Revusical.
Sometimes staged under the titles The Beauty Parlour and The Manicure Parlour, this one-act musical comedy revue sees Stiffy and Mo in the roles of buyers visiting a beauty parlour owned by Helen Summer and her husband Harry. Other characters include Major Pinetree (Helen's uncle), George (a customer), Mrs De Vere (a widow), Dr Burgess, Mary (a maid), Florence (a friend of Helen's), and a group of friends and visitors.
The same beauty parlour setting and several of the characters in Manicure, Sir? also appear in Phillips' first-ever Stiffy and Mo revusical, What Oh Tonight (1916). The characters appearing in both productions are Stiffy, Mo, Helen, Uncle, Mrs De Vere, and Mary. It is possible, therefore, that the latter production is based on the earlier work, with new songs and some new comic business. One of the characters in Manicure, Sir?, Major Pinetree, also shares a similar name to a character introduced in another revusical, Yes We Don't (which included a Colonel Pinetree).
According to the Argus's review of the 1917 Bijou Theatre (Melbourne) debut:
The extraordinary diversions of a suburban rabbit-hawker and a Hebrew investor in a "beauty parlour" were at times cleverly conceived, and on several occasions contained all the elements of a really humorous situation. The success of this piece was due to the energy and originality of two experienced comedians, who carried the burden of a somewhat top-heavy construction of ballet, chorus and incidental humour. Much of the low-grade comedy which offends every canon of good taste, and at times goes well beyond the limit of tolerance, emanates from 'Mo' though unfortunately he is only too well seconded by his ally (8 October 1917, p.9).
The 'musical treatments' in the 1922 production were 'Beauty' (sung by the girls and customers), 'Tennessee' (Connors and Paul), 'Maggie Dooley' (Phillips, Rene, and Shaw), 'Got to Get Busy' (Connelly and girls), 'Cute Way of Their Own' (Merton and girls), 'Uncle Joe' (Connors and company), 'Excelsior' (Connelly and Shaw), 'Wonder' (Paul and girls), 'Make Believe' (Connors), 'Marie' (Phillips and Davis), 'Wonderful Girl' (O'Brien and girls), and the finale, 'Sold' (company).
