Happy Hours single work   musical theatre   revue/revusical  
Issue Details: First known date: 1933... 1933 Happy Hours
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Revue.

Essentially an all-ages vaudeville-style Christmas revue along the lines of the Jim Gerald Revue Company's regular first-part revue entertainment, Happy Ideas.

Production Details

  • 1933: Tivoli Theatre, Sydney, 26 December 1933 - 5 January 1934.

    • Director Jim Gerald; Producer Con-Paul Theatres (Mike Connors and Queenie Paul).
    • Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Reg Hawthorne, Edna Ralston, Tommy Dale, Thelma Duff, Lily Coburn, Frieda Bohning, Howard Hall, The Three Alecs (Continental clowns), The Three Orlandos (adagio dancers), Abdy's Animal and Bird Circus, and the Six Twinklers.
    • Staged as the second part of a double-bill Christmas entertainment, in which the first half was a Christmas revue called Joybells.
    • NB: Frieda Bohning's surname is sometimes given as 'Bonning.' It is unclear which is the correct surname.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1933
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Related Works

Happy Ideas Jim Gerald , Jim Gerald Revue Company , Fullers' Theatres , Tivoli Celebrity Vaudeville , Con-Paul Theatres , Tivoli Circuit Australia , 1929 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Revue.

Upon his return to Australia in early 1929 following nine months overseas, Jim Gerald re-formed his revue company and put together a repertoire of both old and new productions. Although Everyone's records that the new material moved away from the revusical format, 'the stuff that landed him in the front row of local comedy merchants', and thus did not afford Gerald the same scope, the season's opening production, Happy Ideas, nevertheless still made a strong impression. In reporting that it introduced 'much in the way of novelty and effective presentation.' The magazine's critic further notes:

'It is mounted with a suggestion of lavishness, which is emphasized by the stage lighting. Evidently one of the wrinkles picked up by Gerald in America, varied coloured and ever changing lights [were] thrown from the wings on to a gold drop centre paneled by rich figured material' (1 May 1929, p.49).

Gerald returned to staging his traditional entertainment (a vaudeville first half and a second-half revusical) the following year, but retained Happy Ideas as a generic title for the vaudeville part of the programme. For example, a review of the second week's edition of Happy Ideas as staged during the 1930 Melbourne Tivoli season records:

'[It] was well named. In the eight ideas presented the company was in a happy vein, and kept the patrons in a state of laughter from start to finish. Jim Gerald himself displayed remarkable versatility, particularly in the haunted house scene, in company with Reg Hawthorne. The humour was original, and was deservedly appreciated' (Age 14 April 1930, p.12).

Each opening week of a season up until at least the mid-1930s also invariably saw the troupe present a week of straight vaudeville-style revue under the same title.
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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 9 Sep 2014 08:54:49
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