Me and My GirlOpening Date: 16 December, 1937
Closing Date: (closed after 1,646 performances) Air date: May 1, 1939 Medium: TV Where to watch: not available |
Stage Production Notes
Loosely based on a gender-switched Cinderella story, Me and My Girl is a musical that follows the trials and tribulations of a Cockney man, Bill Snibson, after he learns he has inherited an earl’s title.
Me and My Girl opened at the Victoria Palace in December 1937. The production was a star vehicle for English comedian Lupino Lane, who also served as producer and director. Lane had earlier developed the character of Bill Snibson for a Cockney-themed play,Twenty to One.
The production was not an immediate hit, but took off after a matinee was broadcast live on BBC radio.
Me and My Girl took a satirical look at the nobility, and despite its pointed aims at noble traditions, even King George VI, along with the Queen, saw it three times throughout its run.
The song “The Lambeth Walk” was immensely popular, and inspired a dance craze in the UK.
In the early months of the war, Me and My Girl was performed for British troops in France.
The London production took a hiatus in 1940 when the Victoria Palace was bombed.
The 1000th performance on July 26, 1939, was celebrated with a live broadcast on BBC radio of two scenes from the first act. Excerpts were performed on radio at least three times throughout the war.
The original London production of Me and My Girl ran for 1,646 performances.
In 1939, MGM adapted the musical into a film, The Lambeth Walk.
Me and My Girl has been revived in London multiple times, notably in 1985 at the Adelphi in a production starring Emma Thompson and Robert Lindsay. The production featured a revised book by Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent. The revival won the Olivier Award for Musical of the Year.
The London revival opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on August 10, 1986, with Robert Lindsay in the lead role, finally giving the “too British” musical its American debut.
The Broadway production of Me and My Girl was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Robert Lindsay), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Maryann Plunkett), and Best Choreography (Gillian Gregory). It played for 1,420 performances before closing on December 31, 1989.
The revised edition of Me and My Girl continues to be widely performed. Licensing is available through Samuel French and Origin Theatrical.
Loosely based on a gender-switched Cinderella story, Me and My Girl is a musical that follows the trials and tribulations of a Cockney man, Bill Snibson, after he learns he has inherited an earl’s title.
Me and My Girl opened at the Victoria Palace in December 1937. The production was a star vehicle for English comedian Lupino Lane, who also served as producer and director. Lane had earlier developed the character of Bill Snibson for a Cockney-themed play,Twenty to One.
The production was not an immediate hit, but took off after a matinee was broadcast live on BBC radio.
Me and My Girl took a satirical look at the nobility, and despite its pointed aims at noble traditions, even King George VI, along with the Queen, saw it three times throughout its run.
The song “The Lambeth Walk” was immensely popular, and inspired a dance craze in the UK.
In the early months of the war, Me and My Girl was performed for British troops in France.
The London production took a hiatus in 1940 when the Victoria Palace was bombed.
The 1000th performance on July 26, 1939, was celebrated with a live broadcast on BBC radio of two scenes from the first act. Excerpts were performed on radio at least three times throughout the war.
The original London production of Me and My Girl ran for 1,646 performances.
In 1939, MGM adapted the musical into a film, The Lambeth Walk.
Me and My Girl has been revived in London multiple times, notably in 1985 at the Adelphi in a production starring Emma Thompson and Robert Lindsay. The production featured a revised book by Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent. The revival won the Olivier Award for Musical of the Year.
The London revival opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on August 10, 1986, with Robert Lindsay in the lead role, finally giving the “too British” musical its American debut.
The Broadway production of Me and My Girl was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Robert Lindsay), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Maryann Plunkett), and Best Choreography (Gillian Gregory). It played for 1,420 performances before closing on December 31, 1989.
The revised edition of Me and My Girl continues to be widely performed. Licensing is available through Samuel French and Origin Theatrical.
Filmed Production Notes
On January 15, 1938, the BBC conducted an outside broadcast from the Victoria Palace. The broadcast included 15 minutes of “comedy scenes” from Me and My Girl.
Just over a year later, on May 1, 1939, the BBC broadcast the full production of Me and My Girl live from the Victoria Palace. It was the first time a musical comedy had been broadcast live on television in full and was described by Radio Times as “one of the big television occasions of the year.”
The broadcast proved so popular, the BBC did another live broadcast on July 17, 1939.
While the broadcasts were not recorded, some re-created footage from Me and My Girl can be viewed in the 1946 BBC documentary Television is Here Again.
As television broadcasts were not recorded at this time, the full production of Me and My Girl is not available to view.
On January 15, 1938, the BBC conducted an outside broadcast from the Victoria Palace. The broadcast included 15 minutes of “comedy scenes” from Me and My Girl.
Just over a year later, on May 1, 1939, the BBC broadcast the full production of Me and My Girl live from the Victoria Palace. It was the first time a musical comedy had been broadcast live on television in full and was described by Radio Times as “one of the big television occasions of the year.”
The broadcast proved so popular, the BBC did another live broadcast on July 17, 1939.
While the broadcasts were not recorded, some re-created footage from Me and My Girl can be viewed in the 1946 BBC documentary Television is Here Again.
As television broadcasts were not recorded at this time, the full production of Me and My Girl is not available to view.
Me and My Girl PRODUCTION CREDITS
Theatre: Victoria Palace, London
Book and Lyrics: L. Arthur Rose, Douglas Furber
Music: Noel Gay
Director: Lupino Lane
Producer: Lupino Lane, BBC
Script: Ian Atkins
Art Direction: Barry Learoyd
Conductor: George Windeatt
Cast:
Martin Gray (Gerald Bolingbroke), Wallace Lupino (Parchester), Maurice Barclay (Major Domo), Jean Capra (Lady Battersby), Micky McConnell (Lord Jasper Tring), Nina Lyn (The Hon Margaret Atkinson), Betty Frankiss (Jacqueline), Doris Rogers (The Duchess), George Graves (Sir John), Lupino Lane (Bill Snibson), Teddie St Denis (Sally), George Yarborough (Fred), Maurice Dallimore (Alf), Michael Stoller (Footman), William McGuigan (Footman), Reginald Matthews (Charles), Violet Blythe (Comtesse de Versailles), Rene Kemp (Lady Fordham), Anne Booth (Landlady), Lauri Lane (Telegraph Boy), George Powder (Bob Barking), Maurice Barclay (Policeman)
Theatre: Victoria Palace, London
Book and Lyrics: L. Arthur Rose, Douglas Furber
Music: Noel Gay
Director: Lupino Lane
Producer: Lupino Lane, BBC
Script: Ian Atkins
Art Direction: Barry Learoyd
Conductor: George Windeatt
Cast:
Martin Gray (Gerald Bolingbroke), Wallace Lupino (Parchester), Maurice Barclay (Major Domo), Jean Capra (Lady Battersby), Micky McConnell (Lord Jasper Tring), Nina Lyn (The Hon Margaret Atkinson), Betty Frankiss (Jacqueline), Doris Rogers (The Duchess), George Graves (Sir John), Lupino Lane (Bill Snibson), Teddie St Denis (Sally), George Yarborough (Fred), Maurice Dallimore (Alf), Michael Stoller (Footman), William McGuigan (Footman), Reginald Matthews (Charles), Violet Blythe (Comtesse de Versailles), Rene Kemp (Lady Fordham), Anne Booth (Landlady), Lauri Lane (Telegraph Boy), George Powder (Bob Barking), Maurice Barclay (Policeman)
Sources
Books
Articles
Websites
- Eds. Clive Barker and Maggie B. Gale, British Theatre Between the Wars 1918-1939, Cambridge University Press (2000)
- Dan Dietz, The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals, Rowman & Littlefield (2016)
- John Kenrick, Musical Theatre: A History (2nd edition), Bloomsbury (2017)
- Mark A. Robinson, The World of Musicals: An Encyclopedia of Stage, Screen, and Song, Vol 1: A-L, Greenwood (2014)
Articles
- George Burrows, “Musical Comedy in the 1920s and 1930s: Mister Cinders and Me and My Girl as Class-Conscious Carnival,” in Eds. Robert Gordon, Olaf Jubin, The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical, Oxford University Press (2016)
- Stephen Guy, “Calling All Stars: Musical Films in a Musical Decade,” in Ed. Jeffrey Richards, The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, I.B. Tauris (1998)
- Dave Laing, “Cockney Rock” in Ed. Harris M. Berger, Michael Thomas Carroll, Global Pop, Local Language, University Press of Mississippi (2003)
- John Wyver, “Television (drama) is here again,” Screen Plays (Sept 14, 2011)
- Uncredited, “Me and My Girl,” Radio Times (April 28, 1939), p.14
- Uncredited, “Me and My Girl,” Radio Times (July 14, 1939), p.16
- Uncredited, “Tunes of the Town,” Radio Times (July 26, 1939), p.46
- Uncredited, “Me and My Girl,” Radio Times (July 18, 1941), p.32
- Uncredited, “Me and My Girl,” Radio Times (Aug 10, 1945), p.8
- Uncredited, “Round the Halls: Me and My Girl,” Radio Times (Dec 16, 1949), p.27
Websites
- Origin Theatrical, “Me and My Girl,” Accessed via: http://www.origintheatrical.com.au/work/8697
- Samuel French, “Me and My Girl,” Accessed via: http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2169/me-and-my-girl
- Screen Plays, "Me and My Girl [scenes]". Accessed via: http://bufvc.ac.uk/screenplays/index.php/prog/711
- Screen Plays, "Me and My Girl,” Accessed via: http://bufvc.ac.uk/screenplays/index.php/prog/746
Written by Luisa Lyons (December, 2017)