The Catch of the Season
Encyclopedia
The Catch of the Season is an Edwardian musical comedy
by Seymour Hicks
and Cosmo Hamilton
, with music by Herbert Haines
and Evelyn Baker and lyrics by Charles H. Taylor
, based on the fairy tale Cinderella
. It was produced by Agostino and Stefano Gatti and American Charles Frohman
at the Vaudeville Theatre
in London, opening on 9 September 1904 and running for a very successful 621 performances. The production starred Zena Dare
as Angela, because Hicks' wife Ellaline Terriss
was pregnant. Later Terriss played the role for a time, ceding it to Dare's sister, Phyllis Dare
. It also starred Hicks and Louie Pounds
. Belgian-American actress Camille Clifford
, who played Sylvia Gibson, became perhaps the most famous "Gibson Girl
".
Frohman produced the musical on both sides of the Atlantic, and one year after the premiere, with the London production still running, he exported the The Catch of the Season to Daly's Theater in New York, where Edna May
starred with an English supporting cast and a chorus of English and French "Gibson Girls". The score was supplemented with numerous interpolations, principally by American music director William T. Francis and also by Jerome Kern
.
Other international productions followed. In Budapest The Catch of the Season was translated as A bálkirálynő by Jenő Heltai in 1907. The Australian premiere was at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney
in 1909. In Vienna Die Ballkönigin, translated by Fritz Lunzer and actor Karl Tuschl, was mounted twice in 1913, first at the Sommertheater Venedig in Wien, then as a holiday entertainment at the Theater an der Wien
. London revivals included a 1917 production at the Prince's Theatre.
The story concerns Lady Caterham's stepdaughter Angela, who is a debutante about to 'come out' and is 'the catch of the season'. She becomes engaged to the young rake, Lord St. Jermyns, although she really loves the page, Bucket. Honoria Bedford, Lady Crystal's younger daughter, who is about to 'come out', has taken up smoking, which in 1904 was considered very shocking.
Broadway score (music by Haines and Baker and lyrics by Taylor, except as noted):
Act I
Act II
The Broadway score cut the following songs by Haines, Baker and Taylor (except as noted) that had been included in the British production:
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
by Seymour Hicks
Seymour Hicks
Sir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
and Cosmo Hamilton
Cosmo Hamilton
Cosmo Hamilton , born Henry Charles Hamilton Gibbs, was an English playwright and novelist. He took his mother's maiden name when he began to write. Hamilton was married twice: First to Beryl Faber, née Beryl Crossley Smith, the sister of C...
, with music by Herbert Haines
Herbert Haines
Herbert Haines was a British composer of musicals and songs, including some pieces for silent films, in the early years of the 20th century.Haines's musicals, most by Seymour Hicks, with lyrics by Charles H...
and Evelyn Baker and lyrics by Charles H. Taylor
Charles H. Taylor (lyricist)
Charles Henry Taylor was a British lyricist, best known for his lyrics for early 20th century West End musical comedies and a comic opera, Tom Jones.-Life and career:...
, based on the fairy tale Cinderella
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...
. It was produced by Agostino and Stefano Gatti and American Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....
at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
in London, opening on 9 September 1904 and running for a very successful 621 performances. The production starred Zena Dare
Zena Dare
Zena Dare was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of the 20th century, and for her role as Mrs...
as Angela, because Hicks' wife Ellaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss, born Ellaline Lewin , was a popular English actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies...
was pregnant. Later Terriss played the role for a time, ceding it to Dare's sister, Phyllis Dare
Phyllis Dare
Phyllis Dare born Phyllis Constance Haddie Dones was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre in the first half of the 20th century....
. It also starred Hicks and Louie Pounds
Louie Pounds
Louisa Emma Amelia "Louie" Pounds was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical comedies and in mezzo-soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
. Belgian-American actress Camille Clifford
Camille Clifford
Camilla Antoinette Clifford was a Belgian-born stage actress and the most famous model for the "Gibson Girl" illustrations. Her towering coiffure and hourglass figure defined the Gibson Girl style....
, who played Sylvia Gibson, became perhaps the most famous "Gibson Girl
Gibson Girl
The Gibson Girl was the personification of a feminine ideal as portrayed in the satirical pen-and-ink-illustrated stories created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States.Some people argue that the...
".
Frohman produced the musical on both sides of the Atlantic, and one year after the premiere, with the London production still running, he exported the The Catch of the Season to Daly's Theater in New York, where Edna May
Edna May
Edna May Pettie , known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian Musical Comedies.- Life and career :...
starred with an English supporting cast and a chorus of English and French "Gibson Girls". The score was supplemented with numerous interpolations, principally by American music director William T. Francis and also 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...
.
Other international productions followed. In Budapest The Catch of the Season was translated as A bálkirálynő by Jenő Heltai in 1907. The Australian premiere was at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney
Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney
Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, refers to three theatres of the same name:One was a theatre which opened on 10 September 1887 and closed on 10 June 1933.It was located on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney, where Centrepoint stands today....
in 1909. In Vienna Die Ballkönigin, translated by Fritz Lunzer and actor Karl Tuschl, was mounted twice in 1913, first at the Sommertheater Venedig in Wien, then as a holiday entertainment at the Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
. London revivals included a 1917 production at the Prince's Theatre.
The story concerns Lady Caterham's stepdaughter Angela, who is a debutante about to 'come out' and is 'the catch of the season'. She becomes engaged to the young rake, Lord St. Jermyns, although she really loves the page, Bucket. Honoria Bedford, Lady Crystal's younger daughter, who is about to 'come out', has taken up smoking, which in 1904 was considered very shocking.
Roles and original cast
- Angela Crystal - Zena DareZena DareZena Dare was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of the 20th century, and for her role as Mrs...
- Duke of St. Jermyns - Seymour HicksSeymour HicksSir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
- Higham Montague - Stanley Brett
- William Gibson - Compton Coutts
- Sir John Crystal - Charles Daly
- Lady Crystal - Mollie Lowell
- Lady Caterham - Rosina Filippi
- Almeric Montpelier - Philip Desborough
- Lord DundrearyLord DundrearyLord Dundreary is a character of the 1858 British play Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor. He is the personification of a good-natured, brainless aristocrat. The role was created on stage by Edward Askew Sothern. The most famous scene involved Dundreary reading a letter from his even sillier...
- Sam Sothern - Captain Rushpool - Mervyn Dene
- Lord Yatton - Cecil Kinnaird
- Miss Caw - Barbara Deane
- Hon. Sophia Bedford - Ethel Matthews (Louie PoundsLouie PoundsLouisa Emma Amelia "Louie" Pounds was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical comedies and in mezzo-soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
later played the role) - Duchess of St. Jermyns - Ruby Ray
- Enid Gibson - Kate Vesey
- Princess Schowenhohen-Hohenschowen - Lily Maynier
- Clotilde - Helene Blanche
- Bucket - Master A. Valchera
- Honoria Crystal - Hilda Jacobsen
- Sylvia Gibson - Camille CliffordCamille CliffordCamilla Antoinette Clifford was a Belgian-born stage actress and the most famous model for the "Gibson Girl" illustrations. Her towering coiffure and hourglass figure defined the Gibson Girl style....
- Footmen, Guests, Gibson Girls, Bridesmaids
Musical numbers
Act I
- Tea and tittle tattle – Lady Crystal, Lord Yatton, Almeric Montpelier, Footmen and Chorus
- We've become the great attraction – Gibson Girls
- (It's) All Done by Kindness (Music by William T. Francis) – Mr. William Gibson
- I'll Be a Good Little Girl – Angela
- If I Were King of Babylon – Bucket
- (My Little) Buttercup (Music by Luke Forwood) – Angela
- Fairy attendants! – Clotilde, Angela, Lady Caterham and Assistants
Act II
- Every year there's somebody – Chorus
- Sylvia the Gibson Girl (Lyrics by Frank Compton, music by Hugh Rumbold) – Gibson Girls
- Seaweed (Music and Lyrics by Fred Earle) – Mr. William Gibson
- Hail! Miss O'Halloran – Chorus
- Molly O'Halloran (Music and Lyrics by Jerome Kern) – Angela
- A Little Bit of Dinner (with a Friend) (Music by William T. Francis) – Lord Yatton
- Suppose – Angela and The Duke of St. Jermyns
- Auf Wiedersehn (Lyrics by Vernon Roy, music by William T. Francis) – Talleur Andrews
- The Church Parade – The Duke of St. Jermyns
- Back to Harrow (Lyrics by J. J. Montague, music by William T. Francis) – Mr. William Gibson and Lord Yatton
- Rainbow (Lyrics by Fred W. Leigh, music by Henry E. Pether) – Angela
- Rosy Petals We Will Shower (Music by William T. Francis)
- Cinderella! You Have Won! (Music by William T. Francis) – Angela
The Broadway score cut the following songs by Haines, Baker and Taylor (except as noted) that had been included in the British production:
- "Raining"
- "Won't You Kiss Me Once Before You Do?" (by Kern and Harris)
- "Cupid is the Captain of the Army" (by Dave Reed, Jr.)
- "Around the World (by Cass Freeborn and Grant Stewart)
- "Cigarette"
- "The Charms on My Chain"