Betty Blue Eyes

Betty Blue Eyes

Original West End production
Music George Stiles
Lyrics Anthony Drewe
Book Ron Cowen
Daniel Lipman
Basis A Private Function by
Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray
Productions 2011 West End

Betty Blue Eyes is a musical comedy with music by George Stiles, lyrics by Anthony Drewe, and book by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, based Alan Bennett's screenplay, A Private Function.

Contents

Synopsis

In a small Northern English town in 1947 the citizens endure continuing food rationing in the United Kingdom. Some local businessmen decide to raise a pig, illegally, to serve at a elite banquet to celebrate the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip. However, the pig is stolen by a local chiropodist, Gilbert Chilvers, encouraged by his wife. Joyce. Meanwhile, a food inspector is determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing.

Background

Betty Blue Eyes has received much press in being producer Cameron Mackintosh's "first gleaming new musical in over 10 years." When describing what drew him to the project (which he has described as "delicious"), Mackintosh said:

"The score was written by friends of mine, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, whom I've known for 25 years and [who,] of course, did all the terrific new songs for Mary Poppins ... The book was written by two Americans [Cowen and Lipman], and it was their idea... I read it and I thought it was the most original piece I had read in a long, long time. I mean, I knew they were working on it, because the moment I heard it was a musical version of 'A Private Function' — a film I loved, by Alan Bennett, which was very, very funny and off-the-wall — I was intrigued..."[1]

Productions

Betty Blue Eyes opened at the Novello Theatre in the West End, London, on 13 April 2011, following previews from 19 March 2011 in a production directed by Richard Eyre, with musical staging by Stephen Mear and design by Tim Hatley. The cast comprised Sarah Lancashire as Joyce Chilvers, Reece Shearsmith as Gilbert Chilvers, David Bamber as Doctor Swaby, Jack Edwards as Mr Allardyce, Ann Emery as Mother Dear, Mark Meadows as Lockwood and Adrian Scarborough as Inspector Wormold. The musical closed in London on 24 September 2011.[2]

Musical Numbers

Act I
  • Overture (Austerity Britain) —The Orchestra
  • Fair Shares for All —Joyce, The Company
  • A Place on the Parade —Gilbert, Joyce
  • Magic Fingers —Gilbert, Mrs Roach, Mrs Lester, Mrs Turnbull
  • Magic Fingers (Reprise) —Mrs Metcalf, Gilbert
  • Painting by Heart —Wormold, The Company
  • Nobody —Joyce, The Company
  • A Private Function —Swaby, Allardyce, Lockwood
  • Betty Blue Eyes —Allardyce, Gilbert
  • The Riot —Wormold, Noble, The Company
  • Lionheart —Joyce, The Billy Carroll Trio, The Company
  • Steal the Pig —Gilbert, Joyce, Swaby, Allardyce, Lockwood, Wormold, The Company
Act II
  • Entr'acte (The Pignap) — The Orchestra
  • Another Little Victory —Gilbert, Joyce, The Company
  • Kill the Pig (Reprise) —Joyce
  • It's an Ill Wind —Mrs Tilbrook, Townswomen
  • Pig No Pig —Joyce, Gilbert, Mother Dear, Wormold, Veronica
  • The Kind of Man I Am —Gilbert
  • A Piss Stained, Piss Poor Country —Swaby, Allardyce, Lockwood, Noble
  • Betty Blue Eyes (Reprise) —Gilbert, Allardyce
  • A Private Function (Reprise) —The Company
  • Finale Ultimo - Confessions —The Company
  • Magic Fingers (Reprise) —Gilbert, Joyce
  • Goodbye Austerity Britain —The Company

Original London Cast

References

  1. ^ Jones, Kenneth (March 21, 2011). "Cameron Mackintosh's New Musical". playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/features/article/148966-Cameron-Mackintoshs-New-Musical. Retrieved 22 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Husband, Stuart (March 16, 2011). "Behind the scenes of 'Betty Blue Eyes'". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/8376112/Behind-the-scenes-of-Betty-Blue-Eyes.html. Retrieved 22 March 2011. 

External links