A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Cowardy Custard

Musical Revue / Cabaret, Comedy  /  6w, 6m

Words and Music by Noël Coward
Devised by Gerald Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye

An immense success in London, this imaginative and innovative revue of Noël Coward’s words, music and sketches offers a kaleidoscopic glimpse of Coward’s brilliance.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    6w, 6m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

An immense success in London, this imaginative and innovative revue of Noël Coward’s words, music and sketches reveals something of the man himself. Cowardy Custard contains not only those classic medleys and duets, but also previously unpublished material, snippets of plays and dialogues, material from Coward’s autobiographies as background and even a few of his little-known poems. The result is a kaleidoscopic glimpse of Coward’s brilliance.

History

Cowardy Custard premiered at the Mermaid Theatre in London on July 10, 1972. Directed by Wendy Toye, the production featured Patricia Routledge along with Geoffrey Burridge, Olivia Breeze, Jonathan Cecil, Tudor Davies, Elaine Delmar, Laurel Ford, Peter Gale, John Moffatt, Anna Sharkey, Una Stubbs and Derek Waring.

The original London production of Cowardy Custard featured 12 performers (6 women, 6 men). 
In the script, they are listed as:

ARTIST O
ARTIST P
ARTIST Q
ARTIST R
ARTIST S
ARTIST T
ARTIST U
ARTIST V
ARTIST W
ARTIST X
ARTIST Y
ARTIST Z

  • Time Period 1950s
  • Setting

    A simple bare stage or unit set.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“A whole ravishing feast ... never ceases to amaze.” – Evening Standard

“More densely packed with entertainment than anything that has hit town for a long while.” – Daily Mail

Music

Music Samples

Act I

1. Overture
“I’ll See You Again” – Orchestra
2. Opening Medley:
“If Love Were All” – Artist X
“I’ll See You Again” – Artist O
“Time and Again” – Artist R
“Has Anyone Seen Our Ship?” – Artists S, Z
“Try To Learn to Love” – Artist Q
“Kiss Me” – Artist V
“Go Slow, Johnny” – Artist T
“Tokay” – Artist X & All
“Dearest Love” – Artist S
“Could You Please Oblige Us with a Bren Gun?” – Men
“Come The Wild, Wild Weather” – Artist U
“Spinning Song” – Artist O
“Parisian Pierrot” – All
3. “Play, Orchestra Play” – All
4. “You Were There” – Artists O, R
5. Duets Sequence:
“Any Little Fish” – Artists S, P, X
6. “In a Boat, on a Lake, With My Darling” – Artists W, V
7. “A Room with a View” – Artists Y, Z
8. “When You Want Me” – Artists U, R
9. “Specially for You” – Artists O, P
10. “Beatnik Love Affair” – Artists Q, T
11. “I’m Mad About You” – All
“Poor Little Rich Girl” – Artist R
12. “Louisa” – Artists W, O, P
13. “Mad About the Boy” – Artists O, Q, S, U
14. “The Stately Homes of England” – Artists P, R, T, V
15. “I’ve Been to a Marvellous Party” – Artist O
16. “Mrs Worthington” – Artist P
17. “Why Must the Show Go On?” – All

Act II

18. Entr’acte (“Something Very Strange”) – Orchestra
19. London Sequence:
“London Is a Little Bit of All Right” – Artist S & All
“What Ho, Mrs. Brisket!” – Artist O & All
“Don’t Take Our Charlie for The Army” – Artist Q & All
“Saturday Night at the Rose and Crown” – Artist U & All
“London Is a Little Bit of All Right (Reprise)” – All
20. “There Are Bad Times Just Around the Corner” – Artists P, R, X
21. “Alice Is at It Again” – Artist T
22a. Travel Sequence:
“The Passenger’s Always Right” – Artists R, T, X, Z
“Useless Useful Phrases” – Artist O
“The Passenger’s Always Right (Reprise)” – Artists R, T, X, Z
22b. “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” – Artists U, X, Z
22c. “Why Do the Wrong People Travel?” – Artists Y, T
23. “Nina” – Artist P
24. “I Like America” – Artist X
25. “Bronxville Darby and Joan” – Artists O, P
26. “I Wonder What Happened to Him?” – Artists V, R, P
27. “Twentieth-Century Blues” – Artists X, U
28. “Let’s Do It” (music by Cole Porter) – Artists P, R, T, V, X, Z
29. Closing Medley:
“Touring Days” – Artists O, P
“Nothing Can Last Forever” – Artist X
“Would You Like to Stick a Pin in My Balloon?” – Artist Q & Women
“Dance, Little Lady” – Artist R & All
“The Younger Generation” – All
“I’ll Follow My Secret Heart” – Artist O
“If Love Were All (Reprise)” – Artist T & All
30. Bows (“What Ho, Mrs. Brisket”) – Orchestra

  • Orchestra Size Large

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.
    This title may have restrictions in place for London based productions. Please submit a licence request to confirm specific availability.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!

1 Conductor Score
1 Piano 2
1 Guitar
1 Bass
1 Drums
13 Vocal Book Books

Vocal score available on hire. Please enquire.

1 Conductor Score
13 Vocal Book

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Noël Coward

Noël Peirce Coward was born in 1899 and made his professional stage debut as Prince Mussel in The Goldfish at the age of 12, leading to many child actor appearances over the next few years. His breakthrough in playwriting was the controversial The Vortex (1924), which feature ...

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