This type of
burlesque was popular in Britain at the time. Other examples include
The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole (1877),
Blue Beard (1882),
Ariel (1883, by
F. C. Burnand),
Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed (1883),
Little Jack Sheppard (1885),
Monte Cristo Jr. (1886),
Miss Esmeralda (1887), ''
Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim (1887), Mazeppa
, Faust up to Date (1888), Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué (1888), Carmen up to Data (1891) and Don Juan'' (1892, with lyrics by
Adrian Ross).
John Hollingshead had managed the Gaiety Theatre from 1868 to 1886 as a venue for variety, continental
operetta, light comedy, and numerous musical burlesques composed or arranged by the theatre's music director,
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz. Hollingshead called himself a "licensed dealer in legs, short skirts, French adaptations,
Shakespeare, taste and musical glasses." In 1886, Hollingshead ceded the management of the theatre to
George Edwardes, whom he had hired in 1885. Edwardes expanded the burlesque format from mostly one-act to full-length pieces, generally with original music by Lutz instead of scores compiled from popular tunes.
Nellie Farren starred as the "principal boy" at the Gaiety for over 20 years. She was joined in 1885 by
Fred Leslie, who played comic characters and wrote many of its pieces under his pseudonym, "A. C. Torr". In the early 1890s, as Burlesque went out of fashion, Edwardes changed the focus of the theatre from musical burlesque to the new genre of
Edwardian musical comedy.
Characters and casts The following list shows the names of the 1891 London cast, followed by the names of the 1892 cast: as Linconzina • Cinder-Ellen – Kate James;
Letty Lind • Linconzina –
Sylvia Grey; Katie Seymour • Fettalana – Florence Levey;
Adelaide Astor • Mrs. Kensington Gore – Emily Miller; Miss Holmes • Lord Taplow – Maud Hodson; Florence Lloyd • Lord Eastbourne –
Blanche Massey; Ethel Earle • Lord Soho – Hetty Hamer;
Louie Pounds • Mrs. Bayswater – Miss Kate Welwyn (1892 only) • Sir Peterborough Court – Violet Durkin;
Maud Boyd • Lord Whitefriars – Miss Dunville; Miss Farrington (called Lord Blackfriars in 1892) • Sir Waterloo Bridge – Miss Norton; Lily Harold • Catherina – Lilian Price • Grazina – Maud Wilmot; Alice Gilbert • Furnivalzina – Violet Monckton • Griffina – Eva Greville; Bob Robina • Templina – Adelaide Astor; Miss Maud • Victorina – Lily McIntyre;
Topsy Sinden • Pages (1892 only) – Phoebe Carlo and Lilian Sedgewick • Prince Belgravia –
E. J. Lonnen; Maggie Duggan • Sir Ludgate Hill –
Arthur Williams;
Charles Danby • Lord Leatherhead (1892 only) – Fred Storey • Charles Hollywell (1892 only) –
Arthur Playfair • Peckham – Mr. Harris; Mr. Barry • Gnorwood – Mr. Walker; E. D. Wardes • Footman – Mr. Hill (both productions) • A Servant –
Fred Leslie (both productions) ==Notes==