''Teeth 'n' Smiles'' is a musical play written by David Hare.

Performances

The play was first performed at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

on 2 September 1975. It was subsequently revived at Wyndhams Theatre in May 1976 (directed by the playwright), at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

in October 1977 and at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...

in 2002.

Dramatis Personae and Casts

1975 cast. 1976 cast. 1977 cast. In a 1979 production in the USA, Maggie was played by

Ellen Greene Ellen Greene is an American actress and singer. She has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actress and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many ...

Plot

The play is set around the performances of a failing rock band fronted by lead singer Maggie Frisby at the

May Ball A May Ball is a ball (dance), ball at the end of the academic term, academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, w ...

on the night of 9 June 1969 at Jesus College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Music

The songs in the play were written by Nick Bicât (music) and Tony Bicât (lyrics) and were - * ''Close To Me'' * ''Passing Through'' * ''Yeah Yeah Yeah'' * ''Bastards'' * ''Let's Have A Party'' * ''Arthur's Song'' * ''Last Orders''

Trivia

During the initial run at the Royal Court,

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

turned up drunk at the stage door, joined Helen Mirren in her dressing room and told her how great the show was, and then tried to join the cast on stage before being stopped by the management. Helen Mirren's interpretation of Maggie was based on

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

. She said of the role at the time: “I’m very like Maggie in many ways, only she’s much more ballsy and gutsy than me. I endorse most of what Maggie says, in fact in many ways it’s difficult to talk about her because I feel so close to her.”Ward, Philip (2019). ''Becoming Helen Mirren''. Troubador. .

References

External links

Review of Teeth 'n' Smiles 1975/6Interview with Helen Mirren
1975 plays Plays by David Hare {{1970s-play-stub