Quaker Girl
Lionel Monckton
25th to 28th April, 2018
Jubilee Theatre, St Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth
We are pleased to present as our main production Lionel Monckton’s ‘The Quaker Girl’, one of the most popular Musical Comedies of the Edwardian Era. This show was last presented by Gosforth Musical Society in 2003, and was the last production we performed in our old venue of Gosforth United Reformed Church Hall, before moving to the Jubilee Theatre.
‘The Quaker Girl’ premiered at the Adelphi Theatre, London on 5th November 1910 and ran, for what was at the time, a very successful 536 performances. The musical starred Gertie Millar, who was one of the biggest stars on the London stage then, and also happened to be married to Lionel Monckton. The show subsequently had successful runs on Broadway and in Paris.
It was revived successfully in a revised version at the London Coliseum in 1944, and toured the UK successfully until 1948. The show remained popular with amateur groups until 1990, when musicals of the early 20th century fell out of fashion. However we think shows of this era deserve to be heard and seen again, especially after our successful revival of ‘The Arcadians’ in 2015. The show is filled with great tunes and musical set pieces, and has plenty of character parts to showcase the acting and singing talents of our Society.
The story of ‘The Quaker Girl’ contrasts dour Quaker morality with Parisienne high fashion. The Quaker Girl of the title, Prudence Pym, is thrown out of her house by her Quaker aunt and uncle for drinking a glass of champagne. Later in Paris, her grey dress and bonnet become the height of fashion, and she becomes the toast of society.