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The Good Companions (musical)
Encyclopedia
The Good Companions is a musical
with a book by Ronald Harwood
, music by André Previn
, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same title
by J. B. Priestley
.
known as the Dinky-Doos who are stranded in the English countryside when their manager absconds with the most recent box office revenue and the lady pianist. Jess Oakroyd, an amiable man who has abandoned his shrewish wife, endears himself to the company with his homespun advice, and they invite him to join them as a carpenter, baggage handler, and dogsbody
. Elizabeth Trant comes to their rescue when she decides to use her inheritance to finance the troupe and escape from her boring life in the Cotswolds
.
Because of his habit of playing the piano late at night, songwriter Inigo Jollifant has been fired from his position at the Washbury Manor School in East Anglia
, and he replaces the concert party's recently departed pianist, bringing with him banjo player and illusionist
Morton Mitcham. As Miss Trant slowly achieves managerial authority, she encourages the troupe - which includes comedienne
Susie Dean and singer Jerry Jerningham - to change its name to The Good Companions.
They continue their tour and eventually arrive at the Sandybay Pavilion, where they play to a full house when a storm forces passersby to seek shelter in the theatre. Their success leads Inigo to contact a music publisher, who buys his songs and arranges for an impresario
to see The Good Companions in Sandybay. The producer signs Susie and Jerry for his new revue, and he secures the remaining members of the company bookings in high class towns like Bournemouth
.
In the end, Miss Trant marries her solicitor
, Susie heads to the West End
, Inigo makes a fortune with his music, and Jess Oakroyd departs for Ontario, Canada to visit his daughter.
, The Good Companions opened on July 11, 1974 at Her Majesty's Theatre
in London
and ran for 252 performances. The cast included John Mills
as Jess Oakroyd, Judi Dench
as Elizabeth Trant, Christopher Gable
as Inigo Jollifant, Marti Webb
as Susie Dean, Malcolm Rennie as Morton Mitcham, and Ray C. Davis as Jerry Jerningham. The score was orchestrated by Herbert W. Spencer
and Angela Morley
. An original cast album
was released on compact disc
by DRG in September 1992.
The concept of a concert party was foreign to American audiences, and a non-musical stage adaptation of the Priestly novel had closed on Broadway
after only 68 performances in 1931 so, despite the popularity of the Previn/Mercer score, it was decided not to open a production in New York City
. When a proposed West End revival failed to materialize, Warner-Chappell London
granted 42nd Street Moon, a San Francisco company whose mission is to present staged concert revivals of "lost" musicals, the rights to present the American premiere of The Good Companions, which it did in August 2000.
Act Two
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Ronald Harwood
Ronald Harwood
Sir Ronald Harwood CBE is an author, playwright and screenwriter. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser and The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
, music by André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same title
The Good Companions
The Good Companions is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley.Written in 1929 , it focuses on the trials and tribulations of a concert party in England between World War I and World War II. It is arguably Priestley's most famous novel, and the work which established him as a national figure...
by J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
.
Plot
The plot focuses on the trials and tribulations of a touring concert partyConcert Party (entertainment)
A concert party, also called a Pierrot troupe, is the collective name for a group of entertainers, or Pierrots, popular in Britain during the first half of the 20th century. The variety show given by a Pierrot troupe was called a Pierrot show...
known as the Dinky-Doos who are stranded in the English countryside when their manager absconds with the most recent box office revenue and the lady pianist. Jess Oakroyd, an amiable man who has abandoned his shrewish wife, endears himself to the company with his homespun advice, and they invite him to join them as a carpenter, baggage handler, and dogsbody
Dogsbody
A dogsbody, or less commonly dog robber in the Royal Navy, is a junior officer, or more generally someone who does drudge work. A rough American equivalent would be a "gofer" or a "grunt", a "lackey", or "toady".-History:...
. Elizabeth Trant comes to their rescue when she decides to use her inheritance to finance the troupe and escape from her boring life in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
.
Because of his habit of playing the piano late at night, songwriter Inigo Jollifant has been fired from his position at the Washbury Manor School in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, and he replaces the concert party's recently departed pianist, bringing with him banjo player and illusionist
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
Morton Mitcham. As Miss Trant slowly achieves managerial authority, she encourages the troupe - which includes comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Susie Dean and singer Jerry Jerningham - to change its name to The Good Companions.
They continue their tour and eventually arrive at the Sandybay Pavilion, where they play to a full house when a storm forces passersby to seek shelter in the theatre. Their success leads Inigo to contact a music publisher, who buys his songs and arranges for an impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
to see The Good Companions in Sandybay. The producer signs Susie and Jerry for his new revue, and he secures the remaining members of the company bookings in high class towns like Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
.
In the end, Miss Trant marries her solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, Susie heads to 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...
, Inigo makes a fortune with his music, and Jess Oakroyd departs for Ontario, Canada to visit his daughter.
Productions
After a tryout in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, The Good Companions opened on July 11, 1974 at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and ran for 252 performances. The cast included John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as Jess Oakroyd, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
as Elizabeth Trant, Christopher Gable
Christopher Gable
Christopher Gable, CBE was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and actor.Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1957...
as Inigo Jollifant, Marti Webb
Marti Webb
Marti Webb is a musical actress from England, who appeared on stage in Evita, before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one woman show Tell Me on a Sunday in 1980...
as Susie Dean, Malcolm Rennie as Morton Mitcham, and Ray C. Davis as Jerry Jerningham. The score was orchestrated by Herbert W. Spencer
Herbert W. Spencer
Herbert Winfield Spencer was a film and television composer and orchestrator.Spencer gained industry fame when he teamed up with fellow 20th Century Fox orchestrator Earle Hagen in 1953 to create the Spencer-Hagen Orchestra...
and Angela Morley
Angela Morley
Angela Morley was an English composer and conductor. Morley was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1924, and played saxophone in a number of dance bands, and in 1944 became a member of Geraldo's band....
. An original cast album
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
was released on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by DRG in September 1992.
The concept of a concert party was foreign to American audiences, and a non-musical stage adaptation of the Priestly novel had closed 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...
after only 68 performances in 1931 so, despite the popularity of the Previn/Mercer score, it was decided not to open a production in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When a proposed West End revival failed to materialize, Warner-Chappell London
Warner/Chappell Music
Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company, and a division of the Warner Music Group. The company traces its origins back to 1811 and the founding of Chappell & Company, a music publishing company and instrument shop on London’s Bond Street that, in 1929, began a rapid...
granted 42nd Street Moon, a San Francisco company whose mission is to present staged concert revivals of "lost" musicals, the rights to present the American premiere of The Good Companions, which it did in August 2000.
Musical numbers
Act One- Goodbye ..... The Dinky-Doos
- Camaraderie ..... The Dinky-Doos
- Bruddersford ..... Jess and His Friends
- All Mucked Up
- The Pools
- Aye, Lad
- Footloose
- The Great North Road ..... Jess
- Fancy Free ..... Miss Trant
- On My Way ..... Inigo
- Pleasure of Your Company ..... Morton and Inigo
- Stage Struck ..... Susie
- Dance of Life ..... Miss Trant
- Pleasure of Your Company (Reprise) ..... Inigo
- The Pools (Reprise) ..... Jess
- Good Companions .... Morton, Inigo, and the Good Companions
Act Two
- Slippin' Around the Corner ..... Jerry
- A Little Travelling Music ..... The Company
- And Points Beyond ..... Jess and the Company
- Darkest Before the Dawn ..... Miss Trant
- Goodbye (Reprise) ..... The Good Companions
- Susie for Everybody ..... Susie and Inigo
- Ta, Luv ..... Jess
- I'll Tell the World ..... Susie, Jerry, and Inigo
- Stage Door John ..... Susie
- Ta, Luv (Reprise) ..... Susie and Jess
- Good Companions (Reprise) ..... The Good Companions