Shows - Me & My Girl - June 2003

We were proud to present "Me & My Girl" at the Wilde Theatre, South Hill Park, Bracknell, from the 3rd to 7th June 2003. This vibrant and colourful show proved very popular with the cast and audiences thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

Music is by Noel Gay, book and lyrics by L. Arthur Rose & Douglas Furber with recent revisions by Stephen Fry. The musical was winner of the Best West End Musical 1985 and features well known favourites such as The Sun Has Got His Hat On, Leaning On A Lamp Post, and of course The Lambeth Walk.

All Me & My Girl show photos on this page, the cast profile pages, and those in the gallery, were taken by, and are displayed with permission of, .

• Chairman's Welcome
• Synopsis
• The Show
• The Cast
• Scenes and Musical Numbers
• Production Team
• Orchestra
• ic Berkshire Review
• Gallery

Chairman's Welcome

Welcome to our production of Me And My Girl, which couldn't be more different from last year's Die Fledermaus, or our various Broadway shows, not least because it gives our Northern cast members oppportunities to try out new bizarre accents, whereas others can be completely natural!

We are delighted to welcome back Carol Hardy as Director, following her successes with Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate. We must also thank, once again, Nick Austin, our Musical Director for his leadership, enthusiasm and terrible jokes at rehearsal. A warm CMP welcome goes to David Parsonson, who has brought a wealth of experience as choreographer and has certainly 'kept us on our toes' (sorry) in the big dance numbers, some of which I have almost learned!

This has been a very popular show with the cast, and I must welcome and thank all the new members who have joined us this year, together with all the other members and friends who have helped behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy the performance and that you will all be walking 'the Lambeth Way' as you leave!

Inside this programme you will find a form which will help us make sure you know about future productions and events by joining our free mailing list as a 'Friend of CMP'. Please fill it in and leave it at the raffle desk in the foyer.

John Caley

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Synopsis

It is the late 1930s and an excited crowd of toffs are heading for a weekend party at Hareford Hall in Hampshire. Meanwhile, at a family conference, Parchester the solicitor reveals that he has located the heir to the family fortune - a certain Bill Snibson from Lambeth, the product of an unfortunate alliance in the 13th Earl's youth. But he can only inherit the estate if he is a 'fit and proper' person and this must be decided by the executors: Maria, Duchess of Dene and Sir John Tremayne. Although the family are horrified by Bill's uncouth ways, the Duchess believes she can transform him into an aristocrat, while her daughter, Lady Jaqueline Carstone, decides Bill would be a much more lucrative catch than her drippy fiance, Gerald Bolingbroke. There is a complication however. Bill has brought along his Lambeth girl-friend, Sally Smith, and all can see that she is certainly not the 'fit and proper consort' also required by the will. The Duchess wants to separate the couple, while Sir John would like to send both of them packing. Sally takes the heart-breaking decision not to stand in Bill's way and tries to show him that she is too common for the high-life by turning up at the dinner thrown in his honour with a gang of her cockney chums. The culture clash results in a rousing rendition of the Lambeth Walk.

The next day, with the house party still in full swing, Bill decides that he will return to Lambeth to be with his girl (once he has given his maiden speech in the House of Lords), but Sally still thinks he should remain at Hareford and she heads back to London alone. Sir John has other ideas. He has been touched by the couple's obvious love for each other and follows Sally to persuade her (in one of the corniest plot twists ever!) to take lessons from a remarkable man he knows in Upper Wimpole Street. Back at Hareford, the Hunt Ball is in progress and Bill is preparing to leave. Sir John and the Duchess have finally acknowledged their feelings for each other and Gerald has discovered the way to Jaquie's heart (via somewhere else!) when, unknown to Bill, the transformed Sally returns (Sir John: "I think she's got it!"). Would you believe, they all live happily after?!

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The Show

Me And My Girl, in its original incarnation, opened on December 16, 1937 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London and was an immense hit, running for two years and almost 1,700 performances. Then the show fell into near-total obscurity until its successful revival in the mid-1980s. This version was rewritten by Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent and was first presented at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre (produced by Richard Armitage, son of the pseudonymous original composer, Noel Gay) before transferring to the Adelphi Theatre, London, where it opened on 12th February 1985 with Robert Lindsay and Emma Thompson. Although the show was hugely popular and won five Drama Desk awards, it was thought to be "too British" for Broadway audiences. In 1986 however, the New York production of Me and My Girl went on to earn eleven Tony Award nominations and win three, including Actor (Musical), Actress (Musical), and Choreography.

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The Cast

The Dancers

Left To Right: Joanna Lynch, Hayley Spong,
Debbie Mann, Dave Bennett, Kate Cooper
and Shirley Twist

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Scenes and Musical Numbers

England: the late 1930s.

ACT ONE

Scene 1: The road to Hareford/Hareford Hall. A Summer's evening

Scene 2: The Kitchen

Scene 3: The Drawing Room

Scene 4: The Hareford Arms

Scene 5: Hareford Hall

ACT TWO

Scene 1: The Garden of Hareford Hall

Scene 2: The Library

Scene 3: Capstan Street, Lambeth

Scene 4: Hareford Hall

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Production Team

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Orchestra

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ic Berkshire Review

For an independent review of the show, visit ic Berkshire.

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Gallery

Click here to see the photo gallery.

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