Information AboutThe Boy Friend |
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''The Boy Friend'' is a comic Pastiche of 1920s shows, with a relatively small cast. Cast Includes:
(The cast also includes walk-on roles and an ensemble.) Songs include:
PLOT SUMMARY The action takes place on the French Riviera during the 1920s, and is set in a finishing school for young ladies. In this school, Polly, Maisie, and the girls live with the maid, Hortense, and the headmistress, Mme. Dubonnet. After everyone sings about having "The Boy Friend," Bobby surprises Maisie and they dance to "Won't you Charleston With Me?" Polly's widowed father, Percy, then arrives at the school, to discover that the headmistress is an old flame of his. They sing "Fancy Forgetting" to rekindle the spark. The heroine, Polly Browne, though a millionaire's daughter, feels left out because she is the only one of her set who does not have a boyfriend, and she needs a partner for the Fancy Dress ball. However, when the errand boy, Tony, arrives to deliver her costume, they are immediately attracted to one another, and sing "I Could be Happy With You." Later, they meet at the beach and sing about "A Room in Bloomsbury." They decide to meet at the ball. Meanwhile, the meetings between the comically Pedophilic Lord Brockhurst and the rigidly mannered Percival Browne, as well as his Brockhurst's pestilent wife, bring some of the best humor to the show. With a catchy tune, Lord Brockhurst sings "It's Never Too Late to Fall in Love" with the flirty Dulcie. When Polly goes to meet her new boyfriend on the promenade, Tony is recognized by his parents--Lord and Lady Brockhurst--who are passing; when he runs off, it is assumed that he is a thief. The act ends on a sad note. At the ball, the boys envy Maisie with "Safety in Numbers," and everyone dances to "The Riviera." Bobby and the three boys propose to Maisie and the three girls, but the girls reply in unison that "we'll let you know at midnight." However, Polly, still depressed, talks to Mme Dubonnet, and they sing "Poor Little Pierrette," a beautifully sad song. Moments later, Tony arrives in his Pierrot costume. He asks "May I have this dance, Pierrette?" and then kisses her. Polly and Tony forgive each other and find out that Percy and Mme. Dubonnet are getting married. The clock strikes midnight, and every girl unanimously says yes to the boys' proposal! The last scene has everyone dancing as soon as Bobby, speaking the last line of the play, asks "So how about that Charleston ?" ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF THE SHOW Ken Russell 's 1971 film version of the show, starring Twiggy and Christopher Gable , was an alternative interpretation, weaving the basic plot into a more complicated story in which an amateur dramatic company, performing the show, are visited by a film producer on the very night that the leading lady ( Glenda Jackson ) has to be replaced by her shy understudy a la '' 42nd Street ''. It also contained references to numerous other Busby Berkeley and MGM movie musicals of the 1930s . |
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