Welcome to the page about the Lancaster Red Rose Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society shows from 1940 to 1949. Below is information about the musicals the society staged in the 1940’s which include: The Girl Friend (1940); No show in 1941 and 1942 due to World War II; Hit the Deck (1943); No No Nanette (1944); The Desert Song (1945); Rose Marie (1946); Mr Cinders (1947); Rio Rita (1948); Goodnight Vienna (1949).
There are also pages for the Red Rose AODS shows from … 1930’s … 1940’s … 1950’s … 1960’s … 1970’s … 1980’s … 1990’s … 2000’s … 2010’s … 2020’s … back to Lancaster Red Rose AODS.
1949: Goodnight Vienna
1949 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 12th show Good-night Vienna which was staged at The Grand Theatre, Lancaster.
The 1934 stage musical has music by George Posford; and lyrics and book by Eric Maschwitz.
It has additional lyrics by Harold Purcell and Sydney Box.
It was first produced as a radio musical.
It tells the story of Max (an Austrian officer in the army), whose father (a general in the army) wants him to marry a Countess but Max has fallen in love with Vicki. War brakes out and Max writes Vicki a letter and goes off to war, but the note is lost. After the war, Max is a shoe shop assistant and Vicki is now a famous singer. They meet again and she first snubs him, but then falls in love with him.
More production details to follow.
1948: Rio Rita
1948 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 11th show Rio Rita which was staged at The Grand Theatre, Lancaster.
The 1927 musical has music by Harry Tierney; lyrics by Joseph McCarthy; and book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson.
It premiered on Broadway in 1927 at the new Ziegfeld Theatre (Florenz Ziegfeld produced the show) and moved to the Lyric Theatre and Majestic Theatre (both on Broadway). It then premiered in London’s West End in 1930 at the [then] newly opened Prince Edward Theatre.
Set in Mexico and Texas, it tells the story of Jim Stewart who aims to catch the notorious local bandit known as ‘Kinkajou’ by disguising himself as a Mexican. Once in Mexico, he falls for local girl Rita, whose brother (Roberto) could be the criminal Jim’s looking for.
Musical numbers include: The world loves a lover, they say; The Best little lover in Town; Sweetheart; River Song (“Down By the River of My Dreams”); Eight Little Gringos; Are You There?; Rio Rita; Rangers’ chorus; March of the rangers; Spanish Shawl; The Kinkajou; You’re Always In My Arms; If You’re in Love, you’ll Waltz; Moonlight ballet; Out on the Loose; Yo Ho and a Bottle of Rum; The Black and White Ballet; Come, take a Trip; I can Speak Espagnol; Roses; Following the Sun Around.
More production details to follow.
1947: Mr. Cinders
1947 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 10th show Mr. Cinders which was staged from Thursday the 20th of February 1947 to Saturday the 1st of March 1947 at The Grand Theatre, Lancaster. This was the first production since 1940 that there was a ‘proper’ multi-page programme.
The 1928 musical has music by Vivian Ellis and Richard Myers; and a libretto by Clifford Grey and Greatrex Newman. The story is an inversion of the Cinderella fairy tale – with gender roles reversed – where the Prince Charming character is a young and forceful woman, and Mr Cinders is a menial.
Mr Cinders was originally staged at the Opera House Theatre, Blackpool in 1928 before going on a UK tour. It opened in London at the Adelphi Theatre in February 1929 before transferring to the Hippodrome in July 1929.
Musical numbers include: True to Two; I’m a One Man Girl; On with the Dance; Spread a Little Happiness; She’s My Lovely; Ev’ry Little Moment; I’ve Got You, You’ve Got Me; The Swan (instrumental).
More production details to follow.
1946: Rose Marie
1946 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 9th show ‘Rose-Marie’ which was staged from Thursday the 16th of May 1946 to Saturday the 25th of March 1946 at the Grand Theatre, Lancaster.
Like the 1943 and 1944 (and I assume the 1945) productions, the programme was still a single (folded) sheet.
The 1924 operetta style musical has music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart; lyrics and book by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II.
The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and tells the story of Rose-Marie La Flemme (a French Canadian) who loves miner Jim Kenyon. When Jim falls under suspicion for murder, her brother Emile plans for Rose-Marie to marry Edward Hawley, a city man.
Musical numbers include: Vive la Canadienne; Hard-Boiled Herman; Rose-Marie; The Mounties; Lak Jeem; Indian Love Call; Pretty Thing;Why Shouldn’t We?;; Totem Tom-Tom; Only a Kiss; I Love Him; “The Minuet of the Minute; One Man Woman; The Door of Her Dreams (Door of My Dreams).
More production details to follow.
1945: The Desert Song
1945 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 8th show The Desert Song.
It was staged at The Grand Theatre Lancaster.
We do not have a programme for this production so little is known about the cast.
The 1926 operetta – with music by Sigmund Romberg; lyrics by Otto Harbach; and book by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel – was inspired by stories of Lawrence of Arabia aiding native guerrillas in the 1925 uprising of the Riffs [Berber fighters, against French colonial rule in Morocco].
It tells the story of headstrong Margot and her father, Gen. Birabeau arrive in a remote Foreign Legion outpost. The powerful Sheik Yousseff has devised a scheme to discredit the mysterious warlord El Khobar by having his men attack the fort disguised as Berbers, a plan Margot and her tutor, Paul Bonnard attempt to foil.
Musical numbers include: High on a Hill; The Riff Song; Ho, Bold Men of Morocco; Margot; I’ll be a Buoyant Girl; Why Did We Marry Soldiers?; French Military Marching Song; Romance; Then You Will Know; I Want a Kiss; It; Girls; The Desert Song; My Little Castagnette; Song of the Brass Key; One Good Boy Gone Wrong; Eastern and Western Love (Let Love Go; One Flower in Your Garden; One Alone); The Sabre Song; All Hail to the General; Let’s Have a Love Affair.
1944: No No Nanette
1944 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 7th show ‘No No Nanette’.
It was staged at The Grand Theatre Lancaster.
This was the second time the society had done the show as it had previously done the show in 1936. Like the 1943 production, this was war time and the full programme had been replaced with a single (folded) sheet.
The 1924 musical comedy – with music by Vincent Youmans; lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach; and book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel – is based on Frank Mandel’s 1919 Broadway play ‘My Lady Friends’.
It tells the story of three couples who find themselves together at a cottage in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the midst of a blackmail scheme, focusing on a young fun-loving Manhattan heiress who runs off for a weekend leaving her unhappy fiance.
Musical numbers include: ‘Tea for Two’ and ‘I Want to Be Happy’.
More production details to follow.
1943: Hit the Deck
1943 saw Lancaster Red Rose AODS do their 6th show ‘Hit The Deck’.
It was staged at The Grand Theatre Lancaster.
This was the second time the society had done the show as it had previously done the show in 1937. This was war time and the full programme had been replaced with a single (folded) sheet.
The 1927 musical – with music by Vincent Youmans; lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin; and book by Herbert Fields – is based on the 1922 play ‘Shore Leave’ by Hubert Osborne. It tells the story of Loulou, the owner of a Newport coffee house who falls in love with Bilge, one of the many sailors who patronise her eatery whenever they’re in port.
Musical numbers include: Join the Navy; What’s a Kiss Among Friends?; Harbor of My Heart; Shore Leave; Lucky Bird; Looloo; Why, Oh Why?; Sometimes I’m Happy (Sometimes I’m Blue); Hallelujah!; Utopia.
More production details to follow.
1942: No Show
Did ‘Concert Party’ concerts for HM Troops due to World War II
1941: No Show
Did ‘Concert Party’ concerts for HM Troops due to World War II
1940: The Girl Friend
The 1940 production of ‘The Girl Friend’ was Lancaster Red Rose Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society’s 5th annual show. It was staged at The Grand Theatre Lancaster.
The 1926 musical comedy has music by Richard Rodgers; lyrics by Lorenz Hart; and a book by Herbert Fields.
It tells the story of a cyclist who trains on a wheel connected to a butter churn on his dairy farm. He is in love with the daughter of a professional cyclist and is urged to enter a six-day bicycle race by a questionable cycling promoter. Various gamblers try to cause him to lose, but he wins the race and wins the girl.
Musical numbers include: Hey! Hey!; The Simple Life; The Girl Friend; Goodbye, Lenny; Blue Room; Cabarets; Why Do I?; The Damsel Who Done All the Dirt; He’s a Winner; Town Hall Tonight; Good Fellow, Mine; Creole Cooning Song; I’d Like to Take You Home; What Is It?
More production details to follow.
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