East Kilbride Light Opera Club - The Geisha

The Geisha - 1962

Index

History

The Geisha - Synopsis

cover of programme

This is the story of a Japanese Tea House and of the various complications that arise when a party of English girls on a sightseeing tour, and a few naval Officers on pleasure bent, become involved with Authority, in the shape of the Marquis Imari and a pretty Geisha girl called Mimosa (and of a quite different shape).

The trouble really starts when Molly Seamore arrives at the Tea House to be informed by her friend, Lady Constance Wynne, that Lieutenant Fairfax (Molly's fiance) is having a flirtation with the chief Geisha of the Tea House, 0 Mimosa San. Incidentally, the other Officers appear to be having an equally gay time but no one seems to he unduly concerned about this. The Marquis Imari, meanwhile, has decided to "honour" Mimosa by marrying her, and his wrath is terrible to behold when lie finds out that Wun-Hi — the Chinese proprietor of the Tea House - has allowed Mimosa to sing for Fairfax. In order to punish Wun-Hi, and also, incidentally, as a way of buying a few Geishas at a bargain price, Imari decrees that the Tea House will be closed and the girls auctioned off. Not knowing of this plan, Mimosa has encouraged Molly to dress as a Geisha girl in an attempt to teach Fairfax a lesson and also to let her find out just what does go on behind the doors of the "Tea House of Ten Thousand Joys."

The moment for the auction arrives and Lady Constance, is persuaded, out of sympathy for Mimosa and her true lover Katana, to outbid Imari for Mimosa. The next "lot" for sale is a new Geisha "Roli Poli San" (really of course Molly in disguise), This deception is at once spotted by Juliette - A French girl who has made up her mind that she, and not Mimosa, should marry Imari — and she encourages Imari to buy Molly, which he does. The end of the first Act sees Molly vainly trying to rejoin her English friends and Mimosa singing a fond farewell to Kantana.

The second Act finds us in the midst of Imari's preparations for his wadding to "Roli Poli San" and of the efforts made by her friends to save her. Finally Mimosa, by dressing as a fortune teller, frightens Imari into letting her see Molly, and, as you would expect in a good musical, everything ends as it should do.

The Geisha - 1962
by permission of Emile Littler Ltd.

Music by Sidney Jones
Adapted and Arranged by Ronald Hanmer
Libretto by Owen Hall
Lyrics by Harry Greenbank

Production Team
Producer - Jack Tait
Musical Director - Maxwell Griffin L.R.A.M.
Dancing Mistress - Gillean Dickson

Cast
Wun-Hi (A Chinaman, proprietor of the Tea-House) - Angus Henderson
0 Mimoso San (Chief Geisha) - Nan Tait
0 Kiku San (Chrysanthemum) - Doris Wemyss
0 Hana San (Blossom) - May Dickson
0 Kinkoto San (Golden Harp) - Jeannette Burns
Komurasaki San (Little Violet) - Margaret Hay
Juliette (A French girl attached to the Tea-House as an interpreter) - Barbara McElroy
Lieut. Reginald Fairfax - William McRuvie
Lieut. Cunningham - John Cannon
Lieut. Bronville - William Keenan
Lieut. Grimston - John Johnson
Mr. Midshipman Stanley - Alistair Currie
Marquis Imari (Governor of the Province) - William McGrady
Takemini (Attendant on the Marquis) - Geoffrey Hodgetts
Molly Seamore - Moira Peirce
Lady Constance Wynne - Beryl Morris
Ethel Hurst - Ann Struthers
Marie Worthington - Elizabeth Rennie
Mabel Grant - Hazel Gunn
Lieut. Katana (Of the Imperial Japanese Artillery) - James Craig
Nami (An Attendant) - Isobel Hartley

Ladies of the Chorus
May Baxter, Teresa Boland, Mary Brownlie, Ann Daly, Francis Doyle, Isa Hornal, Janice Jones, Elisabeth Keenan, Jeanette McEachran, Margaret McRuvie, Marjorie Miller, Chrissie Stirling, Elizabeth Struthers, Rena Thomson, Allison Wallace.

Gentlemen of the Chorus
William Barr, James Caullay, James Jenkins, Andrew Johnson, Brian Mark, David Miller, William Struthers, David Waters.

Guards
Charles Hoey, William Reid.

Synopsis of Scenes

Act I - The Tea House of Ten Thousand Joys
Act II - A Chrysanthemum Fete in the Palace Gardens

Musical Synopsis

Act I
Overture
"Happy Japan" - Chorus
"Here They Come" - Officers and Chorus
"The Dear Little Jappy-Jap-Jappy" - Cunningham and Geisha
"The Amorous Goldfish" - Mimosa
"The Kissing Duet" - Mimosa and Fairfax
"If you will come to tea" - Geisha and Officers
"Lamentation" - Chorus
"We're Going to Call on the Marquis" - Officers, Geisha and English Girls
"The Toy Duet" - Molly and Fairfax
"A Geisha's Life" - Mimosa
"Jack's the Boy" - Officers
"Attention, Pray!" - Takemini
"Chon Kina" - Molly and Chorus
Finale, Act I - Katana, Mimosa, Molly, Officers and Chorus

Act II
Entracte
"Day Born of Love" - Chorus
"The Toy Monkey" - Molly and Chorus
"Ching-a-ring-a-ree" - Juliette and Wun-Hi
"Jolly Young Jacks Are We" - Officers
"The Jewel of Asia" - Mimosa
"Star of My Soul" - Fairfax
"What Will the Marquis Do?" - Mimosa, Fairfax, Cunningham and Wun-Hi
"Japanese March" - Chorus
"With Splendour Auspicious" - Geisha and Attendants
"Chin Chin Chinaman" - Wun-Hi and Chorus
Melos
Finale, Act II - Ensemble

Jack Nugent Orchestra
Leader - Bert Dudman

Stage Manager - Ken Denton
Hon. Accompanists - Fiona Stewart, A.R.C.M., A.A. King.
Lighting - David Roberts

Wardrobe Mistress - Evelyn Stuart
Prompters - Irene Roberts, Jeanette Knott
Make-up - Jean Hamilton