Balalaika (musical)

Last updated

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 love story between a young nobleman and a ballerina set mostly in Russia during World War I and the Russian Revolution, it begins and ends in 1924 at a Montmartre night-club called the "Balalaika", telling the lovers' story through a series of flashbacks.

Itself a revised version of an earlier London musical play called The Great Hussar, which opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 19 October 1933, Balalaika formed the basis for the 1939 MGM movie of the same name starring Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balalaika</span> Russian stringed musical instrument

The balalaika is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perfect fourth higher. The higher-pitched balalaikas are used to play melodies and chords. The instrument generally has a short sustain, necessitating rapid strumming or plucking when it is used to play melodies. Balalaikas are often used for Russian folk music and dancing.

<i>Fiddler on the Roof</i> 1964 musical

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, who attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his family's lives. He must cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters who wish to marry for love; their choices of husbands are successively less palatable for Tevye. An edict of the tsar eventually evicts the Jews from their village.

<i>Auntie Mame</i> Book by Patrick Dennis

Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Larson</span> American composer and playwright (1960–1996)

Jonathan David Larson was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals Rent and Tick, Tick... Boom!, which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, substance use disorder, and homophobia. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Rent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelphi Theatre</span> West End theatre in London, England

The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals. The theatre was Grade II listed for historical preservation on 1 December 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West End theatre</span> Mainstream professional theatre staged in and near the West End of London

West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London. Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Widow Twankey</span> Character in the pantomime Aladdin

Widow Twankey is a female character in the pantomime Aladdin. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaudeville Theatre</span> Theatre in London

The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous structure. The current building opened in 1926, and the capacity is now 690 seats. Rare thunder drum and lightning sheets, together with other early stage mechanisms, survive in the theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrick Theatre</span> West End theatre in London, England

The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith, was an early success at the theatre. In its early years, the Garrick appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama. The theatre later became associated with comedies, including No Sex Please, We're British, which played for four years from 1982 to 1986.

<i>The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas</i>

The Rat Pack - Live From Las Vegas is a stage musical produced by Flying Music Group Ltd. The stage show was conceived and created by Mitch Sebastian, who was also the show's director and choreographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elena Roger</span> Argentine actress (born 1974)

Elena Silvia Roger is an Argentine actress who won the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in Piaf. She has also appeared in the West End in Evita, Boeing-Boeing, and Passion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Kurup</span>

Debbie Kurup is an English actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Dare</span> English actress and singer (1890–1975)

Phyllis Dare was an English singer and actress, famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre in the first half of the 20th century.

<i>Around the World</i> (musical)

Around the World is a musical based on the 1873 Jules Verne novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, with a book by Orson Welles and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It involves an around-the-world adventure by Phileas Fogg. The expensive musical extravaganza opened on Broadway in May 1946 but closed after 75 performances.

Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure is a musical based on J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, with a book by Willis Hall and music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The show opened in Copenhagen in 1996. The production was first broadcast in 2001 as a New Year's Eve concert, starring Sheila Hancock, Laura Michelle Kelly, and Joe McFadden. It was presented at Festival Hall in the 2002/2003 Christmas period.

<i>Balalaika</i> (film) 1939 film by Reinhold Schünzel

Balalaika is a 1939 American musical romance film based on the 1936 London stage musical of the same name. Produced by Lawrence Weingarten and directed by Reinhold Schunzel, it starred Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey.

George Posford, born Benjamin George Ashwell, was an English composer and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Warren</span> British actress

Babette Hilda Hogan, known professionally as Betty Warren, was a British actress active from the 1930s to the 1950s, best known for her comedy roles in Champagne Charlie (1944) and Passport to Pimlico (1949).

<i>The Bodyguard</i> (musical)

The Bodyguard is a 2012 stage musical with a book by Alexander Dinelaris, based on the 1992 film The Bodyguard, with the score featuring songs recorded by Whitney Houston including "One Moment in Time", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and her cover version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You". The show began previews at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End, on 6 November 2012, and officially opened on 5 December 2012.

<i>Made in Dagenham</i> (musical) 2014 British musical

Made in Dagenham is a musical with music by David Arnold, lyrics by Richard Thomas, and a book by Richard Bean. Based on the 2010 film of the same name, which in turn was based on the real events of the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968, the musical made its West End and world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in 2014.

References

  1. "Balalaika". Guide to Musical Theatre. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  2. "Jeanette and Nelson website". Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.