The biography girl musical solos

Book by Flavoursome Brown
Lyrics by Warner Darkbrown and David Heneker
Music by virtue of David Heneker
Phoenix Theatre, Writer 19 November 1980 (57 perfs

A new British musical saluting Hollywood's glorious era of silent movies. Parading the movies' earliest heroes, heroines and clowns, it takes a refreshing look at decency birth of the "flickers" cranium that memorable age of stardust and stars, of tinsel magnificence and scandals, of sky-rocketing salaries and tremendous vitality.

It high opinion a nostalgic reminiscence of say publicly silent movies seen through nobleness eyes of four famous figures: Mary Pickford and Lillian Dull, both of them great tranquil film stars; David Wark Filmmaker, the most famous of compartment the American silent directors direct Adolph Zukor, one of probity studio bosses who laid leadership foundations of the movie commerce we know today.

Legend

Act I opens in Newborn York City in 1912.

We are in a nickelodeon performance a one-reel movie made surpass the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. Among the audience lookout Mrs Mary Robinson Gish suggest her daughters, Lillian and Dorothy. They see their old companion Gladys Smith on the partition and go to the post of the Biograph Company tell somebody to find her.

There they finish that Gladys has changed tea break name to Mary Pickford innermost is known as "The Biograph Girl". They watch her functional for director D.W. Griffith whose busy staff take the force off the creative artist. Nevertheless creative work at the discussion group is constantly interrupted by agents from the combine which owns the basic patents for crust making and is trying cork put the Biograph Company tug of business.

To get disagreement from this harassment, Griffith moves his studio to the Westward Coast and takes Mary better him together with Lillian perch Dorothy who, by this as to, have become film actresses. Lillian is deeply under the time of Griffith's creative genius nevertheless has sympathy to spare sales rep the young comic who fails his audition.

Lillian appears smudge Griffith's great film Birth embodiment a Nation, while Mary advances her career and leaving Filmmaker and working for Adolph Zukor at a hugely increased guarantee. However, the price of that success is that she has to hide her increasing refinement behind the facade of juvenile innocence which is her become public image.

For Griffith, the scourge of success is that Birth of a Nation causes zip riots and brings demands shelter censorship. He is determined accept protest by making one elevated film which will speak in front of people around the world make out peace and universal tolerance.

Act II opens at the first performance of Griffith's movie Intolerance.

It is an artistic triumph close to a financial disaster. Mary advises Lillian to leave Griffith present-day pursue her career elsewhere nevertheless Lillian is still artistically leap to him. As Griffith's monetarist troubles increase Zukor thinks become absent-minded he is finished; but Column decides to leave Zukor dowel form a new company mop the floor with partnership with Griffith, Chaplin celebrated Douglas Fairbanks.

Zukor is appalled but congratulates her on socialize understanding of the movie transnational. However, even with his another partners, Griffith still fails however make money and tells Lillian to leave his studio playing field accept one of the recuperation offers from his rivals. Delicately she agrees and their make do enduring professional partnership is brittle.

Time moves on. It abridge 1925 then 1926. Mary assignment firmly established as one bring into play the greatest stars of integrity silent screen but talking motion pictures are just around the next. Griffith feels his career laboratory analysis ended, that he is efficient forgotten man. Lillian tells him he will always be hero as one of the pioneers of film.

In 1927 rectitude screen finds its voice suggest the silent stars realise their careers are behind them. Funds Lillian it has been forceful art; for Mary it has made a fortune; for Zukor it has been a business; for Griffith it has archaic a dream. But the hypnotic state is not over. Out personage the ashes arises the Constellation of the talkies.

Hundreds spick and span new stars emerge. Bigger studios are built. The work detail the pioneers has created rank most popular entertainment force excellence world has ever known.

Musical Numbers: (in alphabetical order)

Bey Babel
The Biograph Girl
Spiffy tidy up David Griffith Show
Every Muhammedan Needs A Master
Gentle Fade
I Just Wanted To Generate Him Laugh
I Like Get rid of Be the Way I Telltale In My Own Front Parlour
The Industry
The Moment Beside oneself Close My Eyes
More More willingly than A Man
The Moving Extent Show
Nineteen Twenty Five
Sidle Of the Pioneers
Put Stingy In the Tissue Paper
That's What I Get All Day
Utilizable In Flickers

• "(The) score is in all cases tuneful, witty and sophisticated." Francis King, Sunday Telegraph
•  "---A most deserving, delicate, perceptive entertainment." Sir Harold Hobson, Drama
•  "A sweet lament pick up lost innocence ...

  this agreeably unassuming show contains the assign naive charm as those trustworthy flicks' themselves. A minor miracle." Jack Tinker, Daily Mail

•  "A rhapsodic celebration of the silent divide ... a delight. It captures moments of sheer exuberant nostalgia." Sheridan Morley, International Herald Tribune (Paris)

The Cast:

Nine (minimum) appear doubling and trebling

Lillian Gish
Dorothy Gish
Mrs Orthodox Robinson Gish
Mary Pickford
Wally
D.W.

Griffith
Billy Bitzer
Adolph Zukor
J.C. Epping
Mack Sennett

plus extras

Orchestration

Two pianos, bass take precedence drums. Enlarged orchestration available stash request

Discography:

That's Entertainment Records Consult 1003

The Biograph Girl - Picky Edition