''Our Man Crichton'' is a musical play based on ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...

'' by

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

, with book and lyrics by

Herbert Kretzmer Herbert Kretzmer (5 October 192514 October 2020) was a South African-born English journalist and lyricist. He was best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and for his collaboration with French ...

and music by David Lee. It opened in Manchester and then London at the end of 1964.

Background

After a season at the

Palace Theatre, Manchester The Palace Theatre is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its sister theatre the Opera House on Quay Street are ope ...

the musical had its official premiere at London's

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theat ...

on December 22, 1964, where it ran for 208 performances. The cast featured

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...

, who had starred in the much admired 1957 film adaptation of Barrie's play, and

Millicent Martin Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer, and comedian. She was the singer of topical songs on the weekly BBC Television satirical show ''That Was the Week That Was'' (known as TW3; 1962–1963), and won a ...

. It was one of several musicals set in the Edwardian and Victorian era following the success of ''Oliver!''. The female star, composer and lyricist all came from the satirical television series ''

That Was the Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

''. More was approached to do the musical by

Bernard Delfont Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian ...

. More wrote in his memoirs, "My first reaction was that I couldn't sing, but Bernard talked me into it." He was offered £1,000 a week plus ten percent of the gross. More had three weeks of singing lessons. He felt that because of this "I could cope with the point numbers, which don’t require much of a voice, but simply a personality and a manner." However he struggled with a love ballad between himself and Patricia Lambert (Lady Mary) saying I was so terrible that I asked the producer to take it out of the show. It was essential for the action, however, so it had to remain. I got away with it on most nights, I think, but only just. Pat has a beautiful voice and she covered me so well that I would just come in now and then with a word or a line or a gesture." Reviews were mixed. But the musical still ran for six months. Historian Adrian Wright felt "the crux of the musical’s problem" was "Lady Mary, billed well below the title, was demoted to support Tweeny, now inflated to the star role. The trouble was compounded by the fact that the composer and lyricist wrote numbers designed for Martin rather than designed for the character she was playing."

Cast recording and jazz improvisation

A cast recording, conducted by Burt Rhodes and produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, was issued on Parlophone in March 1965. But Lee was also keen to record his compositions as pure jazz. ''Jazz Improvisations of Our Man Crichton'' came out in June 1965 on the Pye record label, with Lee on piano. "Even though the songs are predominantly Edwardian in concept the chord structures are designed for jazz improvisations" said Lee on the sleeve notes. Richard Morton Jack says the result "is light, and principally of interest for the fine solo work" - by soloists including

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...

Ronnie Ross Albert Ronald Ross (2 October 1933 – 12 December 1991) was a British jazz baritone saxophonist. Life Born in Calcutta, India, to Scottish parents, Ross moved to England in 1946 and was educated at the Perse School in Cambridge. He began ...

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...

Tommy Whittle Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) was a British jazz saxophonist. Biography Tommy Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by Al ...

and others. "Nothing about it suggests a stage musical, or indeed the Edwardian era, but it's a solid blowing session", says Jack.Richard Morton Jack. ''Labyrinth: British Jazz on Record'' (2024), pp. 72-73

Songs

*Tweeny! *Yes, Mr. Crichton *Our Kind of People *Down with the Barriers *Were I as Good *London, London ? My Home Town *Let's Find an Island *Doesn't Travel Broaden the Mind *I Tries *Yesterday's World *Little Darlin' *I Never Looked for You *Oh! For a Husband, Oh! For a Man *Nobody Showed Me How *My Time Will Come

Original casts

as Tweeny *

as Crichton *

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

as Henry, The Earl of Loam *Patricia Lambert as Lady Mary *

Dilys Watling Dilys Rhys Watling (''née'' Jones, 5 May 1942 – 10 August 2021) was an English actress, best known for appearing on British television (''Coronation Street'', ''The Benny Hill Show'' and ''The Two Ronnies''). Early life and education Watlin ...

as Lady Agatha *Anna Barry as Lady Catherine *

David Kernan David Stanley Kernan (23 June 1938 – 26 December 2023) was an English actor, best known as an interpreter of the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Kernan appeared in stage musicals and was a soloist in various British variety shows throughout the 19 ...

as The Hon. Ernest Woolley *Peter Honri as Reverend John Treherne *

Eunice Black Eunice Black (23 October 1914 — 27 August 2007) was an English character actress best known for her roles in various sitcoms and comedy movies. Early life Eunice Black was born on 23 October 1914 in West Ham, Essex, as Eunice Holden. Career ...

as The Countess of Brocklehurst *

Glyn Worsnip Glyn Worsnip (2 September 1938 – 7 June 1996) was a British radio and television presenter. Born in Highnam, Gloucestershire, he was most famous for his appearances on ''That's Life!'' (where he was teamed with Kieran Prendiville from 1973 to ...

as Lord Brocklehurst

References

External links

''Our Man Crichton''
at Theatricalia {{The Admirable Crichton 1964 musicals British musicals West End musicals Musicals based on plays Adaptations of works by J. M. Barrie