Off Honolulu single work   musical theatre   revue/revusical   humour  
Alternative title: S. S. Sunshine
Issue Details: First known date: 1924... 1924 Off Honolulu
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Revusical.

In this nautical revusical, originally set aboard the S.S. Dublin Bay, in which George Wallace appears as Nelson, the pride of the navy. Other characters include the Captain's daughter, a melancholy fireman, and various passengers. Though it was originally titled Off Honolulu (and sometimes Off to Honolulu), Wallace retitled it S.S. Sunshine from ca. 1930 onwards. An Age review of the 1930 Melbourne Tivoli revival indicates that most of the storyline was played out on board ship as it made its way from England to Honolulu. In that production, John Dobbie played an elephantine sailor, Marshall Crosby the fiery captain, and Gwen Matthews his wide-awake daughter, with other members of the company cast as passengers and crew, including a melancholy fireman (27 January 1930, p.8).

Notes

  • There is some confusion over which role George Wallace played in this revusical. Several reviews record that his character was Captain Nelson, while the Argus indicates in 1925 that he played a sailor and that Marshall Crosby was captain of the Dublin Bay (6 June 1925, n. pag., and 27 July 1925, p.17).

  • George Wallace's son, George Wallace Jnr, is known to have revived this revusical on at least one occasion (see below).

Production Details

  • 1924: Majestic Theatre, Newtown, Sydney, 9-15 August (return season: 18-22 October).

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace (Captain Nelson), Marshall Crosby, Tom Lincoln, Jack White, George Lloyd, Harry Burgess, Marie Nyman, Nellie Dean, Pat Reid, and the Six Rascals.
    • The Sydney Morning Herald notes that Off Honolulu was the production used to reopen the Majestic Theatre after it had been closed for renovations (9 Aug. 1924, p.10).
    • The return production was staged during the last week of the troupe's season at the Majestic. The company then travelled to Adelaide.

    1925: Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, ca. February.

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Marie Nyman, Jack White, Tom Lincoln, Ivy Moore, Nellie Dean, Lena Ryan, George Lloyd, and the Six Rascals.

    1925: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 28 February - 6 March (return season: 23-29 May).

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Marie Nyman, Jack White, Tom Lincoln, Ivy Moore, Sadie Gale, Nellie Dean, George Lloyd, and the Six Rascals.

    1925: Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, 5-11 June (return season: 25-31 July).

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Sadie Gale, Olga Muir, Tom Lincoln, Jack White, Nellie Dean, Lulla Fanning and Mercia Elliott [sisters], George Lloyd, Fred 'Check' Hayes, Ada Scaddan, and the Six Rascals (incl. Alma Stewart).
    • The opening production for Wallace's Bijou Theatre season, it also marked his first appearance in Melbourne (Age 5 June 1925, p.18).

    1925: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 19-25 September (return season: 12-18 December).

    • Director George Wallace.; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Sadie Gale, Nellie Dean, Lulla Fanning, Ada Scaddan, Jack White, Frank Haining, Frederick 'Check' Hayes, Tom Lincoln, and the Six Rascals (Alma Stewart, Eileen Smith, Hilary Salmon, Phyllis Lough, Doris Whimp, Isobel Broadfoot).
    • NB: Sadie Gale left the company in late October.

    .

  • 1926: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 27 March - 1 April.

    • Director George Wallace ; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Marie Nyman, Nellie Dean, Lulla Fanning, Ada Scaddan, Jack White, Frank Haining, Frederick 'Check' Hayes, Tom Lincoln, and the Six Rascals (Alma Stewart, Eileen Smith, Hilary Salmon, Phyllis Lough, Doris Whimp, Isobel Broadfoot).
    • This was the final production of the season. The company then relocated to Newcastle.

    1927: New Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, 5-11 February.

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Marie Nyman, Ada Scaddan, Frank Haining, Tom Lincoln, and the Six Rascals.

    1927: His Majesty's Theatre (Wellington, NZ); 25-31 March

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Music Director Mr Stokes.
    • Troupe: George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Lula Fanning, Letty Craydon, Al Mack, Marie Nyman, Les Daly, Kathleen Mack, Leonard Durell, Ada Scaddan, Frank Haining, Tom Lincoln, Hylton Scadden, Marilyn McGill; and the Six Rascals.
    • Staged as the second part entertainment. The first half presentation was the revue Night Lights.

    1927: Princess Theatre (Dunedin; NZ); 20-26 June

    • Cast and production mostly as for previous Wellington season
    • Lulla Fanning was not in the company at this time, having returned to Australia in early May.

    .

  • 1928: Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, 3-9 November.

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Alec Thompson (Fireman), Marie Nyman (Captain's Daughter), Maida Jones, Ada Scadden, Jack Scott, Tom Foggitt, and the Six Rascals.

    1930: Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne, 25-31 January (as S. S. Sunshine).

    • Director George Wallace; Producer Tivoli Celebrity Vaudeville Pty Ltd; Chorus Maurice Diamond.
    • Troupe George Wallace Revue Company.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace, Marshall Crosby, Keith Connelly, Bert Dudley, Tup Dudley, Jim Romaine, Irene Shamrock, Bebe Scott, Leonard Rich, John V. Dobbie, Jack Grant, and the Eight Rascals ; Musicians Five Flaming Youths Jazz Band.

    1957: Theatre Royal, Brisbane, 23-29 March (as S. S. Sunshine).

    • Troupe George Wallace Jnr and Co.
    • Cast incl. George Wallace Jnr.
    • NB: The alternative spellings of Ada Scaddan's surname are Scadden and Scaddon.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1924
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

Tivoli Theatre: Telepathist Amazes Audience 1930 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 January 1930; (p. 8)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre A review of George Wallace's revusical S. S. Sunshine, previously titled Off Honolulu.
Wallace Revue: Slapstick with Variations 1930 single work review
— Appears in: The Argus , 27 January 1930; (p. 10)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre A review of george Wallace's revusical S. S. Sunshine, previously titled Off Honolulu.
Bijou Theatre 1928 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 5 November 1928; (p. 14)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre
Empire Theatre 1925 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 21 September 1925; (p. 11)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre
Bijou Theatre 1928 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 5 November 1928; (p. 14)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre
Empire Theatre 1925 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 21 September 1925; (p. 11)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre
Wallace Revue: Slapstick with Variations 1930 single work review
— Appears in: The Argus , 27 January 1930; (p. 10)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre A review of george Wallace's revusical S. S. Sunshine, previously titled Off Honolulu.
Tivoli Theatre: Telepathist Amazes Audience 1930 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 January 1930; (p. 8)
— Review of Off Honolulu George Wallace , 1924 single work musical theatre A review of George Wallace's revusical S. S. Sunshine, previously titled Off Honolulu.
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (4)

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
Last amended 25 Aug 2014 10:45:47
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