Set in the early 1900's and having for its theme the difference between the middle and the working classes of Folkestone. This was originally a vehicle for Tommy Steele as the hero Arthur Kipps, who inherits a fortune and loses it again. The man who plays this part is almost never offstage, and requires a lot of stamina to keep up with the many musical numbers. There is a new version which I have only seen and not performed in, which has some big changes to the score from when I was taking part so some of the numbers I mention may not be familiar to those who come to perform now. For instance “The Party's on the House”, a big production number, is no longer in the new version, and “The Old Military Canal” has been replaced with a cricket match.
A bit off topic but you might like to read “The Cricketing Versions” by Wendy Cope, a gently humorous poem from her anthology Serious Concerns (there is a quote on this forum)
All that said, and despite being a show depending on the strength of the actor playing Kipps, there is a lot of chorus work, and some decent supporting roles in the apprentices and shop girls, and the Walsingham family.
Costume varies from fancy bustles and parasols for the upper class ladies and morning suits or tail suits for the men, to blazers and whites, or shop uniforms and summery dresses for the working class. We had umbrellas for “If the Rain's Gotta Fall” which had to withstand being twirled and opened and closed in time with the music and dance steps, and to mimic the design of parasols, so being lacy or frilled. For these we found some children's toy umbrellas and lengthened the handles with wooden dowelling. Covering the clear plastic with fabric to make them look right. Great! Until the week of the show, when in performance the spokes started to break and had to be mended with whatever was to hand....gaffer tape of course. I found myself going home every night with two or three umbrellas to mend or to cannibalise from some spares that hadn't been used. All part of the fun, and a big lesson in making sure that props/costume are fit for purpose. This became even more important when we were invited to take our production of Half A Sixpence to Malta.... more of that next time.
A bit off topic but you might like to read “The Cricketing Versions” by Wendy Cope, a gently humorous poem from her anthology Serious Concerns (there is a quote on this forum)
All that said, and despite being a show depending on the strength of the actor playing Kipps, there is a lot of chorus work, and some decent supporting roles in the apprentices and shop girls, and the Walsingham family.
Costume varies from fancy bustles and parasols for the upper class ladies and morning suits or tail suits for the men, to blazers and whites, or shop uniforms and summery dresses for the working class. We had umbrellas for “If the Rain's Gotta Fall” which had to withstand being twirled and opened and closed in time with the music and dance steps, and to mimic the design of parasols, so being lacy or frilled. For these we found some children's toy umbrellas and lengthened the handles with wooden dowelling. Covering the clear plastic with fabric to make them look right. Great! Until the week of the show, when in performance the spokes started to break and had to be mended with whatever was to hand....gaffer tape of course. I found myself going home every night with two or three umbrellas to mend or to cannibalise from some spares that hadn't been used. All part of the fun, and a big lesson in making sure that props/costume are fit for purpose. This became even more important when we were invited to take our production of Half A Sixpence to Malta.... more of that next time.
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