The Bing Boys Are Here
Encyclopedia
The Bing Boys Are Here, styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre
, London during the last two years of World War I
. The series included The Bing Boys on Broadway and The Bing Boys are There. The music for them was written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey
, who also contributed to Yes, Uncle!
, and the text was by George Grossmith, Jr.
and Fred Thompson
based on Rip and Bousquet's Le Fils Touffe. Other material was contributed by Eustace Ponsonby, Philip Braham
and Ivor Novello
.
The revue first opened on 19 April 1916 starring George Robey
and Violet Lorraine, famous for their introduction of the song "If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)
," and Alfred Lester (1894-1925). It was replaced, after 378 performances, on 24 February 1917 by The Bing Boys are There, with a different cast. It changed once again on 16 February 1918 to The Bing Boys on Broadway, with Robey returning to the cast. The total number of performances for all three reviews was well over 1,000, lasting beyond the Armistice in November 1918. Recordings were made for the Columbia label in London by members of the original cast (Columbia L-1035). Odette Myrtil
, playing her violin, also recorded "The Languid Melody" (Columbia L-1051).
The Bing Boys Are Here was one of the three most important musical hits of the London stage during World War I
(the other two being The Maid of the Mountains
and Chu Chin Chow
); music or scenes from all of these have been included as background in many films set in this period, and they remain intensely evocative of the "Great War" years. Other hit shows of the period were Theodore & Co
(1816), The Boy
(1917), and Yes, Uncle!
(1917). Audiences, which included soldiers on leave, wanted light and uplifting entertainment during the war, and these shows delivered it.
Songs from the reviews included:
, no.169, vol.XXVIII, "The Bing Boys are Here edition", London, 1916, p.50:
There is one characteristic feature about the new Alhambra Revue which sets it apart from most of its kind, inasmuch as it starts with a definite idea which is developed with a certain continuity that gives it a story that is coherent, and in which the leading characters play rôles that are intimately associated with the story of the piece.
In the prologue we are introduced to the Bing Boys on their native heath, that is, at Binghamton, and what more natural than that the boys should yearn for a more extensive view of life, and to that end inform their parents of their intention to visit London. The initiative is really due to Lucifer, who is a forward boy, while brother Oliver is of a timorous and retiring nature, of lugubrious voice and countenance, and inclined to a morbidly pensive train of thought.
The gay young Lucifer leaves one aching heart behind him, for Emma, the cook-general in the Bing household, has bestowed her youthful affections on the elder son of the house, and even Lucifer's affectionate farewell cannot charm away her sadness. Then she takes the momentous resolution of trying her luck in London, and she starts on a wayward career which eventually lands her into the Peerage, as the wife of the elderly Duke of Dullwater.
So it is that when Lucifer and Oliver make their entry into the Embankment Hotel we are not surprised - or should not be - to find Emma there in great form, and known as Miss Fuschia of Valparaiso. There is no mistaking the fact that the Bing Boys are seeing life, for a merrier set of people than those assembled in the Knickerbocker Room are seldom found under the roof of a cosmopolitan caravanserai.
Emma has now taken to the stage, and has won success under the nom de theatre of Mary McGay, and the Bing Boys, who seem to have the open sesame of the stage door of the Pall Mall Theatre, are being received by Miss McGay in her dressing-room. Lucifer is ardently enamoured of the attractive actress, and would tell her of his love, but Mary has the artistic temperament, and will be made love to after the manner of an operatic scena. Lucifer being deficient in vocal charm, places Oliver behind the screen to sing while he indulges in the actions and gestures of a fashionable tenor.
A visit to the Zoo naturally falls into the itinerary of the Bing Boys, and, of course, Miss Mary McGay has an equal right to go there if she is so minded. Needless to say the scene is a very picturesque representation of the Mappin Terraces and their occupants [including Phyllis Monkman attired as a cockerel, and members of the chorus as monkeys and lions, leopards and jaguars]. For the last scene, we are in the stately walls of Dullwater House, with Emma as the Duchess, and we may take it that the Bing Boys are considering the advisability of returning to the prosaic environment of Binghamton.
Such is the rough outline of a story that has as many details as an inventory, and not a single one of these details is anything but a source of amusement. Of course, much depends on the artists, and I do not think I have ever seen either Mr. George Robey or Mr. Alfred Lester to better advantage, while Miss Violet Loraine has absolutely topped her high professional reputation. The cast is full of clever people, and at the risk of being invidious, I must pay tribute to the delightful dancing of Miss Phyllis Monkman.
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
, London during the last two years of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The series included The Bing Boys on Broadway and The Bing Boys are There. The music for them was written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey
Clifford Grey
Clifford Grey was an English songwriter, actor, librettist and Olympic medalist. His birth name was Percival Davis, and he was also known as Clifford Gray, Tippi Gray, Tippi Grey, Tippy Gray and Tippy Grey.As a writer, Grey contributed prolifically to West End and Broadway shows, as librettist and...
, who also contributed to Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle! is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgen and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey...
, and the text was by 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...
and Fred Thompson
Fred Thompson (writer)
Frederick A. Thompson, usually credited as Fred Thompson was an English writer, best known as a librettist for about fifty British and American musical comedies from World War I to World War II. Among the writers with whom he collaborated were George Grossmith Jr., P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton and...
based on Rip and Bousquet's Le Fils Touffe. Other material was contributed by Eustace Ponsonby, Philip Braham
Philip Braham
Philip Braham was an English composer of the early twentieth century, chiefly associated with theatrical work.-Biography:...
and Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
.
The revue first opened on 19 April 1916 starring George Robey
George Robey
Sir George Edward Wade , better known by his stage name, George Robey, was an English music hall comedian and star. He was marketed as the "Prime Minister of Mirth".-Early life:...
and Violet Lorraine, famous for their introduction of the song "If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)
If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)
"If You Were the Only Girl " is a popular song written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey. The song was published in 1916. It was republished in 1946...
," and Alfred Lester (1894-1925). It was replaced, after 378 performances, on 24 February 1917 by The Bing Boys are There, with a different cast. It changed once again on 16 February 1918 to The Bing Boys on Broadway, with Robey returning to the cast. The total number of performances for all three reviews was well over 1,000, lasting beyond the Armistice in November 1918. Recordings were made for the Columbia label in London by members of the original cast (Columbia L-1035). Odette Myrtil
Odette Myrtil
Odette Myrtil was an American actress, singer, and violinist of French birth. She began her career as a violinist on the vaudeville stage in Paris at the age of 14. She expanded out into acting and singing, and had her first major success at the age of 18 on the London stage in the 1916 musical...
, playing her violin, also recorded "The Languid Melody" (Columbia L-1051).
The Bing Boys Are Here was one of the three most important musical hits of the London stage during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(the other two being The Maid of the Mountains
The Maid of the Mountains
The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W...
and Chu Chin Chow
Chu Chin Chow
Chu Chin Chow is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based on the story of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves...
); music or scenes from all of these have been included as background in many films set in this period, and they remain intensely evocative of the "Great War" years. Other hit shows of the period were Theodore & Co
Theodore & Co
Theodore & Co is an English musical comedy in two acts with a book by H. M. Harwood and George Grossmith, Jr. , with music by Ivor Novello and Jerome Kern and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Clifford Grey. It was produced by Grossmith and Edward Laurillard, opening at the Gaiety Theatre on 19 September...
(1816), The Boy
The Boy (musical)
The Boy is a musical comedy with a book by Fred Thompson and Percy Greenbank , music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot and lyrics by Greenbank and Adrian Ross...
(1917), and Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle!
Yes, Uncle! is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgen and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey...
(1917). Audiences, which included soldiers on leave, wanted light and uplifting entertainment during the war, and these shows delivered it.
Songs
- "In Other Words"
- "If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)"If You Were the Only Girl " is a popular song written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey. The song was published in 1916. It was republished in 1946...
" - "I stopped, I looked, and I listened"
- "The Right Side of Bond Street"
- "A Lady of a Thousand Charms"
- "The Kipling Walk"
- "Another little drink wouldn't do us any harm"
- "Dear Old Shepherds Bush"
- "I Start My Day Over Again" (Clock Song)
- "First Love, Last Love"
- "Yula Hicki Wicki Yacki Dula"
- "Let the Great Big World keep Turning"
- "Come round London"
- "Ragging The Dog"
- "The Kiss Trot Dance"
- "The Languid Melody"
- "The Whistler"
- "Miss Crinoline"
Synopsis
B.W. Findon wrote in The Play PictorialThe Play Pictorial
The Play Pictorial was an English theatrical magazine which was published in London between 1902 and 1939. It concentrated on providing a pictorial record of West End theatrical productions, each issue being devoted to a single show, with descriptions of the plot, the costumes and the sets, and...
, no.169, vol.XXVIII, "The Bing Boys are Here edition", London, 1916, p.50:
There is one characteristic feature about the new Alhambra Revue which sets it apart from most of its kind, inasmuch as it starts with a definite idea which is developed with a certain continuity that gives it a story that is coherent, and in which the leading characters play rôles that are intimately associated with the story of the piece.
In the prologue we are introduced to the Bing Boys on their native heath, that is, at Binghamton, and what more natural than that the boys should yearn for a more extensive view of life, and to that end inform their parents of their intention to visit London. The initiative is really due to Lucifer, who is a forward boy, while brother Oliver is of a timorous and retiring nature, of lugubrious voice and countenance, and inclined to a morbidly pensive train of thought.
The gay young Lucifer leaves one aching heart behind him, for Emma, the cook-general in the Bing household, has bestowed her youthful affections on the elder son of the house, and even Lucifer's affectionate farewell cannot charm away her sadness. Then she takes the momentous resolution of trying her luck in London, and she starts on a wayward career which eventually lands her into the Peerage, as the wife of the elderly Duke of Dullwater.
So it is that when Lucifer and Oliver make their entry into the Embankment Hotel we are not surprised - or should not be - to find Emma there in great form, and known as Miss Fuschia of Valparaiso. There is no mistaking the fact that the Bing Boys are seeing life, for a merrier set of people than those assembled in the Knickerbocker Room are seldom found under the roof of a cosmopolitan caravanserai.
Emma has now taken to the stage, and has won success under the nom de theatre of Mary McGay, and the Bing Boys, who seem to have the open sesame of the stage door of the Pall Mall Theatre, are being received by Miss McGay in her dressing-room. Lucifer is ardently enamoured of the attractive actress, and would tell her of his love, but Mary has the artistic temperament, and will be made love to after the manner of an operatic scena. Lucifer being deficient in vocal charm, places Oliver behind the screen to sing while he indulges in the actions and gestures of a fashionable tenor.
A visit to the Zoo naturally falls into the itinerary of the Bing Boys, and, of course, Miss Mary McGay has an equal right to go there if she is so minded. Needless to say the scene is a very picturesque representation of the Mappin Terraces and their occupants [including Phyllis Monkman attired as a cockerel, and members of the chorus as monkeys and lions, leopards and jaguars]. For the last scene, we are in the stately walls of Dullwater House, with Emma as the Duchess, and we may take it that the Bing Boys are considering the advisability of returning to the prosaic environment of Binghamton.
Such is the rough outline of a story that has as many details as an inventory, and not a single one of these details is anything but a source of amusement. Of course, much depends on the artists, and I do not think I have ever seen either Mr. George Robey or Mr. Alfred Lester to better advantage, while Miss Violet Loraine has absolutely topped her high professional reputation. The cast is full of clever people, and at the risk of being invidious, I must pay tribute to the delightful dancing of Miss Phyllis Monkman.