In this case, let your … Ken Russell's film version of the popular stage musical is, as expected, extravagant and campy in style, but it has charm and fashion model Twiggy shows interesting screen presence. The curtain opens with the chorus number "Sur la Plage". ", Polly's widowed father Percy arrives at the school to discover that the headmistress, Mme Dubonnet, is an old flame of his. More a lesson in style (Ken Russell) than anything memorable, even with Twiggy. THE BOY FRIEND is a sincere celebration of the musical from a camp point of view. This type of person will eat up your house or home and even use your personal hygiene products. Act I begins when Hortense orders a costume for "a Miss Polly Browne" and Maisie and the other girls sing the ironic "Perfect Young Ladies" with Hortense. Time Out says. |, April 2, 2004 Over the top but delightful, "The Boy Friend" is director Ken Russell's arch take on a traditional musical. FRIEND watch is an alluring blend of boldness and restraint. Elaine and Keith are hitting it off until he pulls out a cigarette; Keith wants Jerry to help him move, leading Jerry along with Elaine to breakup with Keith. Ken Russell's 1971 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 a seaside dramatic company performing the show, is visited by an influential film producer (Vladek Sheybal) on the very night that the leading lady (Glenda Jackson) has to be replaced by the assistant stage manager Polly Browne (Twiggy). Coming Soon. Edna Carson (grandmother) 4. Filled to the brim with tongue-in-cheek moments that both parents and grandparents will love, The Boy Friend has a catchy score and opportunities for complex dance numbers. The choreography was by Geoffrey Webb who was also in the original production. Davies subsequently prepared (and recorded) a concert suite based on the music. [citation needed], For her Broadway debut, Andrews received the Theatre World Award. •protect and cuddle you like a little sister. | Rating: 2.5/4 “The Boy Friend,” first staged in 1953, was the grand slam of Mr. Wilson’s theatrical career. At the Carnival ball, Polly is sad that Tony is not there and she is thinking about leaving. musical, January 9, 2019 |, March 26, 2009 Though Polly is a millionaire's daughter, she feels left out because she's the only one in her crowd who doesn't have a boyfriend and she needs a partner for the fancy dress ball. | Rating: 3/5, June 19, 2005 They sing about their future lives together in "A Room in Bloomsbury." Instead, he adds an extra narrative layer: His film is about a chintzy staging of the musical, as a mix of naive and nasty actors grumbles through a poorly attended performance. This also proved to be acclaimed, and was revived during the Open Air Theatre's 2007 season. Jo Anne Bayless (known as Jean Bayless in London) played Polly for the final three months of the Broadway production and reprised the role on the subsequent US tour. It was released to DVD on 12 April 2011, as part of the Warner Archive Collection, a series of made-to-order DVDs. The musical was first performed in London in 1953. Twiggy is a delight. "The Boy Friend" is as entertaining as any musical you'll ever see. Its relatively small cast and low cost of production makes it a continuing popular choice for amateur and student groups. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. [7] The production then toured the United States and Canada, playing 11 cities, including Chicago, Boston, Orange County, and Toronto, from October 2005 through March 2006. You're almost there! The original Broadway production of The Boy Friend opened on Sep 30, 1954. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. What in the world prevents a film this fun and accessible from being released on DVD? • The Boy Friend is at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, until 7 March 2020 • The Wolf of Wall Street is at 5-15 Sun Street, London, until 19 January 2020 Topics They sing "Fancy Forgetting" to rekindle the spark. Even when he's not deliberately doing Berkeley takeoffs, (Ken Russell's) camera is so joyless that it undermines every scene. [citation needed], A revival directed by Gus Schirmer opened on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on 14 April 1970, and ran for 111 performances. The cast also included Hugh Paddick in his first leading West End role as Percival Browne,[4] Joan Sterndale-Bennett as Madam Dubonnet, and Violetta Farjeon as Hortense. And let it be said Russell discovered Tommy Tune many years before Broadway did. This is a person who likes to use you because you have assets like a car, your own apartment or home, lots of money or a vacation property. For the film adaptation, see. It is an acute, duplicitous, discomfiting movie whose message, finally, is that all times are tough for the people who must live through them, and glow golden only for those who survive them, or imagine them. Promo version has the text "FOR PROMOTION ONLY Ownership Reserved By MCA Records, Inc. Sale Is Unlawful" in gold embossed over the barcode. And let it be said Russell discovered Tommy Tune many years before Broadway did. It transferred for a short season to the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage and then opened at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End on 14 January 1954. Menier Chocolate Factory, London This pitch-perfect revival of Sandy Wilson’s 1953 musical is a positive invitation to dance. Later, Bobby surprises Maisie, and they dance to "Won't You Charleston With Me? Such blasts of pure cinema don't match the extravagant props and production design of later spectacles like "Tommy" and "Lisztomania," but they're still bound to make Russell's many naysayers squirm. The show ends with a reprise of "The Boy Friend", "I Could Be Happy With You", and "A Room In Bloomsbury". It is sometimes revived as a "double bill" with The Boy Friend. •makes you laugh,smile,and you can be yourself around. •protect and cuddle you like a little sister. |, June 24, 2006 Radically elegant, it dares to challenge established codes, erasing the lines between masculine and feminine style. Sandy Wilson wrote a sequel to The Boy Friend. The Boy Friend is a 1971 British-American musical comedy film directed by Ken Russell and starring Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Tommy Tune, and Max Adrian with an uncredited appearance by Glenda Jackson. Boyfriend definition is - a male friend. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. In this situation, time is one of your best friends, because over time, you’ll find a whole lot more of who he really is, not what you dream he is. Consistency was never Russell's strong point. | Top Critics (4) | Rating: 3/4 The Boy Friend (Original, Musical, Comedy, Broadway) opened in New York City Sep 30, 1954 and played through Nov 26, 1955. This film also marked the film debut of character actress Elizabeth Patterson. You will be able to make a better decision about whether or not to get more involved with him at that point. Sandy Wilson's "The Boy Friend" debuted onstage in 1953, but its nostalgic music is rooted in the earlier 23-skidoo era. It was released on DVD on 12 April 2011. Only the leading man, Tony (Christopher Gable), is sympathetic. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy THE BOY FRIEND is a sincere celebration of the musical from a camp point of view. an absolute delight. The original production premiered at The Players' Theatre in London before moving to the West End's Globe Theatre in 1965. She dances provocatively. The show was performed in two acts, instead of three, and the song "Safety in Numbers" was moved from the scene on the beach to the Carnival Ball. Tony later arrives at the ball and takes Polly by surprise. Hyacinth sings to her heart’s content when discovering Emmet's latest musical The Boy Friend is in production. The Boy Friend Roger Ebert February 08, 1972. In 2003, Julie Andrews made her directorial debut with a production of The Boy Friend at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY, starring Meredith Patterson as Polly Browne and Sean Palmer as Tony Brockhurst. Kenneth Carson Sr. (great grandfather) And let it be said Russell discovered Tommy Tune many years before Broadway did. It was originally planned that the choreography would be done by Larry Drew, the original Bobby van Husen, but he died suddenly during the early planning stages of the production. But hold on -- the film has one more layer, because Russell chooses to present some songs as character fantasies. Thus he avoids the limits of the stage production's intentionally tacky sets, and can indulge the excesses of visual imagination which are his trademark. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". The subsequent Broadway run in 1954 made a star of the then-unknown Julie Andrews. Hortense tells Mme Dubonnet to persuade Polly to stay, so Polly sings "Poor Little Pierrette" with Mme Dubonnet. 1971's The Boy Friend is a spirited, G-rated musical filmed immediately after The Devils. Such backstage issues resonate through the whole cast as philandering, love and bickering bleed into the chaotic show. until these were all surpassed by Salad Days. Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts, "Sandy Wilson: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center", "Goodspeed's The Boy Friend Cools Its Heels; Tour Ends March 5", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Boy_Friend_(musical)&oldid=1010204931, Articles lacking reliable references from January 2020, Articles needing additional references from December 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Perfect Young Ladies - Hortense, Maisie, Dulcie, Fay, Nancy, Ensemble, The Boy Friend - Polly, Dulcie, Maisie, Fay, Nancy, Marcel, Pierre, Alphonse, Ensemble, Fancy Forgetting - Mme Dubonnet, Percival, The You-Don't-Want-to-Play-with-Me Blues - Mme Dubonnet, Percival, Safety in Numbers - Maisie, Bobby, Marcel, Alphonse, Pierre, I Could Be Happy with You (Reprise) - Polly, Tony, The Riviera - Bobby, Maisie, Dulcie, Fay, Nancy, Marcel, Alphonse, Pierre, Ensemble, It's Never Too Late to Fall in Love - Lord Brockhurst, Dulcie, Poor Little Pierrette - Mme Dubonnet, Polly, This page was last edited on 4 March 2021, at 09:26. The entire cast is perfect. •can talk to about anything and everything. The Boy Friend marked Julie Andrews' American stage debut. A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved.. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. A production played in 2006 at the Open Air Theatre at Regent's Park, London. The last scene has everyone dancing as soon as Bobby, with the last spoken line in the play, asks "So how about that dance?" They are about to kiss when Hortense interrupts them and is shocked to find Polly with a poor messenger boy. Wilson's original score was freely adapted and augmented by Peter Maxwell Davies for the film. [5], The Boy Friend opened on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on 30 September 1954 and closed on 26 November 1955 after 485 performances. As luck would have it, she makes her debut on the same day that famous movie director De Thrill (Vladek Sheybal) attends the performance. the film is a bit long, including even an intermission, but it's marvelous flights of fantasy entertained me more than anything i've seen in awhile. The musical's original 1954 London production ran for 2,078 performances, making it briefly the third-longest running musical in West End or Broadway history (after Chu Chin Chow and Oklahoma!) After Tony and Polly leave, Hortense sings how everything is "Nicer in Nice" with the ensemble. |, October 23, 2004 Eager to make the jump to motion pictures, all of the actors play to De Thrill, compounding Polly problems. Sandy Wilson's "The Boy Friend" debuted onstage in 1953, but its nostalgic music is rooted in the earlier 23-skidoo era. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved. The extra wrinkle is that a famous Hollywood director (name: "Cecil B. DeThrill") has unexpectedly popped into the opera box to scout for new talent. Then the "aging roué" character Lord Brockhurst arrives, leading to a comical meeting with the rigidly-mannered Percival Browne. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. Meanwhile Daddy is once again back in the war and guarding Onslow’s house with a sharp object. Rehearsals took place over a 48-hour period immediately prior to the performance on Sunday 8 May, and all proceeds went to The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts. The story is just an old-fashioned romp of blushing courtship, but Russell knows better than to leave it as is. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. to which Polly replies, "I'm afraid I can't dance with a stranger". | Fresh (10) Not so much a musical as a lobotomy with songs, Sandy Wilson’s 1953 opus ‘The Boy Friend’ is an exercise in frothy escapism so extreme it’s basically trolling us. Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache, Best Netflix Shows and Series To Binge (March 2021), The 100 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (March 2021), 100 Best Movies on Amazon Prime To Watch (March 2021). The cast … The Boy Friend (sometimes misspelled The Boyfriend) is a musical by Sandy Wilson. Polly goes to meet Tony on the promenade just as Lord and Lady Brockhurst are passing by, and they recognize him. The Boy Friend, billed as "a New Musical Comedy of the 1920s," was actually an affectionate parody of 1920s musicals written in the early '50s by Sandy Wilson for the Players' Club in London and first put on there in 1953 before being expanded for a five-year run in the West End that began on January 14, 1954, and led to numerous revivals and overseas productions. The original score and manuscripts for the script and lyrics can be found in Wilson's archive at the Harry Ransom Center.[1]. An extraordinary presentation by Ken Russell. An extraordinary presentation by Ken Russell. The film was released in 1971. After this, Polly and Tony meet at the beach and Polly lies that she is not rich, to fit in with Tony. thx tcm! Sad-eyed Twiggy, the ingenue of all ingenues, stars as the shy stage manager who is forced into the lead role when the usual star (Glenda Jackson, in an unbilled cameo) breaks her leg. |, January 11, 2019 My Fair Lady producers saw her in this piece, prompting her casting in the lead in that production, which led to her wider fame on Broadway and beyond in the following years. [6], This production was presented at the Goodspeed Opera House, running from July 2005 through 24 September 2005, where Sean Palmer returned as Tony and Jessica Grové took over the role of Polly after Meredith Patterson was unable to do the role due to scheduling conflicts with her new role in Irving Berlin's White Christmas. It is an adaptation of the 1953 musical The Boy Friend by Sandy Wilson. Or, they may be using you to get close to your best friend, good friends, girl-/boy-friend or sibling. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. She's secretly in love with the male lead (Christopher Gable), so her onstage romantic scenes with him work on two levels. Polly begs Hortense to keep her secret and Hortense agrees. A sequel musical titled Divorce Me, Darling! Following its success at the Players' it went on a nationwide tour and was very successful. was created by Sandy Wilson in 1964. Radically elegant, it dares to challenge established codes, erasing the lines between masculine and feminine style. A bit with elves and giant mushrooms is notably embarrassing, but some other sequences are wonderful. | Rotten (2). The clock strikes midnight, and the girls unanimously say yes to the boys' proposals. Cinemark Narrative revolves around the personal lives of a group of repertory players who stage an English provincial production of The Boy Friend, and a film director strives to catch the performance. 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