Not to be confused with Zip! Goes A Million (a 1919 musical).

Zip Goes a Million is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz

Eric Maschwitz

Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE , known as Eric Maschwitz and sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.-Life and work:...

 and music by George Posford

George Posford

George Posford, né Benjamin George Ashwell , was an English composer.-Works:Musical theatre* Goodnight, Vienna * Balalaika ; co-composed with Bernard Grün...

, based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions

Brewster's Millions

Brewster's Millions is a novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. It was adapted into a play in 1906, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the novel or play has been made into a film nine times .-Plot introduction:The novel's...

. It premiered in London in 1951, starring George Formby

George Formby

George Formby, OBE , born George Hoy Booth, was a British comedy actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian. He sang light, comical songs, accompanying himself on the banjo ukulele or banjolele...

, and ran for 544 performances.

Synopsis

Act I
Percy Piggott, a window cleaner

Window cleaner

A window cleaner is a person who maintains the cleanliness of windows, mirrors and other glass surfaces as a profession.-Profession:...

, stands to inherit a fortune. To receive the money, however, he is required to spend a million dollars in a hurry without letting anyone know what he is doing.

He decides to invest in a musical comedy, The Garter Girl, starring Lilac Delaney, which he thinks will be a failure. Other spendthrift ideas include putting money in the stock market

Stock market

A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...

 and betting on the ponies. Each of these dubious investments is a success, even though a shady banker, Van Norden, and his daughter try to separate Percy from his money and from Sally Whittle, Percy's innocent girlfriend.

Act II
On a South Seas island, Percy succeeds in wrecking a yacht, which is hugely expensive to salvage. After various complications, Percy finishes spending the million dollars and finally inherits the money.

Musical numbers

Act I

• "Ridin' Into Town" –
• "I'm Saving Up For Sally" – Percy and Chorus
• "The Thing About You" – Lilac and Buddy
• "Ordinary People" – Percy and Company
• "Zip Goes A Million" – Percy and Company
• "It Takes No Time To Fall In Love" – Percy and Sally
• "The Story of Chiquita" – Lilac, Girls and Boys
• "Nothing Breaks But The Heart" – Buddy
• "I Owe You" – Percy and Sally
• "I'm Saving Up For Sally" (reprise) –
• "Big Business" –
• "Trouble With My Heart" – Motty and Sally
• "Zip Goes A Million" (reprise) –

Act II

• "Raratonga" –
• "Pleasure Cruise" –
• "Running Away To Land" –
• "The Garter Girl" – Lilac and cast of The Garter Girl
• "Thou Art For Me" –
• "Ordinary People" (reprise) –
• "Finale" – Company

History

Zip is based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions

Brewster's Millions

Brewster's Millions is a novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. It was adapted into a play in 1906, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the novel or play has been made into a film nine times .-Plot introduction:The novel's...

by G. B. McCutcheon

George Barr McCutcheon

George Barr McCutcheon was an American popular novelist and playwright. His best known works include the series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, Brewster's Millions, a play and several films....

 and a 1906 play adaptation of the same novel by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongly. In 1919, a musical adaptation of the novel, with music by Jerome Kern

Jerome Kern

Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...

, was slated to open 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...

, but it closed after out of town tryouts.

Maschwitz began writing the piece for variety performer George Formby

George Formby

George Formby, OBE , born George Hoy Booth, was a British comedy actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian. He sang light, comical songs, accompanying himself on the banjo ukulele or banjolele...

, who had never starred in a musical. After writing most of the libretto, Maschwitz discovered that theatrical 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...

 Emile Littler had the same idea. Instead of duelling over the work, however, they joined forces, with Littler as producer and Maschwitz writing book and lyrics. Maschwitz had already worked with composer Posford on Balalaika

Balalaika (musical)

Balalaika is a musical play in three acts with book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, music by George Posford and Bernard Grun. It opened in London at the Adelphi Theatre on 22 December 1936, starring Muriel Angelus, Roger Treville, Clifford Mollison and Betty Warren, and ran for 569 performances.A...

, Goodnight Vienna and Magyar Melody.

Formby starred as Percy Piggott, the "innocent Lancashire window cleaner". Sara Gregory was cast as his love interest Sally, and Wallas Eton as her father, Motty. To build upon the fact that Zip is set in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Littler cast two American performers: Warde Donovan as Buddy and Barbara Perry as Lilac.

Productions

Zip Goes a Million began its pre-London tryout at the Hippodrome

Hippodrome

A hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words "hippos and "dromos"...

, Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, on 4 September 1951. The production was directed by Charles Hickman, with choreography by Pauline Grant. The production nearly did not open, as Perry had not "paid her 'Equity premium for foreign performers' (she belonged to the Variety Artistes Federation, which she felt was sufficient) and all the actors were called out on strike by Equity." Maschwitz paid the fee himself after a court hearing, and the musical began its run. Another tryout took place from 17 September to 16 October 1951 at the Palace Theatre

Palace Theatre, Manchester

The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its 'sister' theatre the Manchester Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent...

 in Manchester

Manchester

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...

, where the musical was trimmed and several musical numbers were cut.

Zip then opened in 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...

 at the Palace Theatre, London

Palace Theatre, London

The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...

, on 20 October 1951, where it was heralded as "a first-rate musical and a sturdy rival for any importation from across the sea." Six months into the run, however, Formby suffered a heart attack and was forced to withdraw from the production. He was replaced by comedian Reg Dixon, who remained with Zip Goes a Million until it closed after 544 performances on 7 February 1953. An abridged cast recording with Dixon was released in 1953 as Zip Goes a Million: A Musical Extravagance.

After the West End run, two touring companies were formed; one with Dixon as Percy and Pamela Charles as Sally (1953) and another with Charlie Chester

Charlie Chester

Charlie Chester was a British comedian and TV and radio presenter, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller.- Life and career :...

 starring as Percy (1954).

Beginning in April 2001, the Theatre Museum

Theatre Museum

The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum...

 in London staged a revival of Zip, playing for a limited run until May 2001. The cast starred Gavin Lee

Gavin Lee

Gavin Lee is an English actor who is currently starring as Bert on Broadway in the musical Mary Poppins. He previously originated the role in the original West End production. He was chosen for the Broadway role because of his critically acclaimed performance as Bert in the West End production...

as Percy and Zoe Curlett as Sally. The cast recording of this production, Zip Goes A Million (Original London Cast Recording), is the first full recording of the score.