Sunday, June 1, 2008

Me and My Girl is a popular British stage musical, with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay.
It was originally performed at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, in 1937, and starred Lupino Lane. At first attracting little notice, the production gained immediate success after a matinee performance was broadcast live on BBC radio, following the cancellation of a sporting event. Me and My Girl went on to run for a phenomenal 1,646 performances. The show stopper, "The Lambeth Walk", has the distinction of being the only popular song to be the subject of a headline in The Times. In October 1938, one of its headlines read, "While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances - to The Lambeth Walk."
On May 1, 1939, a performance was televised from the theatre, one of the first times such a thing was done. In 1940, a film version was filmed entitled, The Lambeth Walk.[1]

Me and My Girl was revived in 1952, and again in 1984, with a revised script by Stephen Fry and contributions by Mike Ockrent at the Leicester Haymarket theatre, from where it transferred to London's West End for a successful eight year run at the Adelphi Theatre, later going on tour throughout Britain. It then transferred to Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in 1986 for a long run of 1,420 performances. The production was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score, and both Robert Lindsay and Maryann Plunkett won Tonys for their performances. Gillian Gregory won the Tony for Best Choreography. Mike Ockrent directed the 1984 and Broadway productions and was nominated for a Tony.

A 70th anniversary production of Me and My Girl began an eight-month British tour on September 1, 2006.[2] It was directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with a cast including Richard Frame (Bill Snibson), Faye Tozer (Sally Smith), Sylvester McCoy, Trevor Bannister and Dillie Keane.