''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1961 Australian musical by Albert Arlen, Nancy Brown and

Lloyd Thomson Lloyd Thomson LVO (22 May 191926 August 2015) was an Australian public servant and diplomat. He also co-wrote the book and lyrics of the successful Australian musical ''The Sentimental Bloke''. In 1958 Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth&nbs ...

based on '' Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C.J. Dennis. Set in Melbourne, it is one of the most successful Australian musicals of the 20th century. The musical has also been adapted for television and ballet.

Development

Albert Arlen and Nancy Brown had worked on the musical since 1950. Initially they sought the involvement of George Johnston, and it was announced in 1951 when Arlen arrived back in Australia from London that Johnston was working on the book. Later, the actor Lloyd Thomson was brought on board as writer. Arlen and Brown went to England in 1955 to promote the show. This was unsuccessful so they returned to Australia. In 1957 J.C. Williamson's took an option on the show. The writers borrowed some money, and self-produced the musical in an amateur production at Canberra's

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genre ...

in March 1961. The cast included Edwin Ride and Brown. The one-week run in Canberra was so popular that extra seating in the aisles had to be arranged. J. C. Williamson's directors Sir Frank Tait and

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...

attended the final performance.

Productions

Original production

Later that year, J. C. Williamson's produced the musical professionally in Melbourne. The original six-week season at Melbourne's

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

(from 4 November 1961), directed by John Young, was later extended to five months. The Bloke, Doreen and Rose of Spadger's Lane were played by Edwin Ride (from the amateur Canberra production), Patsy Hemingway and Gloria Dawn respectively. Through 1962, the production toured to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

(Tivoli Theatre),

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

(Her Majesty's Theatre), Sydney ( Theatre Royal) and Auckland,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(His Majesty's Theatre). The ''Bulletin'' said "John Young's production has only one serious fault: It is too long and too loose. But that can be remedied very easily by some simple tailoring."

Revivals

''The Sentimental Bloke'' was revived professionally by Penrith's Q Theatre Company in April–May 1983, directed by

Doreen Warburton Evelyn Doreen Warburton (22 March 1930 – 19 July 2017) was an Australian actress, director, and theatre co-founder. Biography Evelyn Doreen Warburton was born in London, England on 22 March 1930. At 18 she began her theatre career with the ...

. A subsequent professional production was staged by the Parramatta Cultural Centre and Q Theatre Company in March–April 1988, also directed by Warburton. Amateur theatre groups in Australia often perform the musical. Neglected Musicals revived the show in a professional, semi-staged read through at

Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theatre is a 111-seat theatre specialising in music theatre and cabaret in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. It is named after the Australian performer Nancye Hayes. Hayes Theatre Co was established at the former ''Darlinghurst Theatre' ...

, Sydney in October 2019.

Recordings

A live cast recording was made during a Melbourne performance, released by Talent City in 1962. The

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

made a studio cast recording in 1967 featuring Neil Williams, Janet Crawford,

Jimmy Hannan Jimmy Hannan (25 August 1937 – 7 January 2019) was an Australian radio and television personality, variety show host, singer, entertainer and game show host of the 1960s and 1970s. One of the pioneers of television, he appeared regularly on v ...

and

Jill Perryman Jill Perryman (born 30 May 1933) is an Australian retired actress, singer and dancer with a career that spanned 70 years. Perryman is from a family of show business performers; her sister was actress Diana Perryman and her son is media persona ...

. Songs from the musical have been featured on various other recordings.

1976 TV version

The musical was filmed for ABC TV in 1976. The television adaptation was written and directed by

Alan Burke Alan S. Burke (September 15, 1922 – August 25, 1992) was an American conservative television and radio talk show host who was on the air primarily in New York City from 1966 to 1969 on WNEW-TV. Life He was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 19 ...

and featured

Graeme Blundell Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer. Early life Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in Melbourne; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated ...

as Bill and

Geraldine Turner Geraldine Gail Turner (born 23 June 1950 in Brisbane, Australia) is an Australian actress and singer. She has been a leading performer in Australian musical theatre since the 1970s, and has also been active in plays, recordings, film and telev ...

as Doreen.

Cast

as The Bloke *

as Doreen *

as Ginger Mick *

Nancye Hayes Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre sin ...

as Rose *

Jon Finlayson Jon Douglas Finlayson (23 March 1938–12 September 2012) was an Australian stage and screen character actor, radio performer, writer, director, producer and singer Early life Jon Finlayson was born in Coburg, Victoria to Clorine and Ron Finl ...

as Mr Smithers *

Anne Phelan Anne Mary Phelan (2 August 1948 – 27 October 2019) was an Australian actress of stage and screen who appeared in many theatre, television and film productions as well as radio and voice-over. Her television soap opera roles she was likely b ...

as Mabel *Laine Lamont as Gertie *Joy *Jon Fabian as Chorus

Production

A decision was taken that the whole thing should be very stylised in form. "Dennis certainly drew a picture of the life of the poor but he was interested in the warmth, the humour - there's no real social statement," said Burke. "And I decided it wouldn't be appropriate to try for real, down-at-heel neighbourhood settings, especially in this musical adaptation."Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p139

Ballet

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...

developed a ballet version of ''The Sentimental Bloke'' choreographed by Robert Ray, with Arlen's music freely arranged by

John Lanchbery John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor o ...

. The Australian Ballet first presented this in 1985 in Australia, and subsequently on its tour of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Other versions

A second musical theatre adaptation of ''The Sentimental Bloke'', not related to the Arlen, Brown and Thomson version, was written by

with music by

George Dreyfus George Dreyfus AM (born 22 July 1928) is an Australian contemporary classical, film and television composer. Early life and orchestral career Dreyfus was born to a Jewish family in Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany. He was the younger of two sons ...

. It was premiered by the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

at the Playhouse,

Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

on 12 December 1985, with John Jarrett in the starring role. This production, hosted by The Melbourne Theatre Company, offered its first Auslan interpreted performance on 18 December 1985.

References

External links

* * *
Clip from 1976 film
at You Tube {{DEFAULTSORT:Sentimental Bloke 1960s Australian musicals 1961 musicals 1976 films Musicals based on poems Musicals based on novels Musicals set in Australia 1970s English-language films Australian plays presented by J.C. Williamson's Australian television musicals Works based on The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke Australian plays adapted for television