The Girls of Gottenberg
Encyclopedia
The Girls of Gottenberg is a musical play
in two acts by George Grossmith, Jr.
and L. E. Berman, with lyrics by Adrian Ross
and Basil Hood
, and music by Ivan Caryll
and Lionel Monckton
. P. G. Wodehouse
's personal papers indicate that he wrote the lyrics for one song, "Our Little Way", but this was not included in the libretto of show, and he was not credited as a lyricist.
The musical opened at the Gaiety Theatre
in London, managed by George Edwardes
, on 15 May 1907, and ran for 303 performances. It starred George Grossmith, Jr.
, Edmund Payne
and Gertie Millar
. The young Gladys Cooper
played the small role of Eva. The show also had a Broadway
run at the Knickerbocker Theatre
opening on 2 September 1908 and an Australian run. One of the best known songs from the show is "Berlin Is on the Spree".
Although this show was popular in London in 1907, it had competition from several very successful shows in that season, including the hit productions of The Merry Widow
and Miss Hook of Holland
.
Act I - Scene 2 - The Market Place, Gottenberg.
Act II - The Gardens of "The Red Hen," across the River, near Gottenberg.
Addenda.
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 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 L. E. Berman, with 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...
and Basil Hood
Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood was a British librettist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British army, writing theatrical pieces in his spare...
, and music by Ivan Caryll
Ivan Caryll
Félix Marie Henri Tilkin , better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language...
and Lionel Monckton
Lionel Monckton
Lionel John Alexander Monckton was an English writer and composer of musical theatre. He was Britain's most popular musical theatre composer of the early years of the 20th century.-Early life:...
. 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...
's personal papers indicate that he wrote the lyrics for one song, "Our Little Way", but this was not included in the libretto of show, and he was not credited as a lyricist.
The musical opened at the Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
in London, managed by George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
, on 15 May 1907, and ran for 303 performances. It starred 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...
, Edmund Payne
Edmund Payne
Edmund Payne , was an actor, comedian, singer and dramatist best known for his comic appearances in Edwardian Musical Comedy. His father was Edmund Payne, a master cabinet builder and his mother was Eliza Payne née Ince....
and Gertie Millar
Gertie Millar
Gertrude "Gertie" Millar was one of the most famous English singer-actresses of the early 20th century, known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies....
. The young Gladys Cooper
Gladys Cooper
Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
played the small role of Eva. The show also had a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
run at the Knickerbocker Theatre
Knickerbocker Theatre (Broadway)
The Knickerbocker Theatre — previously known as Abbey's Theatre and Henry Abbey's Theatre — was a Broadway theatre located at 1396 Broadway in New York City. It operated from 1893 to 1930...
opening on 2 September 1908 and an Australian run. One of the best known songs from the show is "Berlin Is on the Spree".
Although this show was popular in London in 1907, it had competition from several very successful shows in that season, including the hit productions of The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
and Miss Hook of Holland
Miss Hook of Holland
Miss Hook of Holland is an English musical comedy in two acts, with music and lyrics by Paul Rubens with a book by Austen Hurgon and Rubens. The show was produced by Frank Curzon and opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 31 January 1907, running for a very successful 462 performances...
.
Musical numbers
Act I - Scene 1 - The Barracks, Rottenberg.- No. 1 - Opening Chorus of Soldiers - "Ein! zwei! drei! Ein! zwei! drei! ..."
- No. 2 - Song - Fritz & Men's Chorus - "Of all the girls there is but one, no other can compare with her..."
- No. 3 - Trio & Dance - Otto, Hermann & Karl - "I hope your man is up to the plan, it needs a cheek infernal..."
Act I - Scene 2 - The Market Place, Gottenberg.
- No. 4 - Opening Chorus of Town Girls & Students - "Oh, Market Day is merry, when lads a-courting go..."
- No. 5 - Song - Minna & Chorus - "A lot of funny folks one sees at Ladies' Universities..."
- No. 6 - Chorus - "What is it, who is it coming so fast? Is it the Emperor's envoy at last? ..."
- No. 7 - Song - Max & Chorus - "I'm the Confidential Agent of the Kaiser..."
- No. 8 - Song - Mitzi - "When I was ever so young, my father he said, 'Look here, you're a likely lass for serving a glass...'"
- No. 9 - Song - Otto & Chorus - "My dear mother said to me at the early age of three..."
- No. 10 - Song - Mitzi - "There's a little Hotel that I know very well on the banks of the beautiful Rhine..."
- No. 11 - Song - Elsa - "When I was a Mädchen wee, gentlemen I oft would see turning round to look at me..."
- No. 12 - Finale Act I - "How splendid! We've ended our time of loneliness! ..."
Act II - The Gardens of "The Red Hen," across the River, near Gottenberg.
- No. 13 - Opening Chorus, with Solo - Kannenbier - "Jup, jup, jup, Tra la la la la..."
- No. 14 - Song - Mitzi & Chorus - "I've heard in a wonderful legend of old that down in the Rhine is a treasure of gold..."
- No. 15 - Duet - Clementine & Max - "The birds in Spring-time are pairing; the dog-rose up on the bark..."
- No. 16 - Trio - Mitzi, Max & Otto - "When you go over to London, as lots of Germans do..."
- No. 17 - Dance - Albrecht & Kathie
- No. 18 - Song - Elsa - "On a night, a month since, at a dance I met with a man to woo me..."
- No. 19 - Duet - Elsa & Otto - "Won't you come and two-step, little girl, with me? ..."
- No. 20 - Duet - Mitzi & Max - "Once in the window of a ham and beef shop two little sausages sat! ..."
- No. 21 - Song - Minna & Chorus - "Ach! vat a joysome day when soldiers come our way..."
- No. 22 - Quintet - Minna, Freda, Katrina, Lucille, & Brittlbottl - "Officers' girls have lots of fun..."
- No. 23 - Song - Mitzi & Chorus - "There are places on the map that I never want to see, such as London (on the Thames)..."
- No. 24 - Finale Act II - "Berlin is on the Spree, and that's the place we want to see..." (short reprise from No. 23)
Addenda.
- No. 25 - Extra Song - Mitzi - "To hold my own with ladies high was always my ambition..."
- No. 26 - Extra Song - Mitzi & Chorus - "In Frankfurt town there lives a charming German gentleman..."
- No. 27 - Extra Duet - Elsa & Otto, with Chorus - "Maiden who brings the beer, won't you let me marry you, my dear? ..."
Character list and original cast
- Otto (Prince of Saxe-Hildesheim) - George Grossmith, Jr.
- Brittlbottl (Sergeant of Hussars) - Robert Nainby
- General the Margrave OF Saxe-Nierstein - Eustace Burnaby
- Officers of the Blue Hussars:
- Colonel Finkhausen - A. J. Evelyn
- Fritz - T. C. Maxwell
- Hermann - Harold Thorley
- Franz - Somers Bellamy
- Karl - George Grundy
- Albrecht (Captain of Dragoons) - J. Robert Hale
- Burgomaster - George Miller
- Kannenbier (An Innkeeper) - Arthur Hatherton
- Adolf (Town Clerk) - Charles Brown
- Corporal Riethen - J. R. Sinclair
- Private Schmidt - S. Hansworth
- Private Max Moddelkopf -Edmund Payne
- Elsa (The General's Daughter) - May de Sousa
- Clementine (The Burgomaster's Daughter) - Violet Halls
- Lucille (Maid to Elsa) - Olive May
- Kathie - Kitty Mason
- Hana - Edith Lee
- Hilda - Kitty Lindley
- Minna (Captain of College) - Jean Aylwin
- Freda (Head of the Alemannia Corps) - Olive Wade
- Anna (Head of the Pomerania Corps) - Mary Hobson
- Eva (Head of the Saxonia Corps) - Gladys Cooper
- Lina (Head of the Borussia Corps) - Julia James
- Katrina (The only Girl in Rottenberg) - Kitty Hanson
- Barbara Briefmark (The Postmaster's Daughter) - Enid Leonhardt
- Betty Brencastler (The Doctor's Daughter) - Tessie Hackney
- Mitzi (The Innkeeper's Daughter) - Gertie Millar