Lola Montez (musical)
1962 Australian film by Alan Burke From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lola Montez is a 1958 Australian musical. It was written by Alan Burke, Peter Stannard, and Peter Benjamin and focuses on four days of Lola Montez visiting the Ballarat Goldfields.
| Lola Montez | |
|---|---|
Original cast recording | |
| Music | Peter Stannard |
| Lyrics | Peter Benjamin |
| Book | Alan Burke |
| Productions | 1958 Melbourne 1958 Brisbane/Sydney |
Background
Stannard, Benjamin, and Burke were all friends from university who wanted to write a musical together. Alan Burke says he had never heard of Lola Montez until he heard her mentioned in a program on the ABC. He was attracted to the subject because it was Australian but had international appeal; he did not want to make something along the lines of On Our Selection. Also, since the lead was a performer, the songs would come naturally.[1]
Productions
Summarize
Perspective
Original production
Hugh Hunt of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust heard several auditions of the work and agreed to fund a trial production at the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne in early 1958. It was directed by John Sumner. The production was very popular.
Cast
- Justine Rettick as Lola
- Neil Fitzpatrick
- Glen Tomasetti
- Patricia Connoly
- Alan Hopgood
- George Ogilvie
- Robin Ramsay
- Jon Finlayson
- Monica Maughan.
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust production
The Trust took up their option and launched a new production. George Carden was brought in to direct.[2][3]
Alan Burke says his dream Lola was Vivien Leigh but that he wanted Moyra Fraser to star.[1] Hugh Hunt imported 25 year old Mary Preston from the United Kingdom to play the lead.[4] Burke said Preston was hopelessly miscast playing a 37 year old aging beauty.[1]
The show trialled in Brisbane for a short season. Michael Cole, playing Daniel, was sacked in Brisbane because of his voice. He was replaced by Eric Thornton, who Burke said was too old - a 45-year-old man playing a 19-year-old. The musical moved to Sydney, where it opened on 22 October 1958. Burke says it lost £30,000 and "was a show loved by very few people but it went into legend."[1] However the show did run for more than three months.[2][5] Michael Cole's single recording of "Saturday Girl" became a minor hit.[3]
Cole later appeared in the TV musical Pardon Miss Westcott which was commissioned from the writers of Lola Montez.[6]
Cast
- Mary Preston as Lola
- Frank Wilson as Sam
- Michael Cole, then Eric Thornton, as Daniel
The production and costumes were designed by Hermia Boyd. A retrospective celebration of the work was mounted in February 2018 at the Smorgon Family Plaza, Arts Centre Melbourne.[7]
1962 television play
Lola Montez was adapted for TV by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1962.[8]
Lola and the Highwayman
In 1965, the ABC presented a TV special called Lola and the Highwayman.
Revised edition
The musical has been much revived since in amateur and school productions.[9]
The musical was heavily revised in 1988 for a production in Canberra.[3][10][11]
References
External links
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