Oh Kay!
Louise Gold starred as Kay, at Barbican Cinema 1, on
17, 24, 31 August and 7 September 1997.
Cast
Molly Morse - Lara
Serebrier
Don - Nicola Edwards
The Duke - Stewart
Permutt
Larry Potter - Michael
Gyngell
Phil Ruxton - Liza
Pulman
Dolly Ruxton - Julia
Farino
Shorty McGee - David de
Keyser
Constance Appleton -
Lorelei King
Jimmy Winter - Michael
Fitzpatrick
Kay - Louise Gold
Reveune Officer Jansen - Johnny
Meyers
Wally - Louise Anne
Halliday
Daisy - Sophia Wylie
Judge Appleton - Reg
Eppey
Assistant Revenue Officer,
Chauffeur - Darren Hudson.
Production Team
Music - George
Gershwin
Lyrics - Ira
Gershwin
Book - Guy
Bolton and PG Wodehouse
Original
Production – 8 November 1926, The Imperial Theatre,
Musical
Director - Jason Carr
Director and
Producer - Ian Marshall-Fisher
Words and Music Issue 29, January 1998 carried a
fairly comprehensive review of Oh
Kay. Please click here to read it.
Sufficient to add, that where the reviewer said "a manner reminiscent
of The Muppets", they were probably referring to the Muppet monster
Big Mamma.
This concert staging of Oh Kay is important
because it used the original script exactly as written. The show has had at
least two revivals (sometimes with rather noticeable alterations to the
script).
A revival at
The Westminster Theatre in March 1974 starred Amanda Barrie as Kay, and had Thick
Wilson as Shorty. Interestingly Thick
Wilson went on to voice The Gourmand Skeksis in the film The Dark Crystal (it may be worth noting, not least
because The Gourmand Skeksis’s Principal Puppeteer does just happen to have
gone on to play the title role in this Lost
Musicals production of Oh Kay).
A revival at The
Chichester Festival Theatre in May 1984. clearly had some major rewrites,
since they gave Shorty a wife and daughter, the latter being played by Myra Sands, who of course went on to
become a stalwart member of the Lost Musicals gang.
Guy Bolten and P.G. Wodehouse,
attempted to write the book for Anything Goes,
unfortunately events proved their efforts to be decidedly unfunny. However, P G
Wodehouse did write some lyrics for that show, and
Louise Gold sings them on the JAY/TER studio cast recording of it.
The Imperial Theatre in New York was also the
venue for the original production of the Gershwin musical Let ‘Em Eat Cake (which Louise Gold
appeared in a staging of on BBC Radio 3) and the Kurt Weill musical One
Touch Of Venus, which Louise Gold starred in concert stagings at
Barbican Cinema 1 (see One Touch
Of Venus (1992 Production)) and The Linbury Studio Theatre (see One Touch Of Venus (2000 Production))
Stewart Permutt and Louise Gold had
previously appeared in the Lost Musicals production of Something For The Boys and went on to
appear in Du Barry Was A Lady (2001
Production).
Louise Gold, Stewart Permutt,
and, Reg Eppey had previously appeared in the Lost Musicals
production of Panama Hattie.
Lorelei King had previously been a
contestant on Let’s Do The Show Right
Here, for which Louise Gold was a Team Captain.
Louise Gold and Liza Pulman
have gone on to appear together in The Gondoliers
Michael Gyngell has gone on to
appear in A Love Letter To Dan.
Links about Oh Kay
Muppet Central/Tibby's Bowl Interview with Louise Gold http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/gold.shtml
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