Perchance to Dream (musical)

Infobox Musical
name = Perchance to Dream
subtitle =


caption =
music = Ivor Novello
lyrics = Ivor Novello
book = Ivor Novello
basis =
productions = 1945 West End, Many local revivals.
awards =

"Perchance to Dream" is a musical romance with book, lyrics and music by Ivor Novello. It was the only musical for which Novello wrote lyrics.

It opened on the London stage at the Hippodrome Theatre on 21 April 1945. The show starred Novello, Olive Gilbert, Roma Beaumont, Muriel Barron, and Bobbie Andrews, and veteran actress Zena Dare appeared in the piece as Charlotte Fayre. It is one of Novello's most successful works and enjoyed an original run of 1,022 performances and many subsequent tours and revivals. The hit song of the show was "We'll Gather Lilacs".

The title is a quotation from William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". The plot, like many of Novello's themes, is largely romantic, telling the parallel stories of the fates of several different inhabitants of the same house through differing time periods. The stories interconnect and have unforeseen repercussions, one upon the other.

ynopsis

;Act IDuring the Regency period, Sir Graham Rodney, an impoverished womaniser, is living off the largess of Lady Charlotte, his rich aunt. He is the owner of a magnificent old country house, called "Huntersmoon". Lydia, a Drury Lane actress, is Sir Graham's lover and lives with him, as does her friend, also an actress. Sir Graham's hated cousin William covets Huntersmoon and dogs Sir Graham's steps. Sir Graham stoops to acting as a highwayman to pay his debts. He robs a coach and takes a necklace but finds that the coach contains Lady Fayre and her ward Melinda. They soon meet at Huntersmoon, and he falls in love with Melinda. He dies telling Melinda that they will find each other again in another life, leaving Lydia pregnant. Huntersmoon devolves to William and some unhappy ghosts.

;Act IIMore than three decades later, in the Victorian era, William's son, Valentine, owns Huntersmoon. He is a composer to Queen Victoria. He marries Veronica, the illegitimate daughter of the late Sir Graham and Lydia. They live amidst the ghosts of their predecessors. Valentine meets Melanie, Sir Graham's niece, and they fall in love, but Veronica is pregnant. Valentine loses Melanie, as this time she dies.

;Act IIIIn 1945, Valentine's grandson Bay wins the hand of Melody, the girl who represents the love that he had lost in earlier generations. The romance finally lays the ghosts to rest.

ongs

*When the Gentlemen Get Together
*Love is My Reason
*The Meeting
*The Path My Lady Walks
*A Lady Went to Market Fair
*When I Curtsied to the King
*Highwayman Love
*The Triumph of Spring (Ballet)
*Autumn Lullaby
*A Woman's Heart
*We'll Gather Lilacs
*The Victorian Wedding
*The Glo-Glo
*The Elopement
*Ghost Finale

References

* [http://www.nodanw.com/shows_p/perchance_to_dream.htm Profile of the show at the NODA website]
* [http://members.aol.com/Novello/perchancetodream.html Reviews and information about the show]

External links

* [http://www.cqout.com/item.asp?id=3326845 Cover of theatre programme for the show]
* [http://www.viewimages.com/Search.aspx?mid=3333309&epmid=3&partner=Google Photos from the show]