Morocco Bound
Encyclopedia
Morocco Bound is a farcical
English musical
in two acts by Arthur Branscombe, with music by F. Osmond Carr and lyrics by Adrian Ross
. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre
in London, on April 13, 1893, under the management of Fred J. Harris, and transferred to the Trafalgar Square Theatre on January 8, 1894, running for a total of 295 performances. A young George Grossmith, Jr.
(the son of George Grossmith
) was in the cast (where he made the most of the small role of Sir Percy Pimpleton by adding ad-libs), as was Letty Lind
. Harry Grattan
and Richard Temple later joined the cast.
This musical opened in the same year as Gilbert and Sullivan
's Utopia, Limited
and shared a number of features with that opera, including a distant, exotic locale, and both presented British archetypes as exemplars.http://www.library.unt.edu/theses/open/20032/hicks_william/thesis.pdf Morocco Bound crystallized the music-hall influenced "variety musical" form and was more representative than Utopia of the prevailing taste of London theatre audiences, which was turning away from comic opera
.
and an assortment of British characters to travel to Morocco
, where the Irishman had hopes of winning the right to sell theatre concessions. Once there, he fools the local Vizier into believing that his companions are representatives of "the flower of the British music hall" and eventually secures his business venture.
Act II - The Palace of Spoofah Beh in Old Tangier, Morocco
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
English musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in two acts by Arthur Branscombe, with music by F. Osmond Carr and lyrics by Adrian Ross
Adrian Ross
For the NFL player see Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes , better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre
Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...
in London, on April 13, 1893, under the management of Fred J. Harris, and transferred to the Trafalgar Square Theatre on January 8, 1894, running for a total of 295 performances. A young George Grossmith, Jr.
George Grossmith, Jr.
George Grossmith, Jr. was a British actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies...
(the son of George Grossmith
George Grossmith
George Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades...
) was in the cast (where he made the most of the small role of Sir Percy Pimpleton by adding ad-libs), as was Letty Lind
Letty Lind
Letitia Elizabeth Rudge, better known as Letty Lind , was an English actress, dancer and acrobat, best known for her work in burlesque at the Gaiety Theatre, and in musical theatre at Daly's Theatre, in London....
. Harry Grattan
Harry Grattan
Harry Grattan was a British stage actor, singer, dancer and writer best known for his performances in musical comedies around 1900.- Life and career :...
and Richard Temple later joined the cast.
This musical opened in the same year as Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances...
and shared a number of features with that opera, including a distant, exotic locale, and both presented British archetypes as exemplars.http://www.library.unt.edu/theses/open/20032/hicks_william/thesis.pdf Morocco Bound crystallized the music-hall influenced "variety musical" form and was more representative than Utopia of the prevailing taste of London theatre audiences, which was turning away from comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
.
Roles
- Spoofah Bey (An Irish Con-Man) - Mr. John L. Shine
- Squire Higgins (One Of The Nouveau-Riche) - Charles Danby
- Vivian Higgins (The Squire's Eldest Son) - Sydney Barraclough
- Dolly Higgins (Another Of The Squire's Sons) - Alfred C. Seymour
- Josiah Higgins (The Squire's Brother) - Herbert Sparling
- Lord Percy Pimpleton - George Grossmith Jr.
- Sid Fakah (Moroccan Grand Vizier) - Colin Coop
- Musket (A Servant) - Douglas Munro
- Maude Sportington (Dolly's Girl-Friend) - Letty LindLetty LindLetitia Elizabeth Rudge, better known as Letty Lind , was an English actress, dancer and acrobat, best known for her work in burlesque at the Gaiety Theatre, and in musical theatre at Daly's Theatre, in London....
- Ethel Sportington (Vivian's Girl-Friend) - Violet Cameron
- Comtesse De La Blague (Spoofah's Sister, A Phoney "Countess") - Jenny McNulty
- Lady Walkover (Maude's Friend) - Agnes Hewitt
- Rhea Porter (A Lady Journalist) - Marie StudholmeMarie StudholmeMarie Studholme , born Caroline Maria Lupton or Marion Lupton, was an English actress and singer known for her supporting and sometimes starring roles in Victorian and Edwardian musical comedy...
- Eva Sketchley - Eva Westlake
- Hilda Adlette - Ruby Temple
Synopsis
An Irish adventurer enlists the help of a retired costermongerCostermonger
Costermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention...
and an assortment of British characters to travel to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, where the Irishman had hopes of winning the right to sell theatre concessions. Once there, he fools the local Vizier into believing that his companions are representatives of "the flower of the British music hall" and eventually secures his business venture.
Musical numbers
Act I - Mokeleigh Hall, an English stately home- No. 1 - Opening Chorus - "England is diversified by eligible mansions..."
- No. 2 - Song - Musket - "I've serv'd the boards of 'aughty lords..." (three verses)
- No. 3 - Duet - Maude & Lady Walkover - "The latest social appetite, of course, you know..."
- No. 4 - Song - Ethel - "When maidens fair in days of old..."
- No. 5 - Song - Spoofah - "If I had cash to cut a dash, I'd run as straight as any..."
- No. 6 - Duet - Comtesse & Spoofah - "In pastoral seclusion how happily we'll fare..."
- No. 7 - Chorus - "Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for the Squire..."
- No. 8 - Song - Squire ("Honesty Jim") - "I never 'ad friends for to foster, or give me a show at a stall..."
- No. 9 - Chorus and Solos - Vivian & Squire - "Gladly greet our future master, welcome home our coming lord..."
- No. 10 - Song - Ethel - "If I were a royal lady, and he were of low degree..."
- No. 11 - Trio and Dance - Spoofah, Squire & Josiah - "The thought of ev'ry Englishman, who's not a Laboucherian..."
- No. 12 - Song - Vivian - "Stars come out in the skies that darken, silent above..."
- No. 13 - Pas Seul
- No. 14 - Duet - Ethel & Vivian - "There's a word, or possibly two..."
- No. 15 - Song - Spoofah & Chorus - "I have stay'd for a time at each palace sublime..."
- No. 16 - Finale Act I - "I'll tell you what I'll do..."
Act II - The Palace of Spoofah Beh in Old Tangier, Morocco
- No. 1 - Opening Chorus Act II - "Fareshah! Fareshah! Fareshah! Mareshah! Chareshah oum!..."
- No. 2 - Song - Vizier, with Chorus - "I am the very Grand Vizier, to all the land extremely dear..."
- No. 2a - "Morocco Boot" - Grotesque Exit
- No. 3 - Scene and Song - Squire, with Chorus - "My lord, it comes..."
- No. 4 - Song - Vivian - "Light of love that only made my life so bright..."
- No. 5 - Chorus - "Once more we have the leave to enter in procession..."
- No. 6 - Song - Maude and Chorus - "I'm the queen of merry Monaco, known to all the visitors who go..."
- No. 7 - Drinking Song (singer unspecified) - "Oh, morning bids the hunter wake and blow the merry horn..."
- No. 8 - Song - Spoofah and Chorus - "I will tell you all that happen'd to the thranscendental plan..."
- No. 9 - Cymbal Dance - Pas Seul
- No. 10 - Duet - Squire and Spoofah - "If you go to a swell Music Hall..."
- No. 11 - Concerted Piece - Finale - The Red Morocco Boot - "If you should ask for our advice..."
External links
- Midi files, lyrics and opening cast list
- Brief profile of Morocco Bound
- http://www.library.unt.edu/theses/open/20032/hicks_william/thesis.pdfDiscusses the musical as compared with The Nautch GirlThe Nautch Girlthumb|right|250px|Solomon , with Gilbert and Sullivan irate at his success at the SavoyThe Nautch Girl, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore is a comic opera in two acts, with a book by George Dance, lyrics by Dance and Frank Desprez and music by Edward Solomon...
and Utopia, LimitedUtopia, LimitedUtopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances...
] - Information about London productions that opened in 1893