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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Revusical.
A newly wedded couple set out on their honeymoon but unexpectedly encounter the antics of Stiffy and Erb, 'a couple of "buttinskis" whose fate in the ladder of life had called upon them to act as waiters in a fashionable restaurant' (Brisbane Courier 24 January 1927, p.16). The action and laughs are played out in the restaurant as the couple, their friends, and the bride's parents attempt to cope with each other and the two larrikin waiters.
Songs incorporated into the 1927 Brisbane production included 'A String of Pearls' and 'Tiptoe' (performed by May Laurence), 'Every Time I See You' (Polly Power), 'Lonesome and Sorry' (Dorothy Manning), and a yodeling song performed by Harry Cash.
Notes
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There are some similarities between The Wedding Party and another of Nat Phillips's revusicals, Waiters, the most notable being that both plots are developed around the presence of two newlyweds and two waiters. They do not appear to be related, however, as The Waiters's storyline involves the attempted kidnapping of an heiress bride.
Production Details
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1927: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 22-28 January.
- Director Nat Phillips; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Music Director Frank Wilson; Troupe Nat Phillips' Whirligigs [aka Stiffy and 'Erb].
- Cast incl. Nat Phillips (Stiffy), Jack Kellaway ('Erb), Daisy Merritt (the bride's mother), Dan M. Dunbar (the bride's father), Harry Cash (the best man), Hilda Laurence (the bride's friend), Dan Weldon, Dorothy Manning, May Laurence, Polly Power, and the Radio Six.
- Musicians Charleston Super Six Symphonists, incl. Frank Wilson (trombone/accordion), 'Tiny' Douglas (violin), Art Dewar (banjo), Frank Morton (banjo), Les Clements (piano).
- The Wedding Party was staged as a first-part entertainment, with The Shopwalkers (a revusical previously presented by Phillips' Stiffy and Mo company) as the second half of the programme. It is also possible that the revusical premiered prior to the Whirligigs' 1926-1927 Brisbane season.
- NB : May Laurence's surname is sometimes spelled Lawrence. She is also known to have been billed as 'Mary'.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Empire Theatre
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 24 January 1927; (p. 16)
— Review of The Wedding Party 1927 single work musical theatre ; Shopwalkers 1917 single work musical theatre
-
Empire Theatre
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 24 January 1927; (p. 16)
— Review of The Wedding Party 1927 single work musical theatre ; Shopwalkers 1917 single work musical theatre
