Buttons (pantomime)
Encyclopedia
Buttons is the name of a character in the Cinderella
pantomime
. Buttons is the servant of Cinderella's father, Baron Hardup, and is Cinderella's friend. He is often in love with Cinderella and is constantly trying to express his feelings to her, only for her to remain unaware of his love for her or she simply replies she loves him only as the brother she never had.
Buttons is a strong comedy part and tells many jokes to keep the audience amused and to cheer up the mistreated Cinderella. Often these jokes are insults directed at Cinderella's two ugly sisters
, either to their faces or behind their backs and infuriating them. When Cinderella marries Prince Charming, Buttons is at first upset she does not love him, but soon grows happy for her and goes to live with her at the palace. Often he is best man at her wedding. In other versions he too finds love with a local village girl who plays a minor role or sometimes if the Fairy Godmother has an assistant, he will find love with her and also marry her. In Stuart Paterson's Christmas play, "Cinderella", based on the panto, Cinderella does not marry the handsome Prince, a vain, spoilt brat, but marries Callum the kitchen boy, the Buttons figure in this version of the story. Callum was enslaved as a kitchen boy by the King, Cinderella's father, after a war with a neighbouring kingdom; Callum is the prince of that kingdom.
He is often dressed in a traditional red or blue bellboy's costume with polished buttons down his front and a pillbox hat. Before he gained his set name, he was called Chips or Pedro. The name Buttons came from the nickname given to Victorian pageboys, whose costume the pantomime character wears. It is interesting to note, that the Spanish name for a Pageboy is Butones.
During the mid-1950s, Danny Kaye
visited Australia
, where he played the part of "Buttons" in a Cinderella pantomime in Sydney
.
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. Buttons is the servant of Cinderella's father, Baron Hardup, and is Cinderella's friend. He is often in love with Cinderella and is constantly trying to express his feelings to her, only for her to remain unaware of his love for her or she simply replies she loves him only as the brother she never had.
Buttons is a strong comedy part and tells many jokes to keep the audience amused and to cheer up the mistreated Cinderella. Often these jokes are insults directed at Cinderella's two ugly sisters
Ugly sisters
The ugly sisters are characters in the fairy tale and pantomime, Cinderella. They are the daughters of Cinderella's cruel stepmother, who treat her poorly...
, either to their faces or behind their backs and infuriating them. When Cinderella marries Prince Charming, Buttons is at first upset she does not love him, but soon grows happy for her and goes to live with her at the palace. Often he is best man at her wedding. In other versions he too finds love with a local village girl who plays a minor role or sometimes if the Fairy Godmother has an assistant, he will find love with her and also marry her. In Stuart Paterson's Christmas play, "Cinderella", based on the panto, Cinderella does not marry the handsome Prince, a vain, spoilt brat, but marries Callum the kitchen boy, the Buttons figure in this version of the story. Callum was enslaved as a kitchen boy by the King, Cinderella's father, after a war with a neighbouring kingdom; Callum is the prince of that kingdom.
He is often dressed in a traditional red or blue bellboy's costume with polished buttons down his front and a pillbox hat. Before he gained his set name, he was called Chips or Pedro. The name Buttons came from the nickname given to Victorian pageboys, whose costume the pantomime character wears. It is interesting to note, that the Spanish name for a Pageboy is Butones.
During the mid-1950s, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
visited Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where he played the part of "Buttons" in a Cinderella pantomime in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.