George Dance (dramatist)
Encyclopedia
Dance wrote several hit musicals, including The Gay Parisienne
The Gay Parisienne
This article is about the musical. For the French film that translates as "The Girl from Paris", see Une hirondelle a fait le printempsThe Gay Parisienne is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with a libretto by George Dance. It premiered at the Opera House in Northampton, England, in October...
(1894) and A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon
A Chinese Honeymoon is a musical comedy in two acts by George Dance, with music by Howard Talbot and additional music by Ivan Caryll and others, and additional lyrics by Harry Greenbank and others...
(1899), one of the most successful musicals in history until the 1940s. In the early years of the 20th century, he became one of the most successful theatrical managers in the United Kingdom, managing many productions both on the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and on tour.
Biography
Dance was born in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England, the son of Isaac Dance (1824–1880) a pipe maker. Dance was educated at the National School, Sneinton
Sneinton
Sneinton is a south-eastern suburb of Nottingham, England. The area is bounded by Carlton to the north, Colwick to the south, Meadow Lane to the southwest and Bakersfield to the east.-Description:...
, Nottingham. He married Grace Spong in 1898, and the couple produced two sons (Eric and James) and a daughter (Phyllis, later Mrs. Bertram Merritt). His son Eric, who died in a prison camp during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was responsible for the building of the Oxford Playhouse, which opened in 1938.
Career
Early in his career, he was a journalist and prolific song writer. Some of his most famous songs were for the music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
, including "Girls are the Ruin of Men", one of Vesta Tilley
Vesta Tilley
Matilda Alice Powles , was an English male impersonator. At the age of 11, she adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley becoming the most famous and well paid music hall male impersonator of her day...
's successes, "Come Where Me Booze is Cheaper", "Angels without Wings" (also sung by Tilly), and "His Lordship Winked at the Counsel" (sung by Harry Rickards
Harry Rickards
Harry Rickards , born Henry Benjamin Leete, was an English-born comedian and theatre owner, active in Australia.-Early life:...
).
In the 1890s Dance turned to writing libretti for light operas and musical comedies and producing musical comedies. His works included:
- The Nautch GirlThe Nautch Girlthumb|right|250px|Solomon , with Gilbert and Sullivan irate at his success at the SavoyThe Nautch Girl, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore is a comic opera in two acts, with a book by George Dance, lyrics by Dance and Frank Desprez and music by Edward Solomon...
, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore – 1891, a comic opera with lyrics by himself and Frank DesprezFrank DesprezFrank Desprez was an English playwright, essayist, and poet. He wrote more than twenty pieces for the theatre, as well as numerous shorter works, including his famous poem, Lasca.-Life and career:...
, and music by Edward SolomonEdward SolomonEdward Solomon was a prolific English composer, as well as a conductor, orchestrator and pianist. Though he died before his fortieth birthday, he wrote dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, such as The Nautch Girl, among others.-Early...
at the Savoy TheatreSavoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
(200 performances).
- Ma Mie Rosette – 1892, a comic operaComic operaComic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
adapted from the French of Prevel and Liorat, with music by Paul Lacome and Ivan CaryllIvan CaryllFélix Marie Henri Tilkin , better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language...
, featuring Courtice PoundsCourtice PoundsCharles Courtice Pounds , better known by the stage name Courtice Pounds, was an English singer and actor known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his later roles in Shakespeare plays and Edwardian musical comedies.As a young member...
, Frank WyattFrank Wyatt (singer)Frank Wyatt was an English actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright.In a two-decade career on stage, Wyatt is best remembered for his roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1889 to 1891, and in particular for creating the role of the Duke of Plaza-Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan's hit...
, Jessie BondJessie BondJessie Bond was an English singer and actress best known for creating the mezzo-soprano soubrette roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. She spent twenty years on the stage, the bulk of them with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.Musical from an early age, Bond began a concert singing...
and R. Scott FisheR. Scott FisheRobert Scott Fishe was an English operatic baritone best remembered for creating roles in the 1890s with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.-Early career:...
- A Modern Don Quixote – 1893.
- The Gay ParisienneThe Gay ParisienneThis article is about the musical. For the French film that translates as "The Girl from Paris", see Une hirondelle a fait le printempsThe Gay Parisienne is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with a libretto by George Dance. It premiered at the Opera House in Northampton, England, in October...
in 1894 (in NorthamptonNorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
); revived with music by Ivan CaryllIvan CaryllFélix Marie Henri Tilkin , better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language...
at the Duke of York's TheatreDuke of York's TheatreThe Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
(369 performances); revived in New York as The Girl from Paris (281 performances); toured internationally.
- Buttercup and Daisy – 1895, with music by Arthur Richards and others.
- Lord Tom Noddy – 1896 (with music by Frank Osmond CarrFrank Osmond CarrFrank Osmond Carr , known as F. Osmond Carr, was an English composer who wrote the music for some of the earliest musical comedies.-Life and career:...
at the Garrick TheatreGarrick TheatreThe Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
), starring Little TichLittle TichHarry Relph, , known on the stage as "Little Tich", was an English music hall comedian. He was noted for the characters of The Spanish Señora, The Gendarme and The Tax Collector, but his most popular routine was his Big Boot dance, which involved a pair of 28-inch boots, commonly called "slapshoes"...
- The Lady Slavey – operettaOperettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
in 2 acts; with lyrics by Hugh Morton and music by Gustave Adolph Kerker; Casino Theatre, New York 3 February 1896 (128 performances).
- The Gay GrisetteGrisette (French)The word grisette has referred to a French working-class woman from the late 17th century and remained in common use through the Belle Époque era, albeit with some modifications to its meaning. It derives from gris, , and refers to the cheap grey fabric of the dresses these women originally wore...
– musical comedy with music by Carl Kiefert, 1898.
- The Ladies' Paradise with music and lyrics by Ivan Caryll, 1901.
- A Chinese HoneymoonA Chinese HoneymoonA Chinese Honeymoon is a musical comedy in two acts by George Dance, with music by Howard Talbot and additional music by Ivan Caryll and others, and additional lyrics by Harry Greenbank and others...
– musical comedy in two acts, with music by Howard TalbotHoward TalbotRichard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot , was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent...
; Theatre Royal, Hanley, in 1899; and at Royal Strand TheatreRoyal Strand TheatreThe Royal Strand Theatre was located in Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps...
, London, beginning in 1901 (1,075 performances).
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
s in the days preceding the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, including the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
, the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
, Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
and the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
. He also directed theatre companies at the Alhambra Theatre
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
and the Kingsway Theatre and many Stoll Theatres Corporation productions.
Dance was knighted in 1923 in recognition of his services to the theatre, which included a gift of £30,000 for the reconstruction of the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
and stabilization of that theatre as a permanent Shakespeare repertory theatre.
Dance died at home in London in 1932 at the age of 75. His estate was valued at over 150,000 pounds.