On with the Dance (musical)
In today's world, On with the Dance (musical) is a topic that has captured the attention of millions of people around the planet. Since its emergence, On with the Dance (musical) has caused a great impact in various areas, generating heated debates and conflicting opinions. Its relevance is undeniable, since its influence extends to fields as diverse as politics, technology, culture, science and society in general. On with the Dance (musical) has left a deep mark on recent history, challenging established paradigms and offering new perspectives on the challenges of the contemporary world. In this article, we will analyze the many facets of On with the Dance (musical) and explore its meaning in the current context.
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On with the Dance is a 1925 musical revue produced by C. B. Cochran, with sketches by Noël Coward, songs by Coward and Philip Braham and ballet numbers, one of which was composed by Roger Quilter and choreographed by Leonid Massine. It starred Alice Delysia, and Massine, who danced in two of four dance sequences. The show ran in the West End of London for 229 performances.
Background
Noël Coward wrote songs and sketches for On with the Dance while he was acting in his first stage hit, The Vortex. 1925 was a busy year for Coward: two of his plays were premiered in London – Hay Fever, Fallen Angels – and one in New York – Easy Virtue. The producer, C. B. Cochran, had originally intended that Philip Braham should write all the songs and Coward only the sketches, but according to Cochran, Coward "contrived his sketches in such a way that they evolved quite naturally towards a musical finish. When the revue was completed, it was discovered – to everyone's embarrassment but his own – that the majority of the words and music were Noel's".
Productions
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The show, directed by Frank Collins, opened at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, on 17 March 1925 and transferred to the London Pavilion, where it opened on 30 April and ran for 229 performances. As well as the star, Alice Delysia, the cast included Hermione Baddeley, Ernest Thesiger, Nigel Bruce and Douglas Byng. On opening night, Coward was not yet the famous name he would be by the end of the year: The Manchester Guardian review mentioned him only once, and The Times review did not mention him at all.
The best-known song from the show is Coward's "Poor Little Rich Girl", sung by Delysia as a French maid, warning her English employer (Baddeley) of the perils of life as a debauched bright young thing. Cochran disliked the song and during rehearsals he proposed to cut it, but was dissuaded by Coward and Delysia. It became, in the words of Coward's biographer Philip Hoare "Coward’s first hit, an anthem for the world-weary 1920s".
In addition to the songs and Coward's sketches On with the Dance features four ballets, not by Coward or Braham. One of them, based on William Hogarth's The Rake’s Progress, was composed by Roger Quilter and choreographed by Leonid Massine.
A second edition of the revue, called Still Dancing, was produced on 19 November 1925. The ballets remained from the original show but none of Coward's material was retained.
Songs
By Coward
- Cosmopolitan lady
- I'm so in love
- Poor little rich girl
- First love
- Raspberry time in Runcorn
By Braham
- Couldn't we keep on dancing?
- Come a little closer
By Coward and Braham
- Spinsters' quartet
- The vicarage dance
- Choirboys' song
- Even clergymen are naughty now and then
- Church parade
The Noël Coward Society, drawing on performing statistics from the publishers and the Performing Rights Society, ranks "Poor little rich girl" among Coward's ten most popular songs.
Critical reception
The theatrical newspaper The Era described the show as "a revue in the truest sense of the word ... a survey of the Dance during the past forty years or so, from the high-kicking quadrille of the Moulin Rouge in 1888 to the last word in the vortex of movement." The reviewer in The Sunday Times was not impressed, calling it "a curious mixture of perfect beauty and perfect drivel," with "not a good tune in the whole piece"; whereas The Times's critic responded more positively, commenting that "as a whole, with the dancing always preponderating, the revue excellent." The Era's reviewer wrote, "The most comical thing in the revue is the Vicarage Garden Party on the lines of a musical comedy, with Miss Hermione Baddeley giving a clever and cruel burlesque of Nellie, the heroine, and Mr Ernest Thesiger and Mr Douglas Byng, as two clergymen, singing the funniest number of the evening."
Notes
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 128
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 103, 83 and 114
- ^ Hoare, pp. 142–143
- ^ a b c "Great Showmanship", The Manchester Guardian, 18 March 1925, p. 11
- ^ "On with the Dance", The Times, 1 May 1925, p. 12
- ^ a b Hoare, p. 143
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 139
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 128–136
- ^ "Appendix 3 (The Relative Popularity of Coward's Works)", The Noël Coward Music Index "Welcome to the Noël Coward Society". Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009., Noël Coward Music Index, accessed 16 March 2018
- ^ a b "On with the Dance", The Era, 9 May 1925, p. 5
- ^ Langfield, p. 75
References
- Hoare, Philip (1995). Noël Coward: A Biography. London: Sinclair-Stevenson. ISBN 978-1-85619-265-1.
- Langfield, Valerie (2002). Roger Quilter: His Life and Music. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0851158716.
- Mander, Raymond; Joe Mitchenson (2000) . Theatrical Companion to Coward. Barry Day and Sheridan Morley (2000 edition, ed.) (second ed.). London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-054-0.