A Second Edition of Pygmalion and His Gal (A Dear!); Or, An Old Friend with a New Face single work   musical theatre   burlesque   fantasy  
Adaptation of Pygmalion and His Gal (a Dear!); Or, The Celebrated Living-stone of Ancient Athens (No Relation to the Doctor) : An Original, Mythological, Operatic, and Extremely Erratic Burlesque Garnet Walch , 1873 single work musical theatre
Issue Details: First known date: 1874... 1874 A Second Edition of Pygmalion and His Gal (A Dear!); Or, An Old Friend with a New Face
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Adapted from Walch's earlier production, Pygmalion and his Gal-A-Dear (Melbourne, 1873), this second edition also contained parodies on a number of popular airs and 'a vast number of local allusions about everybody and everything' (Argus 8 June 1874, p.8). The dramatis personae, as described in advertising, are

'Pygmalion (a disciple of Phidias, but by no means of Hideous face or figure, who produces a speaking likeness of an Attic Nymph, and receives in return an emphatic declaration of love; his fate, however, is sad for, to quote an ancient goak, he "Makes Faces and then Busts")... Cynisca (Pygmalion's superior moiety - a lady with a voice, a temper, a grievance, and - a lover! Who while Pygmalion is employed with his marbles carries on a little game of quite a different kind)... Myrine (the sculptor's little sister, a scrumptious maiden, but classically correct - one of those girls "we read about, but seldom see")... Leucippe (Colonel on the Onety Onth Royal Horse Hellenes - a soldier of fortune, who having traveled knows a thing or two, and looks upon Athens as merely a spot of Greece)... [and] The Statue, otherwise Galatea (a lady with no pedigree, but a first-rate pedestal - "Our own make, very choice" - a being of marble-ous beauty)' (Argus 8 June 1874, p.8).

Notes

  • In its review of the Opera House premiere, the Age records, 'Last evening the attendance was extremely thin, and the improved comic version of Pygmalion and his Gal-A-Dear was not up to the mark in the manner of its performance' (9 June 1874, p.3). The Argus's theatre critic also seems to have been less than impressed, with the only mention of the opening night being a brief statement indicating that the entertainment 'appeared to give satisfaction to the audience' (9 June 1874, p.5).

Production Details

  • 1874: Opera House, Melbourne, 8-13 June.

    • Troupe The Great Rickards' Company.
    • Cast incl. Harry Rickards (Galatea, the Statue), Carrie Rickards (Pygmalion), Lydia Howe (Cynisca), Alice Wooldridge (Myrine), Arthur Romer (Leucippe).

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1874
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Related Works

y separately published work icon Pygmalion and His Gal (a Dear!); Or, The Celebrated Living-stone of Ancient Athens (No Relation to the Doctor) : An Original, Mythological, Operatic, and Extremely Erratic Burlesque Garnet Walch , Melbourne : 1873 Z859016 1873 single work musical theatre burlesque fantasy humour

Written largely in rhymed verse, this adaptation of W. S. Gilbert's comic drama Pygmalion and Galatea (1871) was described in advertising as 'an original, mythological, operatic and extremely erratic burlesque'. The Age theatre critic writes of Walch's version : 'The exigencies of [the] limited cast entail some deviation from the original plot... as in Gilbert's adaptation of the mythological tale. Otherwise the comedy, as recently played in the Theatre Royal [Melbourne], is pretty closely followed. The author has availed himself of the opportunity to hit off, more or less cleverly, the local celebrities and the leading follies of the day, and the dialogue bristles with puns whose chief merit lies in their pure audacity' (1 April 1873, p2). One of the local personalities satirised was Marcus Clarke.

The story concerns Pygmalion, a sculptor who is continually harassed by his wife, Cynisca. At the same time, however, she is flirting with a captain of the Royal Horse Hellenes. When the statue Pygmalion is sculpting comes to life and begins to flirt with him, all sorts of complications arise between the husband and wife. Eventually a voice from above deafens the pair and only releases them on the condition that they fix their marriage.
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Works about this Work

[Editorial] 1874 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 June 1874; (p. 3)
— Review of A Second Edition of Pygmalion and His Gal (A Dear!); Or, An Old Friend with a New Face Garnet Walch , 1874 single work musical theatre
[Editorial] 1874 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 June 1874; (p. 3)
— Review of A Second Edition of Pygmalion and His Gal (A Dear!); Or, An Old Friend with a New Face Garnet Walch , 1874 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 (ca. 1850-1930). See also the Australian Variety Theatre Archive

Details have also been derived in part from the Annotated Calendar of Plays Premiered in Australia: 1870-1890.

Last amended 10 Oct 2014 10:52:14
Subjects:
  • Athens,
    c
    Greece,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    Greece,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
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