| Me and My Girl | |
|---|---|
 1986 Broadway Cast Recording | |
| Music | Noel Gay |
| Lyrics | Douglas Furber L. Arthur Rose |
| Book | Douglas Furber L. Arthur Rose |
| Productions | 1937West End 1939 U.K. Television 1952 West Endrevival 1985 West End revival 1986Broadway 2006 UK tour |
| Awards | 1985Olivier Award Musical of the Year |
Me and My Girl is amusical with music byNoel Gay and its original book and lyrics byDouglas Furber andL. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefinedCockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, who learns that he is the 14th heir to the Earl of Hareford. The action is set inHampshire, and inMayfair andLambeth in London.
The musical had a successful original run in theWest End in 1937, and was turned into a film in 1939, titledThe Lambeth Walk, named after one of the show's songs. "The Lambeth Walk" was also the subject of a news story inThe Times of October 1938: "While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances – to The Lambeth Walk." The production also included the song "The Sun Has Got His Hat On".
After returning to the West End briefly in 1952, the musical's book received a revision byStephen Fry withMike Ockrent in the 1980s. The show was revised again and revived in the West End in 1984, where it received twoLaurence Olivier Awards and ran for eight years. The same production was revived on Broadway in 1986 for a three-year run. The production won three of 11Tony Award nominations.
Me and My Girl originally opened in London'sWest End at theVictoria Palace Theatre on 16 December 1937 and starredLupino Lane. Lane had previously played Bill Snibson in ahorseracing comedy play,Twenty to One, that opened in 1935.Me and My Girl was conceived as a fresh vehicle for the character.[citation needed] At first attracting little notice, the production gained success after a matinee performance was broadcast live onBBC radio following the cancellation of a sporting event. In May 1939, a performance was televised live from the theatre, one of the first such broadcasts; it was rebroadcast that July.[1] The original West End production ran for 1,646 performances.[2]
The musical was revived in 1941, 1945 and 1949 in the West End. Lupino Lane starred and directed each production, with choreography by Fred Leslie.[2] In the 1980s, the book was revised byStephen Fry andMike Ockrent. This version included the song "Leaning on a Lamp-post".[citation needed]
In 1984, another revised production opened at theLeicester Haymarket Theatre with a revised script by Fry and contributions by directorMike Ockrent. It transferred to theAdelphi Theatre on 12 February 1985 and closed on 16 January 1993 after an eight-year run and 3,303 performances. It starredRobert Lindsay as Bill Snibson,Emma Thompson as Sally Smith, andFrank Thornton as Sir John. The production won twoOlivier Awards: Musical of the Year and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Musical (Robert Lindsay).[3][4] Cast changes includedGary Wilmot,Les Dennis,Enn Reitel andKarl Howman as Bill, andBonnie Langford,Su Pollard,Louise English,Jessica Martin andLorraine Chase as Sally. Thornton was succeeded byNicholas Smith andPatrick Cargill. The production subsequently toured throughout Britain.[citation needed]
The same production opened onBroadway in New York City at theMarquis Theatre on 10 August 1986 and closed on 31 December 1989, after 1,420 performances. The production was directed by Ockrent with choreography byGillian Gregory. The cast starred Robert Lindsay as Bill andMaryann Plunkett as Sally, withGeorge S. Irving andJane Connell. The production was nominated for 13Tony Awards in 11 categories and won for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Choreography.Jim Dale was a replacement as Bill,[5] andEllen Foley was later Sally. Lady Jacqueline Carstone was originated byJane Summerhays, withDee Hoty andJanet Aldrich as replacements.Jay Garner was a replacement as Sir John Tremayne.[6]Stanley Lebowsky and laterTom Helm served as music director, withSue Anderson as assistant conductor; her conducting positions on Broadway marked a breaking of theglass ceiling.[7]Tim Curry played Bill for one year in the US tour that began in October 1987.[8][9]
Numerous productions have been staged over the years across the UK. In 1997, for example, it was staged at theRoyal Shakespeare Theatre for a limited run.[citation needed] A 70th anniversary production had an eight-month British tour during 2006, and the show also played atSheffield Theatres in 2010.[10][11]
TheShaw Festival inNiagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, staged a production directed by Ashlie Corcoran and featuringMichael Therriault as Bill and Kristi Frank as Sally, which ran from April through October 2017.[12] AnEncores! staged concert in May 2018 starredChristian Borle andLaura Michelle Kelly as Bill and Sally.Warren Carlyle directed and choreographed.[13] The musical was revived atChichester Festival Theatre from July to August 2018, directed byDaniel Evans and starringMatt Lucas as Bill andCaroline Quentin as the Duchess of Deane.[14]
Setting: London, in and around Hareford Hall,Hampshire;Mayfair andLambeth in the later 1930s.
The Harefords, a family of haughty aristocrats, are seeking the legitimate heir to the title of Earl of Hareford. Bill Snibson, aCockney from Lambeth, is found and named as the long-lost "Earl of Hareford". It seems that the 13th Earl had secretly and briefly wed a girl from a bad neighbourhood. However, Bill's rough Cockney ways do not satisfy the Will of the last Earl: in order to gain his inheritance of the title and estate, Bill must satisfy the very proper executors (Maria, Duchess of Dene, and Sir John Tremayne) by learning gentlemanly manners. The Duchess thinks that she can make Bill "fit and proper", but not his Cockney girlfriend, Sally Smith. The Duchess plans a party in Bill's honour, but Sally is not to be invited. Sir John tells Sally that she and Bill ought to return to Lambeth, but he is moved by Sally's heartfelt declaration of love for Bill ("Once You Lose Your Heart").
At the party, Bill puts on airs and tries to please his new-found upper-class lawyers, family and servants, but his everyman roots quickly begin to show. Sally shows up in inappropriate garb, with her Lambeth friends, saying that she is going back to where she belongs. Bill seconds this at first, but then teaches the nobility "The Lambeth Walk".
Bill must make a speech in theHouse of Lords in coronet and "vermin"-trimmedpeer's robes. Sally leaves, telling him to marry someone with good blood, and, in a scene inspired byGilbert and Sullivan'sRuddigore, the portraits of Bill's ancestors awaken to remind him of hisnoblesse oblige.[15] Bill and Sally have gained an ally in Sir John, who offers to help them by engaging a speech professor (implied to be Henry Higgins fromPygmalion) to help Sally impress the Duchess.
Bill constantly bemoans his separation from Sally. Preparing another party for Bill, the Duchess realises how much Sally means to him. This puts her in a romantic mood, and she accepts an offer of marriage from Sir John. Bill, dressed in his old outrageous Cockney clothes, declares that he's going home and goes upstairs to pack. Just then, Sally astonishes everyone by arriving in an elegant gown and tiara and speaking with a perfect upper-crust accent. When Bill returns downstairs, Sally conceals her identity; when she reveals it, Bill is relieved and the couple gain the acceptance of the family.
Based on the 1986 Broadway production
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In 1939, the play was turned into a film directed byAlbert de Courville. Lane reprised his stage role of Snibson. The film took its name from the well-known song and dance. The film was a largely faithful adaptation of the musical and was commercially successful and popular with critics.[16]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Laurence Olivier Award | Musical of the Year | Won | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Robert Lindsay | Won | ||
