The Orchid is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton and additional numbers by Paul Rubens. It opened at Gaiety Theatre in London on 26 October 1903 and ran for 559 performances. It starred Gertie Millar, Gabrielle Ray, Harry Grattan, Edmund Payne and George Grossmith, Jr. The show also had a successful Broadway run, revivals and a U.S. tour.
The Orchid was the first show played in the renovated Gaiety Theatre. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were both there for the opening night.
Some of the show's successful songs were "Liza Ann", "Little Mary", "Pushful", and "Fancy Dress".
The story concerns the quest of a wealthy American for a $2,000 Peruvian orchid to be sent, for obscure reasons, to Nice, France. When foul play keeps the flower from reaching its destination, it is discovered that a nearly identical orchid is growing in the garden of the horticultural college.
Roles and original cast
Lady Violet Anstruther (principal pupil at the horticultural college) – Gertie Millar
Caroline Twining (of a matrimonial turn) – Connie Ediss
Zelie Rumbert (an adventuress) – Hilda Jacobsen
Thisbe (private secretary to Mr. Chesterton) – Gabrielle Ray
Countess Anstruther (Violet's mother) – Phyllis Blair
Billy (Dr. Fausset's "Buttons") – Lydia West
Lady Warden (of the horticultural college) – Gertrude Aylward
Josephine Zaccary (pupil teacher at the horticultural college) – Ethel Sydney
The Hon. Guy Scrymgeour (Mr. Chesterton's nephew) – George Grossmith, Jr.
Dr. Ronald Fausset (a country practitioner) – Lionel Mackinder
Mr. Aubrey Chesterton (Minister Of Commerce, and Guy's uncle) – Harry Grattan
Comte Raoul De Cassignat (of the Quai d'Orsay) – Robert Nainby
Zaccary (a professional orchid hunter) – Fred Wright, junr.
M. Frontenbras, M. Merignac (Comte Raoul's seconds) – George Gregory and Charles A. Brown
Registrar – Arthur Hatherton
Master Of Ceremonies – Will Bishop
M. D'auville (French minister of state) – H. Lewis
Meakin (gardener at the horticultural college) – Edmund Payne
Debutantes
Act I – The Countess of Barwick's Horticultural College
No. 1. Chorus – "This high horticultural college is formed with the excellent plan"
No. 2. Thisbe & Chorus – "A statesman in the Cabinet wants plenty of assistance"
No. 3. Jo & Chorus – "If I could be a girl in high society, whose pedigree included a peer or two"
No. 4. Meakin & Chorus – "You amateurs who try to run a garden"
No. 5. Jo, Lady Violet, Guy, Ronald & Meakin – "For a stylish and up-to-date wedding"
No. 6. Débutantes – "Come! come! come! Come for confidential talks in the arbours and the walks"
No. 7. Chesterton & Chorus – "From the start of my existence I was noted for persistence"
No. 8. Lady Violet, Jo, Guy & Ronald – "Our marriage lines! our marriage lines! The magic in those simple signs"
No. 9. Caroline & Meakin – "The cuckoo is calling aloud to his mate, the turtle dove coos in its nest"
No. 10. Chorus – "Now the speechifying's done, and the prizes we have won have been given"
No. 11. Zaccary & Chorus – "I've travelled far where panthers are that jump on you and catch you!"
No. 12. Caroline & Chorus – "I was tired of living single, never putting up the banns"
No. 13. Finale Act I – "What a most romantic history! Solving all the recent mystery! Violet has played the run-away"
Act II – Various locations in Nice: Black Massena, Promenade des Anglais, & Interior of the Opera House
No. 14. horus – "Up and down, over the town, motley and merriment speed along."
No. 14a. Pas de Trois
No. 15. Caroline & Chorus – "I've a passion for fancy dress, more or less!"
No. 16. Lady Violet & Chorus – "There's a certain little lady who's already known to fame as Little Mary"
No. 17. Guy & Meakin – "We're true British labourers honest and free, but, alas, we are both unemployed"
No. 18. Zaccary & Chorus – "I'm monarch of many a million, especially put in francs"
No. 19. Ronald & Jo – "I never was so thoroughly wretched and sad in all my life"
No. 20. Lady Violet & Zaccary – "There's a Yorkshire town, very bleak and brown, where your life is not too gay"
No. 21. Guy – "There's a charming little lady who's a patron of the play"
No. 22. Jo – "I've been waiting for some sort of sign that you want this little heart of mine"
No. 23. Chorus – "We are going to the Ball all in white"
No. 24. Thisbe – "There's a girl I want you all to know, Rose-a-Rubie is her name"
No. 25. Octet – "Oh dear! have you heard of it? There's a ball we ought to see"
No. 26. Chorus – Bal Blanc – "Carnival is nearly ended, now we drop our colours splendid"
No. 27. Jo & Guy, with Chorus – "When I go to a ball, although I'm the keenest of the dancers"
No. 28. Lady Violet & Chorus – "When I was extremely small, only three or four"
No. 29. Ronald – "There are lots of fellows in the world today, but ther're very few about like me"
No. 30. Finale Act II – "At the fancy, fancy ball, happiness has come to all"
