Me and My Girl

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Me and My Girl is a two-act musical with the music of Noel Gay . Book and lyrics were written by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber . Me and My Girl premiered on December 16, 1937 at the Victoria Palace Theater in London and became the most successful British musical of the 1930s with 1646 performances.

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Act 1
The musical Me and My Girl begins in the first act with a happy, rich company driving an automobile from London to the countryside. There the long-missing heir of the county is expected to arrive. Lady Jacqueline Carstone, who is engaged to her cousin Gerald Bolingbroke, is most eagerly awaiting the arrival, because she wants to win the heir and thus the title for herself, no matter what the cost. Family lawyer Herbert Parchester reports to the family council about the unfortunate fate of the thirteenth earl: he had married improperly in his youth, but then separated from his wife before their son was born. The woman died early and then the earl also died, so the title should now be handed over to the rightful heir. The Parchester had long since found this heir and he is now waiting outside. However, there is one condition: the inheritance must be recognized as worthy and fit by two executors, namely Maria, Duchess of Dene and sister of the deceased, and Sir John Tremayne, an old friend of the family. Bill Snibson comes in and confuses all of fine society because he's completely different from what everyone had imagined: he comes from the working-class Lambeth district, is a cockney and has brought his girl Sally with him. The Duchess decides to turn the simple market boy Bill into a perfect gentleman. Sally is accommodated in the nearby village inn and Jacquie tries everything to win Bill. Sir John tries to convince Sally that they both (Bill and Sally) should go back to Lambeth. Sally, however, decides to do without him out of love for Bill. Before the welcome party for the new Earl, everyone is waiting for Bill to appear. This appears in elegant evening wear and convinces everyone with perfect Oxford English. Suddenly Sally shows up with Bill's old friends from Lambeth and tries to convince him with her rough demeanor that she no longer suits him. Bill, however, sees through their plan and realizes that he does not belong to this fine society: in Mayfair you go different than in Lambeth. The first act ends with Bill leading the Nobles and the Cockneys into Lambeth Walk.

Act 2
The next day seems to be like any other, you play croquet in the garden and everything is as usual. But Sally is asked by Maria to finally ditch Bill. Bill looks for this in the library, where he practices his inaugural and abdication speeches for the House of Lords. Sally tries to convince him to marry appropriately and then returns to Lambeth unhappy. In the meantime, Bill learns everything about his family, what "Noblesse oblige" means and what it means to be a true Hareford. Bill asks Sally to wait for him in a telegram, because he wants to give up everything for her. However, she wants to move away immediately so as not to stand in the way of his happiness. But Sir John has a plan: Sally disappears from the scene before Bill appears in Lambeth. Unhappy, Bill returns to Hareford Hall after serenading at the lamppost. Maria realizes that Sally Bill means everything. She also accepts Sir John's proposal and Gerald and Jacquie are now getting married. Bill then appears and announces that he does not belong here and goes to pack. To everyone's surprise, Sally now appears dressed as the perfect lady. While talking to Bill she hides her face, but then she turns to him and reveals her secret. Bill's joyful outcry seals the happy ending! And the second act ends with a grand finale, with the Lambeth Walk of course not missing.

Music numbers

  •  The 1937 musical contained eight songs.
    •   A Weekend at Hareford
    •   Thinking of No-One But Me (I only think of myself)
    •   Me and My Girl (Me and My Girl)
    •   The Family Solicitor (The Hareford Hall Family Solicitor)
    •   A Domestic Discussion / An English Gentleman (A real gentleman)
    •   You Would, If You Could (you have to if you can)
    •   The Lambeth Walk
    •   Take it On the Chin (just keep your ears stiff ...)
  •  Noel Gay composed additional songs for an amateur revival in 1952,
    three of which were used in the 1985 London version.
    •   Once you lose your heart
    •   The Song of Hareford
    •   If Only You Had Cared for Me   deleted from 1986 Broadway production
  •  It also used four songs from other 1930s Noel gay shows.
    •   Leaning on a Lamppost (I'm leaning on the lamp post)
    •   Love Makes the World Go Round
    •   Hold My Hand (hand in hand)
    •   The Sun Has Got His Hat On

Re-performance

In the 1980s there was a very successful revival of the piece, which was produced by Noel Gay's son. The revision, which started on February 12, 1985 at the Adelphi Theater in London's West End , brought it to 3,303 performances. The book for this was written by Stephen Fry , directed by Mike Ockrent and starring Robert Lindsay and Emma Thompson .
The production, also directed by Mike Ockrent, premiered on August 10, 1986 at the Marquis Theater in New York . It was performed 1,420 times on Broadway .

The German-language premiere took place on February 29, 1992 in the Landestheater Coburg . Hartmut H. Forche directed and choreographed and the translation was done in collaboration with Mary Millane. The German-language lyrics are by Joachim Carl (with the assistance of William Arthur). For the 20th anniversary of the German premiere, the play was staged again at the Landestheater Coburg (November 17th, 2012, production: Holger Hauer). On October 7, 2017, a new production of Me and my Girl at Theater Vorpommern was released under the direction of Kay Link .

filming

Me and My Girl was made into a film in 1940 under the title The Lambeth Walk .

Awards

literature

  • Hubert Wildbihler: The international course book for musicals. 2nd Edition. Musical archive Wildbihler, Passau 2001, ISBN 3-928979-40-X .

Web links