Musical comedy.
Although described in pre-season advertising as a revue, Eastwood Ho! falls into the musical comedy genre due to its reliance on a dramatically organised plot. The narrative's basic premise has the various characters set sail from London (which includes a scene in Piccadilly) for the Middle East on a treasure hunt. One of the more spectacular scenes, according to the Times critic, was set in a Phoenician temple. The same critic was not overly impressed with the show, particularly the book, writing:
'It was rather a pity that Mr Oscar Asche's party of treasure seekers did not reach the East until the proceedings had not been particularly exciting.... When once we had got to Cairo things began to improve, mainly because Mr Asche at last had an opportunity of letting his imagination run riot... [but] the book is particularly weak, and it was really rather painful last night to see a host of clever people struggling with such material' (10 September 1919, p.8).
The Pall Mall Gazette critic was of a similar opinion, pointing to the temple scene (complete with livestock and 'Chu Chin Chow-ish Oriental medley') and the 'Dream of Babylon' as examples of the show's spectacular settings. The delays between scenes and the 'excuse for a plot' were deemed, however, as detrimental to the show's chance of success (10 September 1919, p.5).
Songs known to have been written for the production are 'Dreams', and 'Only I had Known', both sung by Violet Lorraine.
