Nymph Errant is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Romney Brent based upon the novel by James Laver. The somewhat controversial story concerned a young English lady intent upon losing her virginity. Porter considered the score his best because of its worldliness and sexual sophistication. The musical was produced in London in 1933 and received its US premiere in 1982.
History
Charles B. Cochran, the producer, bought the stage rights in 1933 to the book by James Laver, who was then a young author, poet, and Keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum (and was to become a major curator of art and costumes). Gertrude Lawrence convinced Cochran to turn the novel into a musical rather than a straight play, his initial intention. When Noël Coward turned down the offer to write the music, Cochran asked Porter. Because the musical was so "English" it did not receive a Broadway production, nor was it adapted as a film. Fox Film or 20th Century Fox bought the film rights but never made the film in the 1930s but used some of those rights when they made Star! with Julie Andrews. Porter referred to the show as his favorite.
Productions
Nymph Errant had its tryout at the Opera House, Manchester, starting 11 September 1933. The musical opened in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre, London on 6 October 1933 and ran for 154 performances. Romney Brent directed and choreography was by Agnes de Mille. The cast featured Gertrude Lawrence as Evangeline Edwards, Elisabeth Welch as Haidee Robinson, Moya Nugent as Miss Pratt, and David Burns as Constantine. The decor and costumes were designed by Doris Zinkeisen.
The US premiere was the Equity Library Theatre, New York City production in March–April 1982.
A concert performance was given at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London, on 21 May 1989. Directed by Christopher Renshaw, the concert cast included Kaye Ballard, Lisa Kirk, Maureen McGovern, and Patricia Hodge. A recording of this performance was released on CD by EMI.
The Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario staged the musical for a short late-season run in 1989; it proved popular and was revived the following year as part of the regular season.
A Developmental Production was presented in February, 1999 by Village Theatre.
San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon produced the U.S. West Coast premiere in October, 1998. They revived the show again in 2011.
The musical ran at the Chichester Festival Theatre in August 1999.
It was presented by The Medicine Show Theatre, New York City, in February 2004.
A slimmed down Nymph Errant with a new libretto by Rob Urbinati was produced by the Prospect Theatre Company at the Harold Clurman Theatre on New York City's Theatre Row in 2012.
Synopsis
Act 1, Scene 1. Oxford, England
While visiting Ermyntrude Edwards (the Aunt of Evangeline Edwards) for afternoon tea, Edith Sanford and the Reverend Malcolm Pither argue about the ability of an English lady to travel the Continent alone, unmolested. The tea ends with Pither promising to find a young, attractive, and virginal Englishwoman, who has made such a trip, to parade in front of Edith.
Act 1, Scene 2. Lausanne, Switzerland
Evangeline joins her friends (Joyce Arbuthnot-Palmer, Bertha, Henrietta, and Madeleine) in her dormitory, to pack up for her trip home after having completed her time at the Pensionnat Bellevue, a finishing school in Lausanne, Switzerland. They speak of love and sex, while enjoying Bertha's "special" cocoa. Evangeline finds herself determined to explore the world of sex. As they finish their cocoa and feverishly finish packing, Miss Pratt, their beloved Chemistry teacher, entreats them to "combine scientific and earthly pursuits" ("Experiment").
Act 1, Scene 3. Lausanne, Switzerland
Evangeline meets André de Croissant, a French theatrical producer, in a railway carriage as she travels back to Oxford. André begins to seduce Evangeline, offering to take her to France and to make her a star in his next Folies. Evangeline is wary of leaving her planned trip home ("It's Bad For Me"), but is becoming swayed. André suggests a trip to Neauville-Sur-Mer, to "teach" her things.
Madame Arthur, a fashion designer, and her son Hercule enter the carriage. They quickly provide Evangeline and Croissant with an impromptu fashion show. Evangeline is shocked at the extravagance and price of a single dress. However, when André purchases five dresses for her, she remembers to "experiment" and accepts the dresses. She has been seduced.