Free as Air
Encyclopedia
Free as Air is a musical with lyrics by Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade
and music by Julian Slade. They are the same team responsible for the much better known musical Salad Days, although Free as Air is said to be "more slick and professional by some critics". The musical is still performed, particularly by amateur companies with large casts and choruses.
before moving to the West End
at the Savoy Theatre
on 6 June 1957, where it ran for 417 performances, quite a good run at that time. The musical was directed by Denis Carey
. The original cast recording plus bonus tracks is available on CD from Sepia records.
Free as Air is an original story of two days in May on Terhou, a minor "and totally fictitious" Channel Island
, based on Jethou
, the private island leased at the time by Compton Mackenzie
.
The Terhou boat returns from its monthly visit to the mainland bringing the usual imports—and a stranger, Geraldine (Nothing But Sea and Sky). The Islanders meet her and unload the boat (The Boat's In).
Geraldine is welcomed as a possible solution to the coronation problem but her presence disturbs Molly, an island girl.
Molly gazes past the horizon and yearns for a man as handsome as Geraldine is beautiful (A Man From The Mainland).
Albert, Lord Paul's nephew, shows Geraldine round the island. She tells him she is wealthy and has run away from a suitor, Jack Amersham, and from the paparazzi, which have made her unwillingly famous. The Islanders legally adopt her and teach her the Coronation song (Free As Air).
Geraldine feels safe but on Jersey her absence has been discovered by Jack Amersham and by Ivy Crush, the press reporter who has been detailed to shadow her.
Jack lightly mourns Geraldine’s escape and of all the other girls in his life (Her Mummy Doesn't Like Me Any More). Meanwhile Lord Paul has run away in a frenzy to Jersey: he has tried to propose to Miss Catamole and been laughed at and humiliated. Easy prey, he is persuaded to take Jack and Ivy to Terhou.
Geraldine's privacy and the peace of Terhou are threatened (The Girl From London).
The Island girls, led by Molly, fall in love with Jack on sight (A Man From The Mainland). Geraldine tells Jack she can never marry him and there is a gently growing sympathy between her and Albert (I'd Like To Be Like You).
Lord Paul, captivated by Ivy's admiration of him, shows her round the Island. The Islanders sing her a folk song which tells the story of the Roman occupation (Testudo).
Jack half-responds to Molly's uninhibited advances and consents to take her to London (I've Got My Feet On The Ground).
Ivy almost persuades the Islanders to turn Terhou into a lucrative pleasure resort; Geraldine, Jack and Albert point out what their life would be like (Holiday Island) and the Islanders realise that Ivy is a menace and imprison her. But it is too late: she reveals that she has already reported to her newspaper and Geraldine, broken-hearted, leaves the island to save it from publicity.
She meets the reporters on Jersey
(Geraldine). The islanders appear, posing as Geraldine's relations among whom she has divided her money. The reporters think she is now penniless and lose interest. Geraldine is safe to return to Terhou.
Mr. Potter, coached by Geraldine, has proposed to Miss Catamole after fifteen years' procrastination (We're Holding Hands). Ivy is forgiven and consents to marry Lord Paul. The Coronation Ceremony takes place with Geraldine as Queen (Terhou).
Molly, after a glimpse of the mainland, decides to stay where she is; Jack leaves Terhjou on his own.
Act 2
Julian Slade
Julian Penkivil Slade was an English writer of musical theatre best known for the show Salad Days, which he wrote in six weeks in 1954 and became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s with over 2,288 performances....
and music by Julian Slade. They are the same team responsible for the much better known musical Salad Days, although Free as Air is said to be "more slick and professional by some critics". The musical is still performed, particularly by amateur companies with large casts and choruses.
Production
Free as Air opened at the Opera House in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
before moving to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
on 6 June 1957, where it ran for 417 performances, quite a good run at that time. The musical was directed by Denis Carey
Denis Carey
Denis Carey was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles.Some of Carey's notable appearances include Dennis Potter's 1968 television series A Beast with Two Backs, Elizabeth R, I, Claudius and The Barchester Chronicles...
. The original cast recording plus bonus tracks is available on CD from Sepia records.
Free as Air is an original story of two days in May on Terhou, a minor "and totally fictitious" Channel Island
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, based on Jethou
Jethou
Jethou is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased, and not open to the public.It is immediately south of Herm and has an area of approximately .-History:...
, the private island leased at the time by Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
.
Synopsis
The islanders arise early to prepare for their annual Independence Day (I'm Up Early). They discover there is no young lady to be the Queen in their Coronation Ceremony because everyone has played the part before. Parliament (Lord Paul, Mr Mutch, Mr Potter) proposes a new law but the members are glad of an excuse to stop work (Let The Grass Grow).The Terhou boat returns from its monthly visit to the mainland bringing the usual imports—and a stranger, Geraldine (Nothing But Sea and Sky). The Islanders meet her and unload the boat (The Boat's In).
Geraldine is welcomed as a possible solution to the coronation problem but her presence disturbs Molly, an island girl.
Molly gazes past the horizon and yearns for a man as handsome as Geraldine is beautiful (A Man From The Mainland).
Albert, Lord Paul's nephew, shows Geraldine round the island. She tells him she is wealthy and has run away from a suitor, Jack Amersham, and from the paparazzi, which have made her unwillingly famous. The Islanders legally adopt her and teach her the Coronation song (Free As Air).
Geraldine feels safe but on Jersey her absence has been discovered by Jack Amersham and by Ivy Crush, the press reporter who has been detailed to shadow her.
Jack lightly mourns Geraldine’s escape and of all the other girls in his life (Her Mummy Doesn't Like Me Any More). Meanwhile Lord Paul has run away in a frenzy to Jersey: he has tried to propose to Miss Catamole and been laughed at and humiliated. Easy prey, he is persuaded to take Jack and Ivy to Terhou.
Geraldine's privacy and the peace of Terhou are threatened (The Girl From London).
The Island girls, led by Molly, fall in love with Jack on sight (A Man From The Mainland). Geraldine tells Jack she can never marry him and there is a gently growing sympathy between her and Albert (I'd Like To Be Like You).
Lord Paul, captivated by Ivy's admiration of him, shows her round the Island. The Islanders sing her a folk song which tells the story of the Roman occupation (Testudo).
Jack half-responds to Molly's uninhibited advances and consents to take her to London (I've Got My Feet On The Ground).
Ivy almost persuades the Islanders to turn Terhou into a lucrative pleasure resort; Geraldine, Jack and Albert point out what their life would be like (Holiday Island) and the Islanders realise that Ivy is a menace and imprison her. But it is too late: she reveals that she has already reported to her newspaper and Geraldine, broken-hearted, leaves the island to save it from publicity.
She meets the reporters on Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
(Geraldine). The islanders appear, posing as Geraldine's relations among whom she has divided her money. The reporters think she is now penniless and lose interest. Geraldine is safe to return to Terhou.
Mr. Potter, coached by Geraldine, has proposed to Miss Catamole after fifteen years' procrastination (We're Holding Hands). Ivy is forgiven and consents to marry Lord Paul. The Coronation Ceremony takes place with Geraldine as Queen (Terhou).
Molly, after a glimpse of the mainland, decides to stay where she is; Jack leaves Terhjou on his own.
Musical numbers
- I'm Up Early (Molly and Islanders)
- Let The Grass Grow (Mutch, Potter and Lord Paul)
- Nothing But Sea And Sky (Geraldine)
- The Boat's In (Islanders)
- A Man From The Mainland (Molly)
- Free As Air (Albert, Geraldine and Islanders)
- Daily Echo (Ivy)
- Her Mummy Doesn't Like Me Any More (Jack and Chorus)
- The Girl From London (The Company)
- A Man From The Mainland (Reprise) (The Company)
Act 2
- A Man From The Mainland (Reprise) (Molly, Jack and Island Girls)
- I'd Like To Be Like You (Albert and Geraldine)
- Testudo (Mutch, Molly, Bindweed and Islanders)
- Feet On The Ground (Molly and Jack)
- Holiday Island (Ivy, Geraldine, Jack, Albert and Islanders)
- Geraldine (The Reporters)
- Free to Sing (Reprise) (Chorus)
- We're Holding Hands (Potter and Miss Catamole)
- Terhou (Molly and Company)
- Finale and Reprises (The Company)
Original Cast
- Molly - Patricia BredinPatricia BredinPatricia Bredin is a British actress and one-time singer from Hull, England, who was best known as the very first United Kingdom representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt, and finished in seventh place out of ten entries with the song All,...
- Mr Mutch - Roy Godfrey
- Mr Potter - Howard Goorney
- Miss Catamole - Dorothy Reynolds
- Lord Paul Postumous - Michael AldridgeMichael AldridgeMichael William ffolliott Aldridge was an English actor. While it was his role as Seymour in the television series Last of the Summer Wine which made him widely recognised, his long career as a successful character actor on stage and screen dated back to the 1930s.-Early life:The son of Dr...
- Albert Postumous - John Trevor
- Bindweed – Vincent Charles
- Gregory - Donald Bradley
- Connie - Joyce Carpenter
- Tom Ferrier - Bill Tasker
- Geraldine Melford - Gillian Lewis
- Ivy Crush – Josephine TewsonJosephine TewsonJosephine Tewson is an English actress. Tewson is perhaps best known for her roles as Elizabeth in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances and as Miss Davenport in the British television series Last of the Summer Wine.-Early life:Tewson was born in Hampstead, London. Her father was a...
- Jack Amersham – Gerald HarperGerald HarperGerald Harper is an actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in Adam Adamant Lives! and Hadleigh ....
- Reporters – Malcolm Farquhar, Len Rossiter, Raymond Parks
External links
- listing guidetomusicaltheatre.com
- "ON THE RECORD: Free As Air and Other "Musicals by Julian Slade; Judy Kuhn Sings Laura Nyro" playbill.com, Oct 28, 2007
- Slade bio filmreference.com