Zuleika
Encyclopedia
Zuleika is a musical
with music by Peter Tranchell
and book and lyrics by James Ferman
. The musical is based on the 1911 novel, Zuleika Dobson
, by Max Beerbohm
.
in 1954, two years before Beerbohm's death. The impresario Donald Albery
acquired the rights to stage it in the West End
, and engaged Osbert Lancaster
as designer and Alfred Rodrigues as director. The production opened at the Saville Theatre
on 11 April 1957. Beerbohm had died the year before, but his widow, Elisabeth
interested herself in the production, and attended the first night.
The plot of the novel was generally followed, except for the conclusion, which was changed to provide a happy ending. Beerbohm had insisted that the name of the heroine should be pronounced "Zuleeka", but for the musical the pronunciation was changed to "Zulika", which was thought easier to sing.
The actress originally cast as Zuleika, Diane Cilento
, won excellent critical comment when the show previewed in Manchester
, but was taken ill before the show opened in London. She was unable to appear, and the part was taken by Mildred Mayne, a performer best known at the time as a model, appearing on posters in the London Underground advertising underwear.
, having called the show "a most pleasing imitation of Edwardian musical comedy
", added "Miss Mildred Mayne, taking the part of Zuleika at short notice, is not, perhaps, all that Beerbohm painted her, but she is always engaging and she sings easily and well." In The Manchester Guardian, Philip Hope-Wallace was unconvinced by the new Zuleika: "What the incomparable Max would have thought of Mildred Mayne, the new leading lady, one fails to imagine." In The Observer
, Kenneth Tynan
called the show "the best British musical since The Boy Friend
", but thought Mayne "competent in a role for which competence is not enough"." Rupert Hart-Davis
, who accompanied Elisabeth Beerbohm to the first night, was privately less tactful: he called the show "delightfully gay and charming," but added, "the leading lady is quite without looks, charm or talent. With someone like … Marilyn Monroe
it would run for ever."
The show ran for 124 performances, closing on 27 July 1957.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music by Peter Tranchell
Peter Tranchell
Peter Andrew Tranchell was a British composer.Tranchell was born at Cuddalore, India, on July 14, 1922, and educated at the Dragon School , Clifton College and King's College . During the Second World War he served, like his father, Col...
and book and lyrics by James Ferman
James Ferman
James Alan Ferman was an American television and theatre director. He was the Secretary of the British Board of Film Classification from 1975 to 1999....
. The musical is based on the 1911 novel, Zuleika Dobson
Zuleika Dobson
Zuleika Dobson, full title Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford love story, is a 1911 novel by Max Beerbohm, a satire of undergraduate life at Oxford. It was his only novel, but was nonetheless very successful...
, by Max Beerbohm
Max Beerbohm
Sir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:...
.
History
The show was first staged at an undergraduate club at CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1954, two years before Beerbohm's death. The impresario Donald Albery
Donald Albery
Sir Donald Arthur Rolleston Albery was an English theatre impressario who did much to translate the adventurous spirit of London in the 1960s into theatrical reality....
acquired the rights to stage it in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, and engaged Osbert Lancaster
Osbert Lancaster
Sir Osbert Lancaster, CBE was an English cartoonist, author, art critic and stage designer, best known to the public at large for his cartoons published in the Daily Express.-Biography:Lancaster was born in London, England...
as designer and Alfred Rodrigues as director. The production opened at the Saville Theatre
Saville Theatre
The Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.-Theatre years:...
on 11 April 1957. Beerbohm had died the year before, but his widow, Elisabeth
Elisabeth Jungmann
Elisabeth Jungmann was an interpreter and the secretary, literary executor and second wife of caricaturist and parodist Sir Max Beerbohm....
interested herself in the production, and attended the first night.
The plot of the novel was generally followed, except for the conclusion, which was changed to provide a happy ending. Beerbohm had insisted that the name of the heroine should be pronounced "Zuleeka", but for the musical the pronunciation was changed to "Zulika", which was thought easier to sing.
The actress originally cast as Zuleika, Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento
Diane Cilento was an Australian theatre and film actress and author.-Biography:Cilento's parents, Sir Raphael Cilento and Lady Phyllis Cilento, were both distinguished medical practitioners....
, won excellent critical comment when the show previewed in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, but was taken ill before the show opened in London. She was unable to appear, and the part was taken by Mildred Mayne, a performer best known at the time as a model, appearing on posters in the London Underground advertising underwear.
Cast
- Katie Batch – Patricia Stark
- Noaks – Peter WoodthorpePeter WoodthorpePeter Woodthorpe was an English film, television and voice actor who is best known for supplying the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of The Lord of the Rings and BBC's 1981 radio serial...
- Lord Sayes – Roderick CookRoderick CookRoderick Cook was an English playwright, writer, theatre director and actor of stage, television and film...
- The Hon Charles Trent-Garby – Clive ExtonClive ExtonClive Exton was a British television and film screenwriter, sometime playwright, and former actor. He is best known for his scripts of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster, and Rosemary & Thyme.-Early career:He was born Clive Jack Montague Brooks in Islington, London,...
- Sir John Marraby – Philip BondPhilip Bond (actor)Philip Bond is a British actor best known for playing Albert Frazer in 24 episodes of the 1970s BBC nautical drama The Onedin Line....
- Oover – Michael O'Connor
- The Duke of Dorset – David Morton
- The Macquern – John Gower
- The Warden of Judas – Daniel Thorndyke
- Zuleika – Mildred Mayne
- Melisande – Hermione Harvey
Critical reception
The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, having called the show "a most pleasing imitation of Edwardian musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
", added "Miss Mildred Mayne, taking the part of Zuleika at short notice, is not, perhaps, all that Beerbohm painted her, but she is always engaging and she sings easily and well." In The Manchester Guardian, Philip Hope-Wallace was unconvinced by the new Zuleika: "What the incomparable Max would have thought of Mildred Mayne, the new leading lady, one fails to imagine." In The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
called the show "the best British musical since The Boy Friend
The Boy Friend
The Boy Friend is a musical by Sandy Wilson. The musical's original 1954 London production ran for 2,078 performances, making it briefly the third-longest running musical in West End or Broadway history until it was surpassed by Salad Days...
", but thought Mayne "competent in a role for which competence is not enough"." Rupert Hart-Davis
Rupert Hart-Davis
Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
, who accompanied Elisabeth Beerbohm to the first night, was privately less tactful: he called the show "delightfully gay and charming," but added, "the leading lady is quite without looks, charm or talent. With someone like … Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
it would run for ever."
The show ran for 124 performances, closing on 27 July 1957.