Cinder Ellen up too Late

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Cinder Ellen up too Late was a musical burlesque written by Frederick Hobson Leslie (writing under the pseudonym A. C. Torr) and W. T. Vincent with music arranged by Meyer Lutz from compositions by Lionel Monckton, Sidney Jones, Walter Slaughter, Osmond Carr, Scott Gatti, Jacobi, Robertson, and Leopold Wenzel. Additional lyrics were written by Basil Hood. The show was a burlesque of the well known pantomime and fairy tale Cinderella.

It was first produced in Melbourne, Australia at the Princess Theatre in August 1891 and then in Sidney, Australia in October the Theatre Royal. It then debuted in London at the Gaiety Theatre in London, and ran from 24 December 1891 until 9 July 1892, a total of 181 performances. Nellie Farren, succeeded by Kate James and then Letty Lind played the title character, and the cast included Sylvia Grey and Florence Levey as the sisters, E.J. Lonnen as Prince Belgravia, Arthur Williams as Sir Ludgate Hill, and Fred Leslie as "a servant". Adelaide Astor had a small role, and Lottie Collins sang "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" in the piece.

John Hollingshead had managed the Gaiety Theatre from 1868 to 1886 as a venue for variety, continental operetta, light comedy, and numerous musical burlesques, similar to Cinder Ellen, composed or arranged by the theatre's music director, Wilhelm Meyer Lutz. Nellie Farren was the theatre's "principal boy." Fred Leslie starred at the theatre for over 20 years and wrote many of its pieces under his pseudonym "A. C. Torr".[1] Hollingshead called himself a "licensed dealer in legs, short skirts, French adaptations, Shakespeare, taste and musical glasses."[2] Hollingshead left the theatre in 1886, and for a time Edwardes continued to produce Gaiety burlesques, of which Cinder Ellen was one of the last. Soon, however, Edwards changed the focus of the theatre to the production of the new genre of Edwardian musical comedy.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Stewart, Maurice. 'The spark that lit the bonfire', in Gilbert and Sullivan News (London) Spring 2003.
  2. ^ Arthur Lloyd Music Hall site (on Gaiety) Cuttings accessed 01 Mar 2007

[edit] External links

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