AustLit

Revusical.

It is possible that this revusical is the same as, or has been adapted from, another Nat Phillips' production, The Sanatorium (1919). Both works appear to be set in an asylum and to involve similar characters.

The first-known production of Have a Bath, Sir! was during the second week of the 1927 Stiffy and Mo reunion in Brisbane. The Brisbane Courier reports on the occasion that 'So great is their popularity that once again many had to be turned away, the house having been full long before 8 o'clock... There was a healthy mixture of nonsense in Have a Bath, Sir which was billed as 'a musical comedy revuette,' in which Dr Dapper (Dan Weldon), the matron (Dorothy Manning), Dr Mo (Roy Rene), Stiffy (Nat Phillips), the lunatic who wheels his barrow upside down for fear someone might put bricks in it (Jack Kellaway), Miss Monotony (Polly Power), Mr Nearly Better (Hal Cooper), and the neurotic patients (the Charleston Boys) appeared at their best' (28 February 1927, p.16).

Revusical.

In his weekly 'Vaudeville' column, Just It critic M. A. Keup describes Convicts in Clover thusly: 'Golf with the governor of the prison as one of the means of the prisoners recreation, afternoon tea served by a very attractive waitress, and solicitous warders constantly inquiring if there [are] any complaints, [make] life behind prison bars an idyllic experience' (14 July 1927, p.28). One of the vaudeville-style musical sketches introduced into the narrative was titled 'Ham-let'.

Songs incorporated into the 1927 Fullers' Theatre (Sydney) production included 'Clap Hands' and 'My Hero', both sung by Amy Rochelle.

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo (Stiffy and 'Erb in 1927) play bailiffs 'who attempt all sorts of subterfuge and disguises to affect entry into a house, but the occupier (Daisy Merritt) is too astute for them' (Brisbane Courier 17 January 1927, p.16).

Among the songs presented in the 1925 Melbourne production were Queenie Paul's composition 'A Smile in Everybody' (sung by Paul and Mike Connors), 'Star of the East', and 'Pyjama Blues'.

Revue.

Little is known about this revusical, believed to have been first staged in 1925. The Age theatre critic simply records, 'At the Bijou on Saturday Stiffy (Nat Phillips) and Mo (Roy Rene) staged another revue entitled The Huntsmen. The adventures of these absurd comedians and the machinations of the villain made a hit with a crowded house... Dan Dunbar gave an excellent sketch of an old-time actor, Horatio Muggs, his exaggerated comedy proving very popular' (13 April 1925, p.5).

Although the 1928 Whirligig's Bijou season is described in advertising as a 'new and original revue' (Age 26 December 1928, p.16), it is likely that it was based on this revusical. Roy Rene's part would, in the 1928 version, have most likely been performed by Jack Kellaway (possibly as 'Erb).

Revusical.

In this Stiffy and Mo revusical, Roy Rene plays a judge. Other characters include a variety of defendants (notably a shoplifter, a bigamist, a 'Bolshie', and a sheep stealer).The Adelaide Register further records, in reviewing the 1925 Whirligigs production in Adelaide, that the story deals 'principally with the adventures of a dismissal policeman whom opens a Police Court of his own' (17 August 1925, p12).

Revusical.

'Like its predecessors,' writes an Everyone's variety critic, '[Remnants] has little or no plot, but just enough to hold it together and permit of the comedians and their support a first-class impression of how easy it is to get laughs' (3 December 1924, p.34).

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo appear as merchant seamen, creating havoc aboard and ashore. The parts were played by Nat Phillips and Jack Kellaway (as Stiffy and 'Erb) ca. 1926. Although little is known about this revusical and its storyline, the Sydney Morning Herald theatre critic notes:

An abundance of fun was provided at Fuller's on Saturday with the return of the popular Stiffy and Mo Company. The entire second half of the programme was devoted to staging the company's laughable revue The Sailors.... Nat Phillips, who is the writer and producer of the sketch, was as versatile as ever in his favourite role, "Stiffy", while Roy Rene, "Mo", again proved himself to be a mirth-maker of high order. The many musical numbers accompanying the sketch were well given, and the effectiveness of the revue was greatly enhanced by the bright ballets (1 September 1924, p.6).

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo are a couple of bell-boys at a hotel, who find themselves mixed up in the troubles of two young lovers, Helen and Frank, and Helen's father, Hiam Plaster. When the father arrives at the hotel, he is suspicious and demands to see his daughter. Stiffy and Mo help keep Frank hidden and then devise a plan to trick Mr Plaster into accepting Helen's relationship with Frank. As usual, however, the two larrikins manage to turn the situation upside down with their shenanigans. An Age review from 1925 proposes that the 'title could easily have been changed to "The Hotel Impossible" without altering the significance of the entertainment' (16 February 1925, p.11).

Songs known to have been incorporated into the 1924 production include 'I am the Manager,' 'We are a Couple of Bellboys,' and 'At the Grand.' The 1925 Bijou Theatre production included 'What'll I Do?' and 'Rose of the Rio Grande.'

The 1932 revival saw Joe Lawman take over the role previously played by Roy Rene (Mo) and Jack Kellaway ('Erb).

This musical comedy revue is set in the studio of socialite artist Maurice, where the other characters include Floritte (his model), Peters (his friend), Polly (his maid), Tonnette (a model), Mr Guiter (a rogue), several more attractive models, and two 'butter-ins', Stiffy and Mo. In reviewing the 1924 Fullers' Theatre season, Australian Variety records that the production involved:

a most sumptuous interior set, with a superb moonlight view of the city in the background. Here the amusing attempts of Stiffy and Mo to get Mo into society were the chief ingredients of a revue that contains a lot of matter founded on everyday experience. A really amusing episode is where Stiffy, [with] the help of an imaginary lady, attempts to drill Mo into the manner of conducting himself in high-class social circles... Wisely surrounding themselves with excellent "straight people", the revue goes through the haven of success without the humourosities of the pair becoming too boresome (20 September 1924, n. pag.).

The 'musical sketches' for the 1922 production were 'Let's be Merry and Bright' (party guests), 'Wibbly Wobbly' (Keith Connolly), 'In Society' (Rene and Phillips), 'Pinkie' (Queenie Paul and girls), 'Bornio' (Mike Connors and girls), 'Tabberworky' (Ivy Davis and girls), 'Operatic Uproar' (Connelly and girls), 'In Old Minola' (Connors and Paul), 'Sydney Town' (Connelly and girls), and the finale.

Revusical.

A club's President and Lady President, Secretary, Treasurer, Delegate, Vice Do, and Vice Secretary, meet two prospective members, Mr Stiffy and Mr Mo.

The 1922 Sydney production (Fullers' Theatre) incorporated the following 'musical rules' into the story: 'We Run the Club' (The Members), 'Someone in Town' (Gladys Shaw and girls), 'Dreamy Honolulu' (Ivy Davis and girls), 'Moonlight' (company), 'Granny' (Mike Connors), 'Angel Child' (Queenie Paul and girls), 'Virginia, My Homeland' (Connors and girls), 'Bonnie Scotland' (Keith Connelly and company), and 'The He'land Gathering' (finale).

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo are janitors at a bank. The other characters are Mr Morgan (a banker), Mazie (his daughter), Freddie (her fiancee), Jacques (the manager), Quilpy (a clerk), Miss Fussy (the head typist), Dora (a secretary), and Mrs Mush (the charwoman). An advertisement for the 1925 Bijou Theatre production records, however, that Stiffy and Mo appeared 'as do it yourself bank clerks' (Age 23 Mar. 1925, p.12), while the Brisbane Courier records in 1927 that Stiffy and 'Erb (Nat Phillips and Jack Kellaway) portrayed 'bank clerks of the never-to-be-seen order' with the pair developing 'many highly amusing situations in the world of finance' (7 February 1927, p.15).

Among the songs presented during the 1922 Sydney production (Fullers' Theatre) were 'Come, Be a Sport' (chorus), 'If it comes from Dixieland' (Ivy Davis, Ida Merton and girls), 'Parisian Jazz' (Doc O'Brien and girls), 'Maizie' (Connors and Paul), 'Oh, Laws Laugh' (Merton and O'Brien), 'Jaffalla' (Mike Connors and girls), 'Belgravia' (Nat Phillips and Gladys Shaw), 'All By Myself' (Queenie Paul and girls), 'On My Feet Again' (Keith Connolly and girls), and 'Close the Bank' (company).

Two of the hits from the 1927 Whirligig version were 'Let's Buy the Bank' (a duet sung by Stiffy and 'Erb) and 'Talking to the Moon' (by Dorothy Manning).

Revusical.

Revusical.

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo are set loose in a sanatorium.

Revue.

A Pot Pourri is more a revue than a revusical, in that it had no narrative structure. In this respect, each production (invariably presented as a Stiffy and Mo season finale) was made up of popular selections from the troupe's repertoire over the course of the season. The title appears to have been changed over time, with a similar end of season production in Brisbane during 1927 given the billing Go As You Please.

A 1927 Truth review sheds some light on the production, recording:

The farewell week of the Whirligigs' revue company was begun at the Empire last night, when Stiffy and Mo presented a jumbled mixture of drollery culled from the revues played in the past weeks ... Backed up by Jack Kellaway ('Little 'Erb'), Polly Power and Dan Dunbar, the production lent itself to the versatility of the two principals (6 March 1927, p.10).

Revusical.

The Brisbane Courier records that Stiffy and Mo appear in this revusical as a Yiddish 'deadbeat and his deadbest friend... equipped with an extremely clever and funny make-up, they gave a delightful impersonation of the affectations popularly attributed to members of the English nobility, while their sudden and unexpected relapse into their own identity caused many a hearty laugh' (20 June 1921, p.4). The 1927 version of The Lords is said to have included within the general story line a sketch called the 'The Eternal Triangle', along with another sketch described as the 'telephone scene' (Just It 18 August 1927, p.28).

A review of the 1926 Whirligig company version (Empire Theatre, Brisbane) records that 'In the amusing revuette, The Lords, Stiffy and 'Erb masquerade as two members of the House of Lords and their adventures on the seashore with a bevy of charming maidens provided a wide field of humour' (Brisbane Courier 6 December 1926, p.15). The other characters included Willie (played by Dan Weldon), the little son of the irascible Major Porter (Dan Dunbar), and a ne'er to well (Eric Masters).

For the 1925 Bijou Theatre production, Phillips included such songs as 'Old Irish Mother' and 'Lazy Daisies.' Songs incorporated into the 1927 production included 'All's Well that Ends Well' and 'Here I Am' (both sung by Amy Rochelle).

Revusical.

Revusical.

Known under various titles throughout the years, this one-act musical comedy revue sees Stiffy and Mo as bullfighters. Although new songs and fresh comic business were no doubt inserted into the various productions over the years, it is believed that the basic format of the first narrative was retained. For example, the 1922 production (presented as In Mexico) contained the following characters: Bill Brady (a crook), Florita (an heiress), Anita (in love with Brady), Antonio (in love with Florita), Petre (a bad hombre), Florrie (who also loves Brady), and various senoritas. The 1924 version has at least four similarly named characters: Pedro, Natalie, Flora, and Florita.

A review of the 1924 production (billed as Mexicans) in the Theatre magazine provides the following description:

Stiffy and Mo, two strangers in Mexico, are alternatively vamped by Natalie, Flora and Florita, and only just manage to evade the knife of Pedro the toreador. The plot is neither here nor there, however, when Stiffy and Mo start gagging. A most artistic scene representing a courtyard in Mexico, forms the background for the revue and six dainty senoritas dance on and off when the fun slows down... but the show is Stiffy and Mo (December 1924, p.44).

The following year, an advertisement for In Spain notes that Stiffy and Mo 'are brave bull fighters in dear old Mexico among the sweet senoritas and giddy girls full of pep and pace. A scream of joy headed by the gloom annihilators Nat Phillips and Roy Rene' (Age 14 March 1925, p.22).

The 1922 production included the songs 'Come to Spain' (girls), 'Honeymoon Round the World' (Keith Connelly and girls), 'Romany' (Queenie Paul), 'After a Thousand Years' (Ivy Davis and girls), 'Believe in You' (Mike Connors and girls), 'Parvo Real Girl' (Connelly and girls), 'Promenade' (Gladys Shaw and girls), 'Kentucky Home' (Connors and Paul), and 'Back to Australia' (finale).

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo are a couple of stable lads at a racecourse in this 'sporty musical comedy revue'. The other characters include Dennis (an old trainer); Marion (his daughter); Paul Mannering (the owner); Jonsey (a punter); Olga Verough (in love with Paul); Lord Verbrought (her accomplice); Lizzie (the servant); and Graham, Harry, Bentham, and Ken (possibly punters). The 1921 Brisbane Courier review records:

[The play] was a burlesque on the sport of horse racing ... replete with crooks, disqualified jockeys and adventuresses. As the stable boys Messrs. Roy Rene and Nat Phillips gave a clever and laughable portrayal of the characteristics commonly attributed to "horsey" men. Miss Daisy Merritt as Polly, the "Queen of Ascot", was the object of the amorous advances of Mo, and the latter's proposal made a great hit with some of the audience, but other persons might have thought it approached the indelicate. The comedy was full of pretty frocked ballets, dances and songs' (p.4).

The Brisbane Courier's review of Nat Phillips' 1926 Whirligig version records:

The second half of the programme was taken up with an amusing sporting revue, The Jockeys, depicting dark doings at the racecourse. As usual Stiffy and 'Erb (in the role of stable boys) claimed a large share of attention, and their handling of their mounts, a collie dog and a goat was a scream. Smart and snappy musical numbers by members of the company, with the able co-operation of the Whirligig Ballet, were interspersed throughout the programme (13 December 1926, p.17).

The 'musical sprints' presented during the 1922 production were 'Derby Day' (punters, owners, and trainers), 'Mississippi' (Connelly and girls), 'Miss O'Shea' (Shaw, Rene, and Phillips), 'Miami Dreams' (Connors and Paul), 'Ahead of the Times' (O'Brien and girls), 'All by Myself' (Paul), 'Strut, Miss Lizzie' (Connors and girls), 'Timbuctoo' (Connelly), 'Jabowocky' (Davis and girls), and the finale, 'The Race for the Cup' (the jockeys). Queenie Paul's song, 'All by Myself', was included in the production by request.

Revusical.

Stiffy and Mo get mixed up in various situations while working as dustmen.