The Girl Behind the Counter
Encyclopedia
The Girl Behind the Counter is an Edwardian musical comedy
with a book by Arthur Anderson
and Leedham Bantok, music by Howard Talbot
and lyrics by Arthur Anderson
(and additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank
), produced by Frank Curzon
.
It opened at Wyndham's Theatre
on 21 April 1906. The farcical musical starred Isabel Jay
, C. Hayden Coffin
and Lawrence Grossmith
. It ran for 141 performances in the original London production, and an adaptation ran for twice that long in 1907–08 on Broadway
. The Broadway production was "freely adapted and reconstructed by Edgar Smith
" and starred Lew Fields
and Connie Ediss.
It toured successfully thereafter in the British provinces, the U.S., Australia and elsewhere and enjoyed several revivals.
Henry Schniff, in debt to his landlady for four years' rent, marries her. While on their honeymoon, he learns that he has inherited one million pounds sterling. Now his wife, the former Mrs. Willoughby, insists on mixing in with "society". Her daughter, Winnie Willoughby, does not agree with her mother's choice of a husband for her, the broke and stupid Viscount Augustus Gushington. Instead, Winnie wants to run a flower stall at an American department store in London.
Her first customer is Charlie, recently returned from Africa where he has made his fortune. Romantic sparks fly, but when Winnie loses track of the money in her till, and a £10 note goes missing, she is fired. More trouble: Winnie's father, Sir Wilkie Willoughby, opposes her marriage with Charlie.
Act II
At a fancy ball, Winnie works to get her father's approval of her marriage to Charlie. She also proves her innocence: the real thief in the affair of the money is Adolphus Dudd, a shop boy, who took the money to impress his sweetheart at the ball. Winnie's father is caught in a flirtation with Ninette, an employee in the millinery department of the store, and so he cannot refuse Winnie his consent.
Act II - The Baron's Court Exhibition. "The Rose Carnival."
Lew Fields
produced and starred in a Broadway
adaptation at the Herald Square Theatre. It ran from 1 October 1907 to 6 June 1908, a total of 282 performances. The setting for the first act is an American-style department store
in London "where American methods of handling everything are satirized"; the second act is set in the "Jardin de Paris" where Lew Fields' character receives an "education in the art of 'blowing' money against his instinct and will."
The opening night cast for the Broadway adaptation included:
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
with a book by Arthur Anderson
Arthur Anderson (dramatist)
Arthur Anderson was an English dramatist and lyricist, who is best known for his libretti for Edwardian musical comedies.-Biography:...
and Leedham Bantok, music by Howard Talbot
Howard Talbot
Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot , was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent...
and lyrics by Arthur Anderson
Arthur Anderson
Arthur Anderson may refer to:*Arthur Anderson , Scottish businessman and co-founder of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company *Arthur E. Andersen , founder of Chicago-based accounting firm...
(and additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank
Percy Greenbank
Percy Greenbank was an English lyricist, best known for his contribution of lyrics to a number of successful Edwardian musical comedies in the early years of the 20th century. His older brother, lyricist Harry Greenbank, had a brilliant career in the 1890s that was cut short by his death at the...
), produced by Frank Curzon
Frank Curzon
Frank Curzon was an English actor who became an important theatre manager, leasing the Royal Strand Theatre, Avenue Theatre, Criterion Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre and Wyndham's Theatre, among others....
.
It opened at Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
on 21 April 1906. The farcical musical starred Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies...
, C. Hayden Coffin
C. Hayden Coffin
Charles Hayden Coffin was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes....
and Lawrence Grossmith
Lawrence Grossmith
Lawrence Grossmith was a British actor, the son of Gilbert and Sullivan performer George Grossmith and the brother of actor George Grossmith, Jr.-Life and career:...
. It ran for 141 performances in the original London production, and an adaptation ran for twice that long in 1907–08 on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. The Broadway production was "freely adapted and reconstructed by Edgar Smith
Edgar Smith
Edgar Smith is an American convicted murderer, who was once on Death Row for the 1957 murder of fifteen-year-old honor student and cheer leader Victoria Ann Zielinski. Vigorously contesting his conviction through the courts and in the media, Smith became a celebrity, and his case was argued in...
" and starred Lew Fields
Lew Fields
Lew Fields , born as Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
and Connie Ediss.
It toured successfully thereafter in the British provinces, the U.S., Australia and elsewhere and enjoyed several revivals.
Synopsis
Act IHenry Schniff, in debt to his landlady for four years' rent, marries her. While on their honeymoon, he learns that he has inherited one million pounds sterling. Now his wife, the former Mrs. Willoughby, insists on mixing in with "society". Her daughter, Winnie Willoughby, does not agree with her mother's choice of a husband for her, the broke and stupid Viscount Augustus Gushington. Instead, Winnie wants to run a flower stall at an American department store in London.
Her first customer is Charlie, recently returned from Africa where he has made his fortune. Romantic sparks fly, but when Winnie loses track of the money in her till, and a £10 note goes missing, she is fired. More trouble: Winnie's father, Sir Wilkie Willoughby, opposes her marriage with Charlie.
Act II
At a fancy ball, Winnie works to get her father's approval of her marriage to Charlie. She also proves her innocence: the real thief in the affair of the money is Adolphus Dudd, a shop boy, who took the money to impress his sweetheart at the ball. Winnie's father is caught in a flirtation with Ninette, an employee in the millinery department of the store, and so he cannot refuse Winnie his consent.
Musical numbers
Act I - The "Maison Duval."- No. 1 - Opening Chorus - "Hurry, scurry, to and fro..."
- No. 2 - Song - Duval and Chorus - "Oh! ze managère discreet, 'e is very 'ard to beat..."
- No. 3 - Song - Gussie - "It's jolly nice to be as deuced popular as I am..."
- No. 4 - Song - Winnie - "Why should a maid bestow her hand..."
- No. 5 - Duet - Dudd and Susie - "I mean to start a fancy shop..."
- No. 6 - Concerted Number - Customers and Chorus - "They've been shopping till they're dropping..."
- No. 7 - Song - Charlie and Chorus - "A land there is o'er the ocean wide..."
- No. 8 - Duet - Winnie and Charlie - "Won't you buy a spray, or a choice bouquet..."
- No. 9 - Song and Dance - Ninette and Chorus - "I'm a little lady who is rather fascinating..."
- No. 10 - Finale Act I - "Here's a situation! If her tale be true..."
Act II - The Baron's Court Exhibition. "The Rose Carnival."
- No. 11 - Opening Chorus Act II - "The Exhibition buildings are en fête tonight..."
- No. 12 - Song - Millie and Chorus of Girls - "In a sleepy country hamlet, in the drowsy vale of Kent..."
- No. 13 - Duet - Susie and Dudd - "We are orthodox types of an era gone by..."
- No. 14 - Duet - Ninette and Duval, with Chorus - "We paid our fares and climbed the stairs..."
- No. 15 - Song - General Sir Wilkie Willoughby,and Chorus - "In good Queen Bess's glorious time..."
- No. 16 - Duet - Winnie and Charlie - "When you are by my side a king am I..."
- No. 17 - Song - Charlie - "My heart is yours alone, dear..." (composed by Leslie Stuart under the name of Augustus Barratt)
- No. 18 - Duet - Millie and Gussie - "When you're my little wife..."
- No. 19 - Song - Dudd and Chorus - "If there hadn't been an apple on the tree." (by A. J. Mills and Bennett ScottBennett ScottBennett Scott was a writer of music hall songs. He co-wrote many songs with A.J. Mills and Fred Godfrey including Tom Costello’s "I’ve Made Up My Mind To Sail Away", Whit Cunliffe’s "Fall In And Follow Me", "One Of The B’hoys" by Mark Sheridan, "When I Take My Morning Promenade" by Marie Lloyd,...
) - No. 20 - Song - Ninette and Chorus - "Come with me, if you are melancholic..."
- No. 21 - Finale Act II - "So come along, and join the merry throng..."
- Addendum No. 23 - Duet - Millie and Gussie - "I'm glad you take my wooing in this unromantic way..."
Original West End cast
- C. Hayden CoffinC. Hayden CoffinCharles Hayden Coffin was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes....
– Charlie Chetwynd - J. F. McArdle – General Sir Wilkie Willoughby
- Lawrence GrossmithLawrence GrossmithLawrence Grossmith was a British actor, the son of Gilbert and Sullivan performer George Grossmith and the brother of actor George Grossmith, Jr.-Life and career:...
– Viscount Gushington ("Gussie") - Isabel JayIsabel JayIsabel Jay was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies...
– Winnie Willoughby - Fred Allandale – M. Duval (Proprietor of the "Maison Duval") -
- Horace Mills – Adolphus Dudd (Office Boy at the "Maison Duval")
- Violet Englefield – Millie Mostyn (Manageress of the "Maison Duval")
- Marie DaintonMarie DaintonMarie Dainton was an actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras who appeared regularly in both music halls and in the legitimate theatre.-Early career:...
– Ninette (Head of the Millinery Department) - Coralie Blythe – Susie (Cashier at the "Maison Duval")
Broadway adaptation
Lew Fields
Lew Fields , born as Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
produced and starred in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
adaptation at the Herald Square Theatre. It ran from 1 October 1907 to 6 June 1908, a total of 282 performances. The setting for the first act is an American-style department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
in London "where American methods of handling everything are satirized"; the second act is set in the "Jardin de Paris" where Lew Fields' character receives an "education in the art of 'blowing' money against his instinct and will."
The opening night cast for the Broadway adaptation included:
- Lew FieldsLew FieldsLew Fields , born as Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
– Henry Schniff, a soldier of misfortune - Connie Ediss – Mrs. Henry Schniff (formerly Mrs. Willoughby)
- Joseph Ratliff – Charley Chetwynd, a self-made young millionaire
- Denman Maley – Lord Augustine Gushington, familiarly known as "Gussie"
- May Naudain – Winnie Willoughby, Mrs. Schniff's daughter
- George BebanGeorge BebanGeorge Beban was an American actor, director, writer and producer. Beban began as a child performer in San Francisco, California, and became a well-known vaudevillian and stage actor in the 1890s and 1900s...
– Henri Duval, manager - Louise DresserLouise DresserLouise Dresser was an American actress.Born Louise Josephine Kerlin in Evansville, Indiana. Her father was a train conductor who died when she was fifteen years old...
– Millie Mostyn, overlady at "The Universal" - Lotta FaustLotta FaustLotta Faust was an actress, dancer, and singer from Brooklyn, New York. She performed an interpretation of the Salome dance based on the Salome by Oscar Wilde.Faust attended public schools in Brooklyn...
– Ninette Valois, of the millinery department - Ignacio Martinetti – Dudley Cheatham, cashier