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Ever Green is amusical with music byRichard Rodgers, lyrics byLorenz Hart and a book byBenn Levy. This was the last of three musicals written byRodgers and Hart in London.[1]
The musical premiered on 3 December 1930 at the newly renovatedAdelphi Theatre, London. It was produced byCharles B. Cochran and directed by Frank Collins with choreography byBuddy Bradley and Billy Pierce. It starred dancerJessie Matthews (who played both the mother and the daughter) and comedianSonnie Hale, who married her the following year. It also featuredJoyce Barbour,Jean Cadell andAlbert Burdon.
The lavish production was noted for the setpiece "Dancing on the Ceiling" that used London's first revolving stage. In this, the two stars danced around a huge chandelier that was standing up from the floor, simulating the ceiling. Matthews subsequently adopted "Dancing on the Ceiling" (also known as "He dances overhead") as her signature tune. The show was Matthews' biggest stage success and led to her renowned film career.[2]
The musical garnered critical and box office success, running for 254 performances. It was later adapted into a successful1934 film also starring Matthews.
Harriet Green, amusic hall star of theEdwardian period, has given birth, out of wedlock, to a daughter. Harriet flees toSouth Africa to raise her daughter away from the spotlight. The years pass, and now her daughter, Harriet Hawkes, returns to London to try to enter showbusiness. A publicity man, Tommy, sees that young Harriet is a dead ringer for her famous mother and convinces a theatre producer to star her in a newrevue as a miraculously youthful Harriet Green. The public believes the ruse, but also believes that Tommy is her son. This leads to complications, because Harriet and Tommy fall in love.