Two to One single work   musical theatre   revue/revusical   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1955... 1955 Two to One
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Intimate revue.

The first Phillip Street Theatre show not devised by the company's original creative team of McKellar, Donovan, and Mulcahy, Two for One is said to have been written by upwards of twenty people. Comprising six women and three men, the revue took aim at numerous local and international topics, including snob talk from the Randwick lawns; a couple of jaded octogenarian/ex-J. C. Williamson singers; a bunch of Borgias comparing notes on the effectiveness of thallium and sitting on circular saws; the Leaning Tower of Pisa; a city store proudly selling Eskimodes for Eskimodels; and Tasmanian actor Max Oldaker singing a song about his mania to go back to that state.

One of the highlights of the show was siad to have been a skit in which the foundations of the drama trust and Medea were discussed. The scene also involved a Greek chorus of damsels advertising a well-known brand of girdle with the manner of Euripedes, the language of a radio copy-writer, and complaints about the 'fittin'.'

Notes

  • Sydney Morning Herald critic L. B. notes that although the audience was kept laughing throughout, the show lacked a strong controlling star (7 November 1955, p.4).

Production Details

  • 1955: Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney ; 5 Nov. 1955 - ca. Jan.1956.

    • Producer William Orr.
    • Cast incl. Max Oldaker, Barbara Wyndon, Wendy Blacklock, Diana Bell, Gina Curtis, Diana Field, Joyce Quealy.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1955
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Related Works

The Birthday Show John McKellar , Lance Mulcahy , Phillip Street Theatre , Dot Mendoza (composer), 1959 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Intimate revue.

Devised in order to celebrate the Phillip Street Theatre's fifth birthday, The Birthday Show comprised a smattering of new material along with popular favourites from previous productions, notably Top of the Bill, Hit and Run, Hat Trick, Two to One, Mr and Mrs, Around the Loop, Cross Section, and Bats.

Songs interpolated into the production included 'Oh What a Year it's Been' and 'Trite Fantastic' (McKellar); 'The Oracle' (Rasdall/Goldman); 'The World is My Ashtray', 'Tiger Moth', and 'Noel' (McKellar/Mendoza); 'Katoomba' (McKellar/Mulcahy); 'Soap Opera', 'Breakfast Delight', and 'White Carnations' (McKellar/Donovan); 'Golden Hair', 'You Came from Outer Space', 'Beside Myself', and 'Wow of a Frau' (McKellar/Donovan/Mulcahy); 'Bread Love and Teddy Bears' (McKellar/Frazer); 'Queen's Square' (Nettheim); 'Letter Song' (Taylor/Mulcahy); 'Circulation', 'Cuckoo', and 'Call of the Wild' (Donovan/Mulcahy); 'April in Fairbanks' (Grand); 'Woy Boy' (Cranko/Swan); 'Don't Let Him Know You Too Well' (Cranko/Addison); 'Surly Girls' (Flanders/Swan); 'Bedside Manners' (Frazer); and 'Happy Birthday' (Mendoza).
Phillip Street Revue Phillip Street Theatre , 1960 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Intimate revue.

Comprising songs and sketches from the Phillip Street Theatre revues staged over the previous six years, this production also included several new faces amongst the cast.

According to a review in the Sydney Morning Herald, the highlights were a sketch titled 'Soap Opera'; Jill Perryman in 'The World is My Ashtray (and you would be my next cigarette...)'; 'Swan Like', a sketch 'where wooden swans creak and ballet is reduced to controlled and humorous gymnastics'; and 'Cinderella on Ice', described as a devastating crack at the slippery surface of pantomime' (28 April 1960, p.6).
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (2)

Works about this Work

Phillip St. Theatre's New Revue L. B. , 1955 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 November 1955; (p. 4)
— Review of Two to One 1955 single work musical theatre
Phillip St. Theatre's New Revue L. B. , 1955 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 November 1955; (p. 4)
— Review of Two to One 1955 single work musical theatre
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (1)

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

Note:
This entry has been sourced from research undertaken by Dr Clay Djubal into Australian-written popular music theatre.
Last amended 18 Sep 2014 13:23:12
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