''Twang!!'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with music and lyrics written by

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

and a book by Bart and Harvey Orkin, an American theatrical agent and former writer for '' The Phil Silvers Show''. When production faced issues, American writer Burt Shevelove was called on to help fix the book. The piece, a spoof of the character and legend of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, was a disastrous box-office failure and cost Bart his personal fortune. After a preview in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, ''Twang!!'' opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End on 20 December 1965 and closed on 29 January 1966 after just 43 performances, receiving scathing reviews and playing to mostly empty houses. Bart produced it with Bernard Delfont and John Bryan, and

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

directed but quit before it opened. She was replaced by Shevelove and Bart.Roper, p. 84 ''Twang!!'' is remembered as "the most expensive flop" in West End history up to that time.Feiner, Michael
"Bart's ''Twang!!'' – Most Expensive Flop in London"
''The Montreal Gazette'', 2 April 1966 In 2008, the Estate of

commissioned Julian Woolford to write a new book for the musical which was performed in 2013 at Guildford School of Acting. This version is now licensed through MTI.

Synopsis

Robin Hood and his Merry Men attempt to break into

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Normans, Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortr ...

, in a variety of preposterous disguises, in order to prevent a marriage between the nymphomaniac "court tart" Delphina and the hairy Scots laird Roger the Ugly, arranged for the purpose of securing the loan of Scottish troops for bad Prince John.Roper, p. 93 The new version is a " meta-musical" with a completely different plot. Robin Hood has lost his 'Twang' and is not the hero he once was. Much the Miller's Son arrives in Sherwood Forest having run away from home and is arrested by the sheriff. He is rescued by Robin and the Men before discovering that in Nottinghamshire life is a musical comedy. He falls in love with Delphina whilst Maid Marion helps Robin find his missing 'twang' before King Richard returns to re-establish order.

Roles and principal cast

*Alan-a-Dale – Elric Hooper *Sir Guy of Gisborne – Howard Goorney *Mystery Voice in "Unseen Hands" – Long John Baldry *Mutch – Kent Baker *Robin Hood –

James Booth James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Private Henry Hook in '' Zulu.'' ''Variety'' called him "a punchy b ...

*Little John – Bernard Bresslaw *Will Scarlett –

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

*Friar Tuck – Will Stampe *Sheriff of Nottingham – Bob Grant *Maid Marian – Toni Eden *Prince John –

Maxwell Shaw Maxwell Shaw (21 February 1929 – 21 August 1985 in London, England) was an actor, known for ''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' (1962), ''Once More, with Feeling!'' (1960) and ''BBC Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1950). He is best remembered for his televi ...

*Delphina –

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

*Roger the Ugly – Philip Newman

Production

The cast included the strongest players from Littlewood's

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West ...

, including

and

. But ''Twang!!'' ran into difficulty from the start. The script was weak, especially the part of Robin Hood, which was badly underwritten.Roper, p. 86 When Booth expressed his concerns, he was repeatedly assured that the part would be expanded to a starring role. Littlewood demanded a rewrite, but constant, confusing revisions failed to improve the script. Littlewood, the choreographer Paddy Stone, the designer Oliver Messel, and the writers failed to work together. Rehearsals were disorganised and fraught with tension; Bart was drinking; Littlewood threatened to walk out. At a rehearsal, Littlewood accused Bart of failing to fulfill his creative responsibilities because he was too strung-out on

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

.Roper, p. 88 Bart, in turn, accused Littlewood of ruining the piece.''Twang''
1965 shows, Over the Footlights, accessed 25 December 2012 A

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

tryout was scheduled and cancelled. A

preview opened on 3 November 1965 at the Palace Theatre with a script that was unfinished. Word of the disaster leaked to the tabloids. Littlewood quit the company, and a

script doctor A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elemen ...

, American Burt Shevelove, was brought in to fix the script and score, leading to more confusing changes, but nothing helped. The scenes had no relation to the songs, and ''Twang!!'' transferred to London preceded by continued bad press. The show opened in disarray at London's Shaftesbury Theatre on 20 December 1965. Still, Bart thought he could save the show. On opening night, the musical director, Ken Moule, collapsed of exhaustion and still had failed to orchestrate the second act. Two songs were cut in the hours before the curtain rose, and the piece was played for camp, even adding some transvestism. The house lights kept going up and down throughout the performance, and vicious arguments were overheard backstage. ''Twang!!'' garnered scornful and derisive reviews. The critics noted the lack of heroics and the pseudo-

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

delivery, although there were some effective musical sequences, including a scene around a gallows that became a

morris dance Morris dancing is a form of English folklore, English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A ban ...

around a maypole. Windsor also came in for some praise. The show had been intended as a romp that poked fun at the Crusades, the attitude of the Church and the human flaw of wanting to turn an outlaw into a hero. Orkin believed the show failed because they failed to establish the exact butt of that satire; it was too vague and inconsequential. Bart lost his personal fortune in ''Twang!!'' and was devastated by the failure of the show. So was Booth, who made no money for a year while preparing for it. For Ronnie Corbett, however, the failure of ''Twang!!'' was a lucky break – it meant he was free to participate in '' The Frost Report'', his breakthrough in television, and also the show where he first worked with

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', ...

. Orkin went on to be a regular on the short-lived '' Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life'', as well as vice-president of Columbia Pictures. He wrote the novel ''Scuffler'', which was praised by humorist S. J. Perelman and the actor

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

when it was published in 1974. When revived at the Union Theatre, London in 2018, the musical received some positive reviews. It was dubbed "a meta-musical with bags of heart" by ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

''.

Songs

;Act I *May a Man Be Merry – Alan-a-Dale *Welcome to Sherwood Forest – Robin, Mutch, Little John, Will, Friar Tuck, Alan-a-Dale *Wander – Robin, Marian *What Makes a Star? – Prince John, Heralds and Company *Make an Honest Woman f Me– Delphina, Crusaders' Wives *Roger the Ugly – Prince John, Sir Guy, Sheriff *To the Woods – Marian, Delphina *Dreamchild – Marian *With Bells On – Robin and Company *Sighs – Little John, Delphina, Alan-a-Dale *You Can't Catch Me! – Robin, Marian ;Act II *Living a Legend – Robin *Unseen Hands – Mystery Voice *Writing on the Wall – Delphina *Wander (reprise) – Marian, Robin *Roger the Ugly (reprise) – Prince John, Sir Guy, Sheriff, Sir Roger *Whose Little Girl Are You? – Delphina *Follow the Leader – Little John, Will, Alan-a-Dale, Mutch, Friar Tuck *I'll Be Hanged – Robin, Company *Tan-Ta-Ra! – Robin, Marian, Company A cast album, produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, was recorded and released in 1966 on the United Artists Records label on LP (no. ULP 1116). It was re-released in 1987 on the TER label (no. 1055) on LP and cassette. A CD-R pressing was sold in the U.S. exclusively through the online reseller Footlight in 2011. The recording includes a track called "Twang!!" at the beginning of side B.

Notes

References

*Roper, David (1994). ''Bart! The Unauthorized Life & Times, Ins and Outs, Ups and Downs of Lionel Bart'', Pavilion Books Ltd. *Corbett, Ronnie; David Nobbs (2006). ''And it's goodnight from him... The Autobiography of The Two Ronnies''. London: Penguin. . *Parker, Derek & Julia (1979). ''The Story & The Song''. Chappell & Co.

External links

''Twang!!''
at Theatricalia

at the Guide to Musical Theatre {{Robin Hood West End musicals 1965 musicals Robin Hood parodies