Pretty Polly (play)
Encyclopedia
Pretty Polly is a one-act playlet by Basil Hood
, with music composed by François Cellier
. The ten-minute long piece concerns the difficulties of a shy fellow who tries to use a talking parrot as a matrimonial agent.
The piece was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Colchester
, 26 April 1900, and then at the Savoy Theatre
, from 19 May 1900 to 28 June 1900 as a companion piece to Hood and Sir Arthur Sullivan's The Rose of Persia
, a run of 26 performances. It then played from 8 December 1900 to 20 April 1901, together with the first revival of Gilbert and Sullivan
's 1881 hit, Patience
, a run of 102 performances.
No printed libretto or vocal score is found in British Library, although the license copy of the libretto is there. The music appears to have been added for the Savoy Theatre production, as it is not indicated in the license copy.
partnership disbanded after the production of The Gondoliers
in 1889, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte
filled the Savoy Theatre with a combination of new works (several of which were composed by Arthur Sullivan
) and revivals of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas. The fashion in the late Victorian era
was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
preceded his Savoy opera
s with curtain raisers
. W. J. MacQueen-Pope
commented, concerning such curtain raisers:
The creators of Pretty Polly were two artists who Carte knew could deliver a good piece. Hood was also the librettist for the main item on the bill, The Rose of Persia
, and Cellier was the long-time music director of the Savoy Theatre and had produced other works for Carte. The little curtain raiser was warmly received. The Pall Mall Gazette wrote: "Pretty Polly, which preceded The Rose of Persia for the first time on Saturday night, is a little duologue by Mr. Basil Hood, which almost reconciles one to the curtain-raiser superfluity. If such things must be, this one is a model; only about ten minutes, and each one of them full of hearty laughter. Miss Louie Pounds is very charming in her part, and Mr. Henry Lytton acquits himself well in his; while a special word is due for the voice behind the scenes which talks for the live parrot on the stage."
Sir Arthur Sullivan
died shortly before the opening of the revival of Pretty Polly, and both Richard D'Oyly Carte and Queen Victoria died during the revival. As a mark of respect, the Savoy Theatre was kept dark for a period of time after each of these sad events.
Just then the bird squawks out "Pretty Polly!" and Brown tries to cover again, saying that he has learnt the skill of ventriloquism in India. As Brown tries to put the parrot's cage outside the window surreptitiously, Polly "notices" the parrot. Brown, thinking quickly, ties Percy Green's card to the cage and says that the parrot must have come from Mr Green. Polly exclaims that poor Freen must have sent it to her "to break the ice for him! What a clever idea!" Gathering his courage, Brown makes the following speech:
Polly then asks what else he taught the bird to say. Brown replies, "I wonder if she ever thinks of me!". Polly admits that the answer is "Yes". As Brown happily moves to kiss his pretty tormenter, she stops him: "One moment!" she covers up the parrot. "Parrots talk, you know!" They kiss.
From December 1900, the cast was:
Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood was a British librettist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British army, writing theatrical pieces in his spare...
, with music composed by François Cellier
François Cellier
François Arsène Cellier , often called Frank, was an English conductor and composer. He is best known for his tenure as music director and conductor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company during the original runs and early revivals of the Savoy operas.-Life and career:Cellier was born in South Hackney,...
. The ten-minute long piece concerns the difficulties of a shy fellow who tries to use a talking parrot as a matrimonial agent.
The piece was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, 26 April 1900, and then at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
, from 19 May 1900 to 28 June 1900 as a companion piece to Hood and Sir Arthur Sullivan's The Rose of Persia
The Rose of Persia
The Rose of Persia; or, The Story-Teller and the Slave, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitable run of 211 performances...
, a run of 26 performances. It then played from 8 December 1900 to 20 April 1901, together with the first revival of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's 1881 hit, Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
, a run of 102 performances.
No printed libretto or vocal score is found in British Library, although the license copy of the libretto is there. The music appears to have been added for the Savoy Theatre production, as it is not indicated in the license copy.
Background
When the Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
partnership disbanded after the production of The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
in 1889, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
filled the Savoy Theatre with a combination of new works (several of which were composed by Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
) and revivals of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas. The fashion in the late Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
preceded his Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s with curtain raisers
Curtain raiser (drama)
A curtain raiser is a performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain...
. W. J. MacQueen-Pope
W. J. MacQueen-Pope
Walter James MacQueen-Pope was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for the first part of his career, but switched to publicity, in which field he became well-known...
commented, concerning such curtain raisers:
- This was a one-act play, seen only by the early comers. It would play to empty boxes, half-empty upper circle, to a gradually filling stalls and dress circle, but to an attentive, grateful and appreciative pit and gallery. Often these plays were little gems. They deserved much better treatment than they got, but those who saw them delighted in them. ... [They] served to give young actors and actresses a chance to win their spurs ... the stalls and the boxes lost much by missing the curtain-raiser, but to them dinner was more important.
The creators of Pretty Polly were two artists who Carte knew could deliver a good piece. Hood was also the librettist for the main item on the bill, The Rose of Persia
The Rose of Persia
The Rose of Persia; or, The Story-Teller and the Slave, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitable run of 211 performances...
, and Cellier was the long-time music director of the Savoy Theatre and had produced other works for Carte. The little curtain raiser was warmly received. The Pall Mall Gazette wrote: "Pretty Polly, which preceded The Rose of Persia for the first time on Saturday night, is a little duologue by Mr. Basil Hood, which almost reconciles one to the curtain-raiser superfluity. If such things must be, this one is a model; only about ten minutes, and each one of them full of hearty laughter. Miss Louie Pounds is very charming in her part, and Mr. Henry Lytton acquits himself well in his; while a special word is due for the voice behind the scenes which talks for the live parrot on the stage."
Sir Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
died shortly before the opening of the revival of Pretty Polly, and both Richard D'Oyly Carte and Queen Victoria died during the revival. As a mark of respect, the Savoy Theatre was kept dark for a period of time after each of these sad events.
Synopsis
A good-hearted young man, Charlie Brown, has been abroad for some time. He wants to propose to pretty Polly Grey, but he is shy. He brings a talking parrot to her apartment to say the words "Pretty Polly! I wonder if she ever thinks of me!", which he hopes will "break the ice" for him, but he hides the parrot until he can determine whether or not she likes parrots. The lady sees the parrot and overhears his planning. She mischievously plays hard-to-get, claiming to hate parrots, but she happily accepts a bouquet of flowers from Brown (although the flowers had actually been sent by a rival, Percy Green). Brown hopes to sneak out without letting her know that he has brought the parrot, but Polly gives him a large dose of quinine to drink (as he had tried to excuse himself on account of tropical fever) and begs him to tell of his travels.Just then the bird squawks out "Pretty Polly!" and Brown tries to cover again, saying that he has learnt the skill of ventriloquism in India. As Brown tries to put the parrot's cage outside the window surreptitiously, Polly "notices" the parrot. Brown, thinking quickly, ties Percy Green's card to the cage and says that the parrot must have come from Mr Green. Polly exclaims that poor Freen must have sent it to her "to break the ice for him! What a clever idea!" Gathering his courage, Brown makes the following speech:
- Before I leave you for South Africa I must tell you as an honourable man that I have misled you. That is my parrot. Mr Percy Green’s card was tied to it by - by mistake. The voice you heard was not my voice, but my parrot's. The bird can talk, and I wanted it to say something which I was too shy to say myself. I meant it to break the ice for me. The clever idea was mine, not Mr Percy Green’s. Farewell!
Polly then asks what else he taught the bird to say. Brown replies, "I wonder if she ever thinks of me!". Polly admits that the answer is "Yes". As Brown happily moves to kiss his pretty tormenter, she stops him: "One moment!" she covers up the parrot. "Parrots talk, you know!" They kiss.
Cast information
The first Savoy Theatre cast was:- Charlie Brown – Henry LyttonHenry LyttonSir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century...
(who also played the Sultan in The Rose of Persia) - Polly Grey – Louie PoundsLouie PoundsLouisa Emma Amelia "Louie" Pounds was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical comedies and in mezzo-soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
From December 1900, the cast was:
- Charlie Brown – Robert EvettRobert EvettRobert Evett was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer.-Acting career:In 1892 Evett joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour in The Vicar of Bray, playing the Reverend Henry Sandford, the tenor lead. In 1893, Evett added the role of Oswald in Haddon Hall...
(who also played the Duke of Dunstable in Patience) - Polly Grey – Louie Pounds