The Boy Friend - where to start? There are some people who love this show, and then there are others who very much do not...and when I say "very much do not" it seems to come down to pure hate. Or maybe that is just my take on it. Let's dive in.
The Boy Friend was written by Sandy Wilson, and first performed in London in 1953. When it transferred to Broadway in 1954, the lead role of Polly was the debut, on a Broadway stage, of Julie Andrews - you can find footage of Andrews singing songs from The Boy Friend on a special from 1972 on youtube. The producers of My Fair Lady saw the show which lead to Andrews being cast as Eliza Doolittle. It seems like there was a time where shows set in, or based on shows from the 1920's became en vogue. The Boy Friend is one of those, No, No Nanette, and Dames at Sea are two others I can think of. Heck, you could even think of 42nd Street, and Crazy for You in that group, along with The Drowsy Chaperone and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Broadway does love a flapper show! The Boy Friend is a classic Musical Comedy that is a pastiche of 1920's Musical theatre style both in song and story. Polly is at a girls school in France. While she is from a very wealthy family, she doesn't really share that info. They are all getting excited about a costume ball that is coming up, Polly talks about a fake boyfriend who is coming from Paris for the ball...but she doesn't actually have a boyfriend. When the errand boy delivers her costume towards the end of Act One - clearly it is love at first site. However, the trouble is that he is an errand boy, and she comes from a wealthy family - however will they manage? As most musical of that time period are, it all works out in the end, and there is a happy ending. I love me a happy ending in these types of shows.
In 1971 Ken Russell made a film adaptation of the show. While it may have done well overseas, it did not do that well in the US. Russell created a secondary story of a small sea-side theatre company doing a production of The Boy Friend. The company is down on their luck and is hoping this will raise money, or raise interest for a film director who happens to be in the area. This secondary story allows for a lot of backstage drama which is fun. It also then allows Russell to show the stage production being put together, to show the theatrical tricks of the time. The secondary story has a big of 42nd Street in it as the leading lady (Glenda Jackson) has an accident and so she has to be replaced at the last minute by an errand girl (Twiggy). The love interest is played by Christopher Gable, and the secondary love interest by the very tall Tommy Tune! Yes, Twiggy and Tommy Tune did a film together before they did the stage show "My One and Only." One thing that I enjoyed about this movie is that there are quite a few fantastical sequences for some of the numbers. Yes, they are very 1970's fantasy, while also poking fun at the Busby Berkeley films, and they are over the top - but still a fun film. Not necessarily a great film, but a fun one to watch. If you are interested, here is the trailer.
No comments:
Post a Comment