The Beauty Prize
Encyclopedia
The Beauty Prize is a musical comedy
in three acts, with music by Jerome Kern
, book and lyrics by George Grossmith
and P. G. Wodehouse
. It was first produced by Grossmith and J A E Malone on 5 September 1923 at the Winter Garden Theatre
, Drury Lane
, London
. It was designed to replace The Cabaret Girl
, which the same team had produced with great success the previous year, at the same theatre and with predominantly the same cast, but failed to achieve the same success. The review of the first night performance in The Times described it as: The show ran for a total of 214 performances, closing on 8 March 1924.
The Beauty Prize received its first American production when it was presented in a concert-style staging by Musicals Tonight! at the 45th Street Theatre, New York, from 26 April to 8 May 2005.
John Brooke is a wealthy young Englishman. Carol Stuart is the daughter of James K Stuart, a rich American. Meeting at a charity ball, each is attracted to the other, but pretends to be poor, a deception that continues even after they have become engaged.
Act 1:
Scene 1: The Supper Room at Carl’s Private Club
The girls discuss a newspaper beauty competition in which the winner will receive a substantial cash prize, plus a husband. John arrives and tells his secretary, Flutey, that he and Carol have set a date for their wedding, but is startled to see Carol's photograph in the newspaper as an entrant in the beauty competition. He does not know that Carol's portrait has been entered, without her knowledge, by Lovey Toots, a milliner's assistant who is an admirer of Carol's.
Scene 2: Carol Stuart’s Home, Kensington - A few days later
Carol's servants and friends are preparing for her wedding when Odo Philpotts arrives at her Kensington apartment. she has won the newspaper competition and he is the prize. Meanwhile, Mrs Hexal, Carol's chaperone—who had hoped to win John for herself and who sees it as her duty to separate Carol from her seemingly impecunious fiancé—has learnt from the morning newspaper that Carol has won the beauty competition; she reveals to John that Carol is a wealthy heiress and manages to insinuate that it was Carol herself who entered the competition, seeking a husband. John is incensed and, believing that Carol has tricked him and that he was nothing more than her latest "purchase", he upbraids her. She, in turn, is angered by his attitude and, in a fit of pique, announces that she will marry Odo. John retaliates by threatening to marry Lovey, unaware that she and Odo are mutually attracted to each other.
Act 2:
On board the SS Majestania - A few days later
All the principal characters are on board the Majestania, apparently bound for Carol's home in Florida. Odo has established himself as the life and soul of the party, organising events, winning all the sports contests, and finding ample time to pursue his interest in Lovey. Carol cannot abide him, and John feels the same about Lovey; they argue whenever they meet, but are clearly still in love and regretting their hasty action on the morning of their intended wedding. Flutey sees a way of resolving the situation: he suggests that each, without telling the other, should bribe the wireless operator to deliver to them a phony telegram announcing that their fortune has been lost in a financial crisis; this will restore the situation to what they understood it to be when they first met, thus removing the obstacle to their reconciliation. But Flutey has reckoned without Odo, who nobly announces that he and Lovey are engaged to Carol and John respectively and will not abandon them just because they are now impoverished.
Act 3:
Gardens of James Stuart’s Home, Long Island - A few days later
In a brisk denouement, Carol and John confess that they are not really ruined, and are reconciled; Odo and Lovey, released from their engagements, can look forward to life together in a little cottage in Kent
; and Flutey finds a new position as personal secretary to Carol's father.
Act 2
Act 3
The lyrics of The Beauty Prize included a number of allusions to popular fads of the day: beauty competitions, mah-jong
, and endurance dancing; while "Meet me down on Main Street", with its refrain "Oh, won't you meet me down on Main Street / Where the George F Babbits grow", explicitly referenced Sinclair Lewis
's 1922 novel, Babbitt
.
"Non-stop dancing", with its references to "Grandma" dancing, also echoes an earlier Wodehouse work:
'George' in this exchange is the novel's composer hero, George Bevan, who is thought to have been modelled on Jerome Kern. As with the previous year's The Cabaret Girl, some of the songs from The Beauty Prize reappeared in later Kern works: "Moon love" became one version of "Sunshine" in Sunny
(1925) and "You can't make love by wireless" was rewritten as "Bow belles" for Blue Eyes (1929), while "You'll find me playing mah-jong" was reworked as "De land o' good times" in Kern's unpublished (and, hence, little-known) work Gentlemen Unafraid (1938).
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 three acts, with music by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, book and lyrics by George Grossmith
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...
and P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
. It was first produced by Grossmith and J A E Malone on 5 September 1923 at the Winter Garden Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
, Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was designed to replace The Cabaret Girl
The Cabaret Girl
The Cabaret Girl is a musical comedy in three acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by George Grossmith, Jr. and P. G. Wodehouse. It was produced by Grossmith and J. A. E...
, which the same team had produced with great success the previous year, at the same theatre and with predominantly the same cast, but failed to achieve the same success. The review of the first night performance in The Times described it as: The show ran for a total of 214 performances, closing on 8 March 1924.
The Beauty Prize received its first American production when it was presented in a concert-style staging by Musicals Tonight! at the 45th Street Theatre, New York, from 26 April to 8 May 2005.
Synopsis
The plot of The Beauty Prize involves two pairs of lovers who are kept apart by a succession of complications, before everything is satisfactorily resolved in the final act.John Brooke is a wealthy young Englishman. Carol Stuart is the daughter of James K Stuart, a rich American. Meeting at a charity ball, each is attracted to the other, but pretends to be poor, a deception that continues even after they have become engaged.
Act 1:
Scene 1: The Supper Room at Carl’s Private Club
The girls discuss a newspaper beauty competition in which the winner will receive a substantial cash prize, plus a husband. John arrives and tells his secretary, Flutey, that he and Carol have set a date for their wedding, but is startled to see Carol's photograph in the newspaper as an entrant in the beauty competition. He does not know that Carol's portrait has been entered, without her knowledge, by Lovey Toots, a milliner's assistant who is an admirer of Carol's.
Scene 2: Carol Stuart’s Home, Kensington - A few days later
Carol's servants and friends are preparing for her wedding when Odo Philpotts arrives at her Kensington apartment. she has won the newspaper competition and he is the prize. Meanwhile, Mrs Hexal, Carol's chaperone—who had hoped to win John for herself and who sees it as her duty to separate Carol from her seemingly impecunious fiancé—has learnt from the morning newspaper that Carol has won the beauty competition; she reveals to John that Carol is a wealthy heiress and manages to insinuate that it was Carol herself who entered the competition, seeking a husband. John is incensed and, believing that Carol has tricked him and that he was nothing more than her latest "purchase", he upbraids her. She, in turn, is angered by his attitude and, in a fit of pique, announces that she will marry Odo. John retaliates by threatening to marry Lovey, unaware that she and Odo are mutually attracted to each other.
Act 2:
On board the SS Majestania - A few days later
All the principal characters are on board the Majestania, apparently bound for Carol's home in Florida. Odo has established himself as the life and soul of the party, organising events, winning all the sports contests, and finding ample time to pursue his interest in Lovey. Carol cannot abide him, and John feels the same about Lovey; they argue whenever they meet, but are clearly still in love and regretting their hasty action on the morning of their intended wedding. Flutey sees a way of resolving the situation: he suggests that each, without telling the other, should bribe the wireless operator to deliver to them a phony telegram announcing that their fortune has been lost in a financial crisis; this will restore the situation to what they understood it to be when they first met, thus removing the obstacle to their reconciliation. But Flutey has reckoned without Odo, who nobly announces that he and Lovey are engaged to Carol and John respectively and will not abandon them just because they are now impoverished.
Act 3:
Gardens of James Stuart’s Home, Long Island - A few days later
In a brisk denouement, Carol and John confess that they are not really ruined, and are reconciled; Odo and Lovey, released from their engagements, can look forward to life together in a little cottage in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
; and Flutey finds a new position as personal secretary to Carol's father.
Cast
The original cast, in order of appearance, was:| Hon. Dud Wellington | Peter Haddon Peter Haddon Peter Haddon was an English actor born in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England.-Filmography:*The Second Mrs. Tanqueray – Sir George Orreyed*Moulin Rouge... |
|||
| Meadow Grahame | Dorothy Field | |||
| Mrs Hexal | Sheila Courtnay | |||
| Shinny Fane | Marjorie Spiers | |||
| Gypsy Lorrimole | Dorothy Hurst | |||
| Flutey Warboy | Private secretary to John Brooke | George Grossmith | ||
| John Brooke | Jack Hobbs | |||
| Manicure Girl | Kookoo Duncan | |||
| Shoe Girl | Monica Noyes | |||
| Lingerie Girl | Phyllis Garton | |||
| Hairdresser | Dorothy Deane | |||
| Flower Girl | Mignon Morenza | |||
| Dressmaker Girl | Beryl Murray | |||
| Glove Girl | Minette Corday | |||
| Parasol Girl | Phyllis Swinburne | |||
| Doreen | Eileen Seymour | |||
| Hector | Butler | Ernest Graham | ||
| Kitty Wren | Vera Lennox | |||
| Carol Stuart | Dorothy Dickson Dorothy Dickson Dorothy Dickson , was an American-born, London-based theater actress and singer.-Biography:Dickson is known mostly for her rendition of the Jerome Kern song "Look for the Silver Lining". She was also a member of the Ziegfeld Follies and made many appearances in New York and abroad... |
|||
| Lovey Toots | of the Maison Loie | Heather Thatcher Heather Thatcher Heather Thatcher was an English actress in theatre and motion pictures. She was from London.-Dancer:By 1922 Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes were designed in Russia. They featured stencil slits in the waist,... |
||
| Jones | a foundling | Claude Horton | ||
| Mr Odo Philpotts | Leslie Henson Leslie Henson Leslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career... |
|||
| Quartermaster | Leigh Ellis | |||
| James K Stuart | Carol's father | Arthur Finn | ||
| Pedro | William Parnis | |||
| Servant | Fred Whitlock | |||
| Marconi Boy | Winifred Shotter | |||
| Steward | Jack Glynn |
Musical numbers
Act 1- When you take the road with me - Gypsy and Ensemble
- Now that we are nearly through - Kitty, Hector and Ensemble
- What lovelier things a bride could adorn - Kitty and Girls
- Honeymoon Isle - Carol and Kitty
- I'm a prize - Odo and Carol
- It's a long, long day - Flutey
- Joy bells - Dud, Kitty, Men and girls
- Finale, Act I - Odo and Ensemble
Act 2
- You'll find me playing mah-jong - Ensemble
- You can't make love by wireless - Flutey and Carol
- Non-stop dancing - Odo
- That's what I'd do for the girl/man I love - John and Carol
- A cottage in Kent - Lovey and Odo
- Finale, Act 2 - Carol, John, Flutey, Boys and Girls
Act 3
- Opening chorus - Ensemble
- Meet me down on Main Street - Odo and Flutey
- Moon love - Carol and Men
- Finale - Company
The lyrics of The Beauty Prize included a number of allusions to popular fads of the day: beauty competitions, mah-jong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
, and endurance dancing; while "Meet me down on Main Street", with its refrain "Oh, won't you meet me down on Main Street / Where the George F Babbits grow", explicitly referenced Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
's 1922 novel, Babbitt
Babbitt (novel)
Babbitt, first published in 1922, is a novel by Sinclair Lewis. Largely a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity....
.
"Non-stop dancing", with its references to "Grandma" dancing, also echoes an earlier Wodehouse work:
'George' in this exchange is the novel's composer hero, George Bevan, who is thought to have been modelled on Jerome Kern. As with the previous year's The Cabaret Girl, some of the songs from The Beauty Prize reappeared in later Kern works: "Moon love" became one version of "Sunshine" in Sunny
Sunny (musical)
Sunny is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach. The plot involves Sunny, the star of a circus act, who falls for a rich playboy, but comes in conflict with his snooty family...
(1925) and "You can't make love by wireless" was rewritten as "Bow belles" for Blue Eyes (1929), while "You'll find me playing mah-jong" was reworked as "De land o' good times" in Kern's unpublished (and, hence, little-known) work Gentlemen Unafraid (1938).