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The Boyfriend Vintage Musical Poster 1973

The Boyfriend Vintage Musical Poster 1973

EMI-MGM PRESENTS A KEN RUSSELL PRODUCTION

STARRING TWIGGY

WINNER OF TWO HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS AWARDS

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

CO-STARRING CHRISTOPHER GABLE

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY KEN RUSSELL

LITHO IN USA

HAD BEEN FOLDED, TAPED, AND HAS SMALL RIPS



"The Boyfriend" redirects here. For other uses, see The

Boyfriend (disambiguation).

The Boy Friend

Original Broadway Cast Album

Music Sandy Wilson

Lyrics Sandy Wilson

Book Sandy Wilson Productions 1953 West End 1954 Broadway 1970 Broadway 1971 film 1984 West End Revival 2005 North American Tour The Boy Friend (sometimes mis-spelled The Boyfriend) is a musical by Sandy Wilson.

The musical was written at a time when the United Kingdom

was still recovering from the devastating effects of World

War II and is set in the carefree world of the French

Riviera in the Roaring 1920s, a similar period of peace

and gradual recovery after the rigours of World War I.

The musical's original 1954 London production ran for 2,078 performances, making it briefly the third-longest running musical in West End or Broadway history (after Chu Chin Chow and Oklahoma!,

until it was demoted a rank by Salad Days. It marked

Julie Andrews' American debut.

The Boy Friend is a comic pastiche of 1920s shows (in

particular early Rodgers and Hart). The title is an

obvious parody of The Girl Friend. Its relatively small

cast and low cost of production makes it a continuing

popular choice for amateur and student groups.

Sandy Wilson was to write a sequel to the The Boy Friend.

Set ten years later, and, appropriately, a pastiche of 1930s musicals (in particular those of Cole Porter) it was entitled Divorce Me, Darling!

and ran for 91 performances at London's Globe Theatre in 1965. It is sometimes revived as a "double bill" with The Boy Friend.



Productions

The musical was first performed in London in 1953.

It opened at the Players' Theatre Club on April 14, 1953,

and reopened in an expanded version on October 13. It

transferred for a short season to the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage and then opened at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End on 14 January 1954.

The light, tuneful piece proved immensely popular with the

British public and ran for more than five years, a total

of 2,082 performances.

In 1995, on its 40th anniversary, the musical returned to

The Players' Theatre in London in a new production that

was as near a reproduction of the original as possible.

It was directed by Maria Charles,

who played the original Dulcie.

The choreography was by Geoffrey Webb who was also in the original production.

It was originally planned that the choreography would be

done by Larry Drew, the original Bobby van Husen, but he

died suddenly during the early planning stages of the

production.

Set design was by Disley Jones who was responsible for the

hat designs in the original production.

Among the cast were Gemma Page, Oliver Hickey,

Sophie Louise Dann and John Rutland (in his original role as Lord Brockhurst). Following its success at the Players' it went on a nationwide tour and was very successful.

A production played in 2006 at the Open Air Theatre at Regent's Park, London. This also proved to be a highly acclaimed production, and was revived during the Open Air Theatre's 2007 season.

The Boy Friend opened on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on

September 30, 1954 and closed on November 26, 1955 after

485 performances. Starring was newcomer Julie Andrews in

her Broadway debut as Polly,

with a cast including John Hewer, Geoffrey Hibbert, Dilys

Laye, Bob Scheerer, Anne Wakefield, Millicent Martin, and

Moyna MacGill (some of whom had earlier and present

connections with The Players' Theatre in London). Andrews

received the Theatre World Award.

Andrews was "discovered" by My Fair Lady producers during

her appearance in this play,

prompting her casting in the lead in that production, and

catapulting her to Broadway fame (and beyond) in the

following years.

A revival opened on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on

April 14, 1970, and ran for 111 performances. Starring

were Judy Carne as Polly, Sandy Duncan as Maisie and

Ronald Young as Tony.

Duncan received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance as well as a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Regional revival and North American tour

In 2003, Julie Andrews made her directorial debut with a

production of The Boy Friend at the Bay Street Theater in

Sag Harbor, NY, starring Meredith Patterson as Polly

Browne and Sean Palmer as Tony Brockhurst.[1]

This production was revived at the Goodspeed Opera House,

running from July 2005 through September 24, 2005, where Sean Palmer returned as Tony and Jessica Grové took over the role of Polly.

Costume and scenic design were by Tony Walton, with choreography by John DeLuca. The show was performed in two acts, instead of three,

and the song "Safety in Numbers" was moved from the scene

on the beach to the Carnival Ball.[2] The production next

toured the United States and Canada, playing 11 cities,

including Chicago,

Boston, Orange County, and Toronto, from October 2005 through March 2006.

The touring cast included Bethe Austin as Hortense, Paul

Carlin as Percival, Andrea Chamberlain as Maisie,

Drew Eshelman as Lord Brockhurst, Rick Faugno as Bobby

Van Husen, Nancy Hess as Madame Dubonnet, Darcy Pulliam as

Lady Brockhurst, Scott Barnhardt as Alphonse, Andrew

Briedis as Pierre, Jordan Cable as Marcel, Margot de La

Barre as Nancy,

Pamela Otterson as Monica, Krysta Rodriguez as Fay, Eric

Daniel Santagata as Phillipe, Tom Souhrada as Garcon, and

Kirsten Wyatt as Dulcie.[3]

In the Villa Caprice, or Madame Dubonnet's School for

Young Ladies, Maisie and the girls live with the maid,

Hortense, and Mme. Dubonnet. Hortense orders a costume

for "a Miss Polly Browne" and Maisie and the other girls

(Dulcie, Nancy, and Fay)

sing the sarcastic "Perfect Young Ladies" with Hortense.

Polly arrives and tells everyone about her made-up boy

friend who is "motoring down from Paris" to meet her for

the upcoming carnival ball,

and sings about "The Boy Friend". Later, Bobby surprises

Maisie and they dance to "Won't You Charleston With Me?"

Polly's widowed father, Percy, then arrives at the school to discover that the headmistress is an old flame of his.

They sing "Fancy Forgetting" to rekindle the spark.

Polly, though a millionaire's daughter, feels left out

because she is the only one of her set who does not have

a boyfriend, and she needs a partner for the fancy dress

ball. However, when the errand boy, Tony, arrives to

deliver her Pierrette costume,

they are immediately attracted to each other, and sing "I

Could Be Happy With You." Later, they meet at the beach

(after the chorus number "Sur La Plage") and sing

about "A Room in Bloomsbury".

they then kiss and decide to meet at the ball. The

comically flirtatious Lord Brockhurst arrives on the

scene, leading to a comical meeting with the rigidly

mannered Percival Browne.

Lord Brockhurst's domineering wife Lady Brockhurst is also

introduced. Percival Browne and Dubonnet then

sing "The 'You-Don't-Want-To-Play-With-Me' Blues".

When Polly goes to meet Tony on the promenade, Lord and

Lady Brockhurst, who are passing by, recognize him. When

he runs off, everyone else assumes that he is a thief. The

act ends on a sad note.

At the ball, Bobby and the three boys propose to Maisie

and the three girls, but the girls reply in unison

that "we'll let you know at midnight" and everyone dances to "The Riviera".

Lord Brockhurst sings "It's Never Too Late To Fall In

Love" with the flirty Dulcie, and is caught out by Lady

Brockhurst. Polly confides in Mme. Dubonnet, and they

sing "Poor Little Pierrette".

Tony later arrives at the ball and takes Polly by

surprise. He asks "May I have this dance, Pierrette?" to

which Polly replies, "I'm afraid I can't dance with a

stranger".

He then kisses her to remind her. Polly discovers that

Tony is really the son of Lord and Lady Brockhurst, who

had left home to try to make his own way in the world.

Percy and Mme.

Dubonnet announce that they are getting married. The clock

strikes midnight, and the girls unanimously say yes to

the boys' proposals.

The last scene has everyone dancing as soon as Bobby, with

the last spoken line in the play, asks "So how about that

Charleston?" The show ends with a reprise of "The Boy

Friend" and "I Could Be Happy With You."


The Boyfriend Vintage Musical Poster 1973
THEBOYFRIENDRegular price: $675.00Sale price: $275.00
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