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A romantic and historical musical set at the foot of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Collits' Inn was described in the Age as a 'Sensational Triumph... universally acclaimed as one of the greatest ever productions ever staged in Australia' (26 December 1933, p.12).
The story revolves around Mary Collits (the daughter of the inn's proprietor, Pierce Collits), who falls in love with Captain John Lake, the commander of a gang of convicts and soldiers building a road across the mountains. The situation is complicated by Robert Keane, a hard-done-by bushranger, who is himself in love with Mary. Keane is supported by Mary's father, who not only shares a similar hatred of the red-coated soldiers, but is also under an obligation to the bushranger. The story culminates in a duel between the two suitors, leaving Keane to die a noble death in a 'fair fight'. The love affair is put on hold, however, when Lake is recalled to England and Mary's memory of him is erased through an accident. When the hero returns three years later to claim his true love, her memory is restored amidst great rejoicing and happily-ever-afters.
Notes
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Collits' Inn was awarded second prize in a competition for an Australian operetta or musical play, promoted in 1932 by Sydney singing teacher Miss Nathalie Rosenwax. Determined to enter the competition, Varney Monk collaborated with her next-door neighbour, newspaper editor T. Stuart Gurr, after telling him a story she had heard while holidaying in the Blue Mountains some years before. Despite being awarded second place to The Island of Palms by Arnold R. Mote and Margery Browne, the musical was deemed more suitable for immediate production, and was subsequently staged by Rosenwax later that same year at Sydney's Savoy Theatre. Comprising a mostly amateur cast, it received a good deal of positive criticism. Much of the credit was directed to well-known professional singer and variety star Rene Maxwell (as Mary Collits), along with the richly orchestrated arrangements of conductor Howard Carr (who had previously been associated with George Edwardes's musicals in London). The orchestra, too, was ably led by the composer's husband, the well-known violinist Cyril Monk.
Following the initial production, Carr, on the urging of Varney Monk, approached producer F. W. Thring in Melbourne. Although primarily a film exhibitor at the time, Thring was contemplating a move into production. One of his ideas was to increase the possibility of world-wide distribution by trying out local material on the stage first and, if the production were successful, transferring the story to film. Following Carr's pitch, Thring invited Monk to meet with him and, according to her, the entrepreneur accepted Collits' Inn at that meeting. The musical was extensively revised, however, for its professional debut at Melbourne's Princess Theatre.
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Collits' Inn was scheduled to be turned into a cinematic release by Frank Thring's Efftee film company, but this eventually fell through. The venture only proceeded as far as screen tests for the roles of Mary and Lake. Negotiations with British entrepreneur Charles B. Cochran were also started, but Thring's death in 1936 saw this opportunity shelved indefinitely.
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Bronwyn Arthur claims that Collits' Inn holds its place in Australian music theatre history as the first occasion on which Australian audiences were offered their own history and idiosyncratic characters on the professional stage (Arthur, p.133). Research into the professional variety theatre industry indicates, however, that distinctive Australian characters and situations had been celebrated in Australian revusicals from at least 1916 (see Clay Djubal, 'What Oh Tonight', Chapter 6). The 1933/1934 Efftee productions certainly qualify as Australia's first attempt to replicate the modern American musical genre that had begun to emerge following the Broadway debut of Showboat in 1927.
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Details have also been sourced from John West's 'Introduction' to the 1990 Currency Press edition of Collits' Inn.
Production Details
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1932: Savoy Theatre, Sydney, 5-9 December.
- Conductor Howard Carr; Orchestra Leader Cyril Monk.
- Cast incl. Rene Maxwell (Mary Collits), Robert Gemmell (Pierce), Norman Barnes (Ensign Lake), Donald McNiven (Robert Keane), Alwyn Porter (Dandy Dick), and Ann Stuart Gurr (Mistress Dale).
1933: Mosman Town Hall, Sydney, 11-13 March (revival).
1933: Princess Theatre, Melbourne, 23 December 1933 - 7 April 1934 (approx. 120 performances).
- Director Claude Fleming; Producer F. W. Thring (Efftee Stage Productions); Music Director Fred Quintrell; Chorus Jennie Brennan and Margaret Berry; Stage Manager Claude Flemming; Scenic Art/Designer W. R. Coleman, George Kenyon, and Rupert Brown; Vocal Ensembles Arranger Howard Carr.
- Cast incl. Gladys Moncrieff (Mary Collits), Robert Chisolm (Ensign Lake), Claude Flemming (Robert Keane), George Wallace (Dandy Dick), Marshall Crosbie (Pierce Collits), Bryl Walkley (Mistress Dale), Russell Scott (Capt. Burnley), Ron Riley (Gov. Darling), Phyllis Baker (Sally), Norman Shepherd (Carthew), Ashton Jarry (Courtney), D'Arcy Kelway (Evans), John Dobbie (Toby), Les King (Charlie), Ron Riley (Banks), Chas. Davis (Brown), Phillip Peake (Sergeant).
- The cast comprised sixty-four actors, singers, and dancers.
- This production utilised the first revolving stage in Australia.
- The premiere also involved a live 'descriptive broadcast' by Station 3KZ of the audience arriving at the theatre and the complete broadcast of Act 1. This was then relayed to other states.
1934: Tivoli Theatre, Sydney, 22 June - 23 August. Cast and production mostly as for Melbourne season.
1943: ABC Radio broadcast (truncated version)
1951: ABC Radio broadcast (truncated version)
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The only other productions of the musical have been amateur performances. Those established to date are:
- 1946: Ballet and Theatre Club, Sydney, which presented extracts only.
- 1951: Mosman Musical Society, Sydney. Presented as part of the Australian golden jubilee celebrations. This production included some additional music by Varney Monk's son-in-law Hal Evans.
- 1951: Sydney Boys High School, also presented as part of the jubilee celebrations.
- 1963: Nepean Musical Society, Sydney. Presented as part of the sesqui-centenary celebrations of the original crossing of the Blue Mountains.
- There is also believed to have been a performance staged by the St Alban's Dramatic and Musical Society, Sydney, in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
Contents
- Collits' Inn : A Romantic Australian Operetta : Introduction, single work criticism (p. vii-xiii)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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It's Australian and It's Good
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: National Library of Australia News , December vol. 14 no. 3 2003; (p. 7-10) -
The Pub with no Peer, or 'Collits' Inn' : The First Australian Musical Romance
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: One Hand on the Manuscript : Music in Australian Cultural History 1995; (p. 128-140) This paper is based largely on Arthur's BMus (Hons) thesis, 'Varney Monk and Collits' Inn : A Landmark in Australian Musical History', ANU, 1994. -
Additions and Rare Editions
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: The CRNLE Reviews Journal , no. 2 1992; (p. 53-59)
— Review of Black Life : Poems 1992 selected work poetry ; Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
The 'Cultural Youth' of European Australasia Revisted
1991
single work
review
— Appears in: Northern Perspective , Dry Season vol. 14 no. l 1991; (p. 119-120)
— Review of Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
Collits' Inn : A Romantic Australian Operetta : Introduction
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1990; (p. vii-xiii)
-
Additions and Rare Editions
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: The CRNLE Reviews Journal , no. 2 1992; (p. 53-59)
— Review of Black Life : Poems 1992 selected work poetry ; Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
'Collits' Inn' - A Splendid Production
1934
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23 June no. 30100 1934; (p. 19)
— Review of Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
'Collits' Inn - A Splendid Success
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 December 1933; (p. 9)
— Review of Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
'Collits' Inn' - It's Australian and it's Good
1934
single work
review
— Appears in: Smith's Weekly , 30 June 1934; (p. 26)
— Review of Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
The New Christmas Shows : 'Collits' Inn' - The Princess
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: Table Talk , 28 December 1933; (p. 14)
— Review of Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1932 single work musical theatre -
It's Australian and It's Good
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: National Library of Australia News , December vol. 14 no. 3 2003; (p. 7-10) -
The Pub with no Peer, or 'Collits' Inn' : The First Australian Musical Romance
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: One Hand on the Manuscript : Music in Australian Cultural History 1995; (p. 128-140) This paper is based largely on Arthur's BMus (Hons) thesis, 'Varney Monk and Collits' Inn : A Landmark in Australian Musical History', ANU, 1994. - y Theatre in Australia Stanmore : Cassell Australia , 1978 Z1306143 1978 single work criticism
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"Collit's Inn" - Talkie to be Made of Australian Operetta
1933
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Women's Weekly , 9 September vol. 1 no. 14 1933; (p. 39) -
Collits' Inn : A Romantic Australian Operetta : Introduction
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Collits' Inn : An Australian Historical Musical Romance in Three Acts 1990; (p. vii-xiii)
PeriodicalNewspaper Details
- Blue Mountains, Sydney, New South Wales,
- 1830s