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Katie King is a girl with big dreams for the future! A dancer in the heart of London's theatre land, Katie is awaiting her big break, when her name will finally be in lights above the Gaiety Theatre. Fun-loving, cute and adoring of her charming boyfriend, the enigmatic Harry Carrington, Katie is sure that her unusual crowning glory of wild auburn curls will help catapult her out of the chorus line and into the leading roles she deserves. But Katie's dazzling smile masks a tragedy - she is desperately ill and her enforced absence from the stage means that she does not have the money for the private healthcare she so badly needs. A few streets away, illness has touched the life of another young woman with distinctive Titian hair, Larentia. She is nursing her sick father, the eminent historian Professor Braintree, and suffers similar horrors when he is diagnosed as incurable. Whilst brilliant and an expert in his field, the Professor's books gain him respect, not money and they too cannot afford the surgery needed. At first it seems that the only two things that the girls have in common are their astoundingly beautiful hair and a desperate need for money to employ the services of the pioneering surgeon Mr. Curtis Sheldon. However, the sudden death of the 4th Duke of Tregaron, a cad of the first order, whose unwanted attentions and lewd behaviour caused a naive Katie such pain in her first year in London, results in Harry coming up with a daring plan to capitalise on their short lived relationship. If Larentia agrees to play her part, and the new Duke, Justin Garon, believes their story there is just a chance that they can raise enough money to save both Katie and the Professor. But can an innocent young woman, with no experience of the darker side of life, be able to trick everyone? And what will be the ultimate cost of the deception if she fails? For this final curtain call Katie must sit back stage as Larentia prepares to give the performance of a lifetime.

From the pre-Gilbert and Sullivan 1860s to the 1980s, this important reference surveys more than a century of British light musical theatre, including its writers and composers. Ganzl provides a wealth of information on the book, lyrics, and music of over 800 London musicals, including contemporary reviews, cast lists, performances, plus pertinent notes gleaned from a study of surviving scores and libretti. Volume 1 traces the development of the genre between 1865 and 1914, describing its roots in burlesque and opera-buffe, and discussing the comic opera tradition and the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership, the flowering of the so-called musical comedy under George Edwardes, and the important influence of the British musical theatre around the world, particularly in America. Volume 2 covers, among other topics, the reciprocal influences on the British musical theatre of the American style, the advent of the dance-and-laughter musicals of the 1930s, the rock operas of the 1970s, and the subsequent development of the modern British musical in its second period of international prominence, highlighted by such hits as Evita and Cats."

Using historical evidence as well as personal accounts, Tracy C. Davis examines the reality of conditions for `ordinary' actresses, their working environments, employment patterns and the reasons why acting continued to be such a popular, though insecure, profession. Firmly grounded in Marxist and feminist theory she looks at representations of women on stage, and the meanings associated with and generated by them.

What links the popular songs "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Send in the Clowns", "Memory" and "I Am What I Am"? They all originated in Broadway musicals. Song of the Season is for those who believe that the score is at the heart of a musical and is the essential building block on which the rest of a show is built. Through a systematic historical survey from 1891 to 2023 it argues that the best musicals survive because of their songs, from early 20th century classics such as Show Boat and Oklahoma! through to the contemporary sound of Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton. looking at outstanding songs from each Broadway season, the development and history of the musical is illustrated with a fresh perspective. As song styles and popular music tastes changed throughout the decades this structure charts the progress of American showtunes alongside popular music forms as songs evolved from the waltz and ragtime to jazz, rock, rap and hip-hop. Factual analysis and historical context combine to offer a rich picture of the American songbook from Irving Berlin to Elton John. Song of the Season paints a fresh picture for musical theatre students and fans alike, illustrating significant changes in the form through the music. Analyzed in an accessible and engaging way that doesn't rely on music theory knowledge, and including a link to playlist where all the 'songs of the seasons' can be listened to, it is a must-have for those looking to expand their knowledge of the form and trace the social history of the American showtune.

When the Marquis of Sherwood declines her invitation to a Society occasion with the scathing comment that he has no wish to spend his time with débutantes, whom he believes are 'half-witted, gauche, stupid and not well-educated', Lady Katherine Wick is incensed. Even more so when she discovers that he apparently prefers the company of the Gaiety Girls, the femmes fatales of the theatrical set. So she resolves to teach him a lesson by enlisting dear friend Lavina Vernon and her most beautiful, talented and witty friends to pose as Gaiety Girls at an unchaperoned party at the Marquis' country mansion – there to prove that Society girls are intelligent as well as glamorous. Kind, demure country parson's daughter Lavina is uncomfortable with this deceit – all the more so as she comes to realise that her heart belongs utterly to the Marquis. The question, once the pretence has been exposed, is whether he will treasure it... Or break it.