britain until 1980 when Chappell sold its reta ...

(1905)
Numerous photos from the showOriginal cast recording''My Lady's Maid''
at the Internet Broadway Database 1904 musicals West End musicals Original musicals British musicals