Eric Blore Sr. was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appeared in variety.
Nathaniel Davis Ayer was an American composer, pianist, singer and actor. He made most of his career composing and performing in England in Edwardian musical comedy and revue. He also contributed songs to Broadway shows, including some of the Ziegfeld Follies.
Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End by the age of 16, and was quickly promoted from minor to major roles in his Edwardian musical comedies.
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was demolished in 1936. The name was also adopted by many other British music hall theatres located elsewhere; in Bradford, in Hull and in Glasgow etc. The name comes from association with the Moorish splendour of the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain.
Sir George Edward Wade, CBE, known professionally as George Robey, was an English comedian, singer and actor in musical theatre, who became known as one of the greatest music hall performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a comedian, he mixed everyday situations and observations with comic absurdity. Apart from his music hall acts, he was a popular Christmas pantomime performer in the English provinces, where he excelled in the dame roles. He scored notable successes in musical revues during and after the First World War, particularly with the song "If You Were the Only Girl ", which he performed with Violet Loraine in the revue The Bing Boys Are Here (1916). One of his best-known original characters in his six-decade long career was the Prime Minister of Mirth.
"If You Were the Only Girl (In the World)" is a popular song, written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey. It was written for the musical revue The Bing Boys Are Here, which premièred on 19 April 1916 at the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square, London. The song was originally performed as a duet between Lucius Bing, played by George Robey, and his love interest Emma, originated by Violet Loraine.
Violet Loraine was an English musical theatre actress and singer.
George Grossmith Jr. was an English actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies. Grossmith was also an important innovator in bringing "cabaret" and "revues" to the London stage. Born in London, he took his first role on the musical stage at the age of 18 in Haste to the Wedding (1892), a West End collaboration between his famous songwriter and actor father and W. S. Gilbert.
Yes, Uncle! is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgon and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is based on the farce Le truc du Brésilien by Nicolas Nancey and Paul Armont, and the musical takes its title from the catch-phrase used by Bobby Summers and Mabel Mannering, addressing Uncle Brabazon Hollybone. It was produced by George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward Laurillard and opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on 16 December 1917 and ran for a very successful 626 performances. The piece starred Fred Leslie as G.B. Stark, Margaret Bannerman as Joan and Leslie Henson as Bobby Summers. Later, Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard starred in the musical.
Clifford Grey was an English songwriter, librettist, actor and screenwriter. His birth name was Percival Davis, and he was also known as Clifford Gray.
Frederick A. Thompson, usually credited as Fred Thompson was an English writer, best known as a librettist for about fifty British and American musical comedies in the first half of the 20th century. Among the writers with whom he collaborated were George Grossmith Jr., P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton and Ira Gershwin. Composers with whom he worked included Lionel Monckton, Ivor Novello and George Gershwin.
Houp La! is an Edwardian musical comedy extravaganza, with music by Nat D. Ayer and Howard Talbot, lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Hugh E. Wright, and a book by Fred Thompson and Hugh E. Wright. The story combines the comic financial troubles of a circus owner with a love triangle.
Ida Adams, sometimes credited as Ida M. Adams, was an American-born actress and singer who worked chiefly in musical theatre.
Tails Up! was a 1918 London revue presented by André Charlot starring Jack Buchanan. The premiere took place at the Comedy Theatre, London on 1 June 1918 with Philip Braham conducting the band, and the show ran for 467 performances.
Zig-Zag! was a revue staged at the London Hippodrome, London during World War I. It was devised by Albert de Courville, Wal Pink and George Arnold, with music by Dave Stamper, lyrics by Gene Buck, and additional songs by George M. Cohan. The revue opened on 31 January 1917 starring George Robey, Daphne Pollard, Cicely Debenham, Shirley Kellogg, Marie Spink and Bertram Wallis. It ran for 648 performances.
Joy Bells was a revue staged at the London Hippodrome at the end of World War I. It was devised by Albert de Courville, with music and lyrics by H. G. Pether, Rupert Hazell, Oliver Wallace, Harold Weeks and others. The revue opened on 25 March 1919, starring George Robey, Fred Allandale, Phyllis Bedells, Anita Elson, Leon Errol, Shirley Kellogg and Daphne Pollard. It ran for 723 performances.
Alfred Lester, real name Alfred Edwin Leslie, was an English actor and comedian. Born into a theatrical family, he learnt his craft touring in melodramas, as a young man, but made his reputation as a comedian in musical comedy, music hall and, later, revue.
Laddie Cliff was a British dancer, choreographer, actor, producer, writer, and director of comedy, musical theatre and film. He was noted for his versatility. His many London West End theatre appearances and films included a long association with fellow thespian Stanley Lupino. He was married to the actress Phyllis Monkman. He died in 1937 after a period of ill health.
Blanche Eleanor Stocker was a British actress and singer, who played minor roles in a string of Edwardian musical comedies and other stage works early in the 20th century. She also played a film role.
Jack Haskell was an American theatrical producer who specialised in revue, later a dance director in Hollywood. Much of his early work was for J. C. Williamson's (JCW) in Australia.
