''In Town'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

written by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), 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 James T. Tanner, with music by F. Osmond Carr and lyrics by Ross. The plot of ''In Town'', though thin, is a smart tale of backstage and society intrigue.Gänzl, Kurt
"Edwardes, George Joseph (1855–1915)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 18 September 2008, One of the popular songs from the show was "The Man About Town". The piece was first produced by

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

and debuted with success in 1892, playing in New York in 1897. It was one of the first

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the Ame ...

, lighter than a

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

-style

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a n ...

, but more coherent in construction than a

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...

. The piece initiated Edwardes's famous series of modern-dress musical shows at the Gaiety Theatre that led ladies' clothing fashions throughout Britain. After ''In Town'', the Edwardian musical comedies dominated the musical stage in Britain until the 1920s.

History

''In Town'' was first produced by

at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

, opening on 15 October 1892, and transferred to the Gaiety Theatre on 26 December 1892, running for a successful 292 performances. It starred Arthur Roberts, together with

Edmund Payne Edmund James "Teddy" Payne (14 December 1863 – 15 July 1914), was an English actor, comedian and singer best known for creating comic roles in a series of extremely successful Edwardian musical comedies. He was often paired with the comic ac ...

, Eric Lewis, and singing star Florence St John. Topsy Sinden danced in the piece. The musical was produced on Broadway, for a run of 40 performances, opening on 6 September 1897 at the Knickerbocker Theatre, starring W. Louis Bradfield as Arthur Coddington and

Marie Studholme Caroline Maria Lupton (10 September 1872 – 10 March 1930),Peter Bailey"Studholme, Marie (1872–1930)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press (2004), Retrieved on 27 June 2008 known professionally as Marie Studho ...

as Kitty. ''In Town'' was one of the first

on the London stage. It was lighter than a

style

, but more coherent in construction than a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

. The piece initiated Tanner's and Edwardes's famous series of modern-dress musical shows and helped set the new fashion for the series of Gaiety Theatre musical hits that followed. Many of the best-known London couturiers began to design costumes for stage productions by the 1880s. The illustrated periodicals were eager to publish photographs of the actresses in the latest stage hits, and so the theatre became an excellent way for clothiers to publicise their latest fashions. After ''In Town'', the Edwardian musical comedies would dominate the musical stage in Britain, and contribute to musical theatre throughout the English-speaking world and beyond, until the 1920s.

Synopsis

Captain Coddington, a penniless lad-about-town, gives a young aristocrat friend, Lord Clanside, a tour of the slightly naughty lifestyles both high and low, to be found in London. Coddington invites all the ladies of the Ambiguity Theatre to lunch; Clanside agrees to pay the bill if he is invited to the party. Afterwards, with several uninvited guests, they visit the theatre to see a rehearsal. Coddington romances the prima donna of the theatre and wins her.

Roles and original cast

The original cast was as follows:"In Town", ''The Theatre'', 1 November 1892, p. 230 *Captain Arthur Coddington – Arthur Roberts *The Duke of Duffshire – Eric Lewis *Lord Clanside – Phyllis Broughton *The Rev. Samuel Hopkins – E. Bantock *Benoll – H. Grattan *Shrimp – Jessie Rogers *Duchess of Duffshire – Maria Davis *Flo Fanshawe –

Sylvia Gray Sylvia Mary Gray (3 July 1909 – 27 April 1991) was an English businessperson and women's institute leader. She was the owner of the former coaching inn the Bay Tree Hotel in Burford, Oxfordshire that employed female members of staff for a caree ...

*Kitty Hetherton – Florence St. John

References

{{reflist

External links

Information about shows that opened in London in 1892
In Town (musical) West End musicals Original musicals British musicals