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Based on the traditional and popular pantomime story, this Alf J. Lawrance adaptation similarly inserts popular characters from the Robin Hood legend into the tale of the two 'babes' kidnapped by ruffians on the orders of their wicked uncle.
Of the thirty songs and dances in the show, at least nine were written by Lawrance: 'Follow Me Boys' and 'It's the Allies' (originally sung by Dorothy Harris); 'Boys of the Expedition' (Lola Hunt); the topical trio 'Mum's The Word', 'Dance of the Robins' (ballet), and 'I Can't Do that Sum' (Marjory Daw's schoolroom number, originally sung by Ettie Waldron); and 'I Don't Care', 'Anyone Could See She was a Lady' and 'Pull for the Shore' (all performed by Daisy Jerome).
Two of the non-Lawrance songs incorporated into the pantomime were 'Give Me a Piggyback' (sung by the Babes) and 'Always Take a Girl Named Daisy' (Daisy Jerome).
The Argus theatre critic wrote of the revised 1915 Melbourne season at the Princess's Theatre that 'The ballets and choruses were bright and attractive, and the mingling of popular ragtime airs with the usual musical numbers was a novelty that appealed to the audience' (23 August 1915, p.13). It is unclear as to how many, if any, song changes were made for the short Bijou engagement that followed the Princess's season, and thus the following (mentioned in the Bijou reviews) may or may not have been included in the earlier production: 'I Do Believe I'm in Love' and 'I Followed Her Here' (Carrie Moore) and 'Rose of Italy' (Ray de Vere).
Staged in two acts, the pantomime involved the following scenes:
Act 1: Scene 1 The Babes Nursery;
Scene 2: Village Of Sherwood;
Scene 3 Baron Hardup's Baronial Hall;
Scene 4 On the Sands at Coogee;
Scene 5 Floating in the Briny;
Scene 6 Woodland Glade Finale;
Scene 7 The Escapade.
Act 2: Scene 1 Dame Durden's School-Room;
Scene 2 Dingle Dell;
Scene 3 Jeromeland;
Scene 4 The Baron's Banqueting Hall;
Scene 5 On the Banks of the Missouri;
Scene 6 The Throne Room in the King's Palace.
The specialties staged were as follows: Bathing Girls; The Dream Boat; The Leaf Ballet; Tipperary March; The Ghost of the Violin; The Expeditionary Force; Allies March; Flag Tableaux; The Great International Military Scenes ('The Rock - 1815' and 'The Rock 1915'); The Grand Concluding Spectacle ('1916 - Peace, Prosperity and Plenty').
Production Details
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1914: Adelphi Theatre, Sydney, 23 December 1914 - 12 February 1915.
- Director Lester Brown; Producer George Willoughby; Music Director Mr Wynne-Jones; Scenic Art J. S. Mann, Alfred and George Clint; Costumes D. H. Souter; Chorus Bertha Bursh.
- Cast incl. Dorothy Harris (Robin Hood), Dan Thomas (Dame Durden), Daisy Jerome (Maid Marion), Lola Hunt (Will Scarlett), Bert Le Blanc (Weary Willie), Ted Stanley (Tired Tim), Billy Watson (Baron Hardup), Joe Waldron (Simple Simon, the village idiot), Durham Marcell (Town Cryer), Harry Gordon (Old Man of the Village), Eric Jenkins (The Sheriff), Ergon Wollff (Innkeeper), Jack Heller (The Goat), Harry Grouse (Von Turpentine), Percy Wake (Tinprince), Undine Evans (Mulke), Elsie Sloane (Spirit of Good Intent), Little Merle Hickey and Baby Creber (the Babes), Josephine Gassmann and her Piccaninnies, Joe Waldron, Ettie Waldron (Marjorie Daw), Bill Waldron, and the New York Comedy Four (Jack Quinlan as The King, Glenmore Jones as Friar Tuck, Clym Edgares, and Holly Leslie as the Spirit of Evil Intent).
- Americans Durham Marcel and Nellie Fallon were also engaged as specialist fox-trot dancers.
- The names of two cast members were incorrectly spelled in advertising published in the Sydney Morning Herald (23 December 1914, p.2), these being Glenmore Jones (listed as 'Granville Jones') and Durham Marcell (listed as 'Durham Marton'). Both of these performers became members of Bert Le Blanc's Travesty Stars in 1915.
1915: Newcastle, NSW, 13-19 February.
- Cast and production mostly as for Adelphi Theatre season.
- 1915: Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, 22 February - 6 March.
- Director Lester Brown; Producer George Willoughby; Music Director Mr Wynne-Jones; Scenic Art J. S. Mann, Alfred and George Clint; Costumes D. H. Souter ; Chorus Bertha Bursh.
- Cast incl. Dorothy Harris; Daisy Jerome; Dan Thomas; Lola Hunt; Bert Le Blanc; Jake Mack (Tired Tim); Ted Stanley (Village Idiot); Bert Barton; Billy Watson; Elsie Sloane; Josephine Gassmann and her Piccaninnies; Durham Marcel and Nellie Fallon; Joe, Ettie, and Bill Waldron; the New York Comedy Four (Jack Quinlan, Glenmore Jones, Clym Edgares, and Holly Leslie as the Spirit of Evil Intent); and Hanlon, Dean, and Hanlon (hand balancers).
- The cast also involved some eighty 'beautiful show girls' and a corps de ballet of forty dancers.
1915: Regional tour, Queensland, beginning 8 March.
- Cast and production mostly as for previous Brisbane season.
- Tour itinerary was Gympie, Maryborough, Bundaberg (one night in each), Rockhampton (three nights), and Toowoomba (two nights).
1915: New Zealand tour, 25 March - 22 May (ten weeks).
- Cast and production mostly as for previous Brisbane season.
- The company left Sydney for New Zealand on 19 March. The tour ended in Auckland on 22 May.
1915: Adelaide, South Australia, ca. May-June.
- Cast and production mostly as for previous Brisbane season.
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1915: Victorian regional tour, ca. July-August.
- Cast and production mostly as for previous Brisbane season.
- Bert Le Blanc and Jake Mack did not tour due to their debut Travesty Star season at the Bijou Theatre, Melbourne.
- Tour itinerary incl. Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat.
1915: Tasmanian tour, ca. July-August.
- Cast and production mostly as for previous Brisbane season.
- Tour itinerary incl.Launceston and Hobart.
1915: Princess's Theatre, Melbourne, 21 August - 10 September.
- Director Lester Brown; Producer George Willoughby; Music Director Alf J. Lawrence; Scenic Art J. S. Martin, Alfred and George Clint, Rege Robbins.
- Cast incl. Carrie Moore (Robin Hood), Dan Thomas, Ray de Vere (Maid Marion) Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Ted Stanley, Carlton Chase (Baron Hardup), Nellie Fallon (Marjorie Daw), Lola Hunt, Glenmore Jones (Friar Tuck), Clem Edgares (Sheriff), Muriel Cathcart, Holly Leslie (Spirit of Evil), Dorothy Seacombe and Alice Jerrems (the Babes), J. Souter (Goat), Bollinger and Reynolds (acrobats), Mandeno's Canine Marvels.
- The Melbourne production was a reworked version of the pantomime as it had been presented during the Queensland regional tour.
- The show was taken up for one week by the Fullers' who staged it at their Bijou Theatre immediately after the Princess's season closed.
1915: Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, 11-17 September.
- Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd.
- Cast and production mostly as for previous Princess's Theatre season.
- The Age review indicates that 'little or no change in the plot was apparent [between the Princess's and Bijou productions, although the latter] was very much enlivened by the addition of popular songs and topical skits' (13 September 1915, p.14).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Princess's Theatre - The Babes in the Wood
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Argus , 23 August 1915; (p. 13)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Princess's Theatre Pantomime - The Babes in the Wood'
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 23 August 1915; (p. 10)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Music and Drama
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 20 February no. 17816 1915; (p. 13)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Bijou Theatre
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Argus , 13 September 1915; (p. 9)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Bijou Theatre
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 September 1915; (p. 14)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work
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From a Spectator's Point of View : Performers On and Off the Stage - 'Babes in the Woods'
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Theatre Magazine , February 1915; (p. 10-11)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
'The Babes in the Wood' : Order of the Tour
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Theatre Magazine , March 1915; (p. 8-9)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
'Babes in the Wood' Pantomime Tonight
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 22 February no. 17817 1915; (p. 9)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Bijou Theatre
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 September 1915; (p. 14)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Bijou Theatre
1915
single work
review
— Appears in: The Argus , 13 September 1915; (p. 9)
— Review of Babes in the Wood 1914 single work -
Was the Criticism Justified?
1915
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Theatre Magazine , March 1915; (p. 47) Bert Le Blanc's reply to the Theatre (February 1915, pp10-11) following the magazine's unfavourable review of his performance in George Willoughby's production of Babes in the Wood (Adelphi Theatre, Sydney; 22 December 1914). Le Blanc also defends his Hebrew comic persona against further criticism by Theatre's vaudeville critic. In the letter he also makes comparisons between his style of delivery and that of English comedian Dan Thomas (who the critic favoured).
