The Casino Girl is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The story concerns a former chorus girl at the Casino Theatre in New York, who flees to Cairo under an assumed name to escape amorous advances of an admirer.
It opened at the Casino Theatre in New York City in 1900 and had a run in the same year at the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End of London before having a Broadway revival in 1901.
Productions
The Casino Girl was billed as the twin sister of The Belle of New York and was commissioned for the Casino Theatre in New York as a vehicle for Mabelle Gilman with a cast that included Virginia Earle in a breeches role as Percy, Adele Ritchie, Lotta Faust and Sam Bernard as Pilsener. It ran at the Casino from 19 March 1900 to 9 June 1900 for a run of 51 performances and was revived at the same theatre on 6 August 1900 for 40 performances before going on a tour of the United States. It was produced by George Lederer, with music by Ludwig Engländer, Will Marion Cook, Will Accooe, Harry Truman MacConnell and Arthur Nevin, lyrics by Engländer, Cook and MacConnell, and a book by Harry B. Smith and Arthur Nevin. The show had a revival at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York from 8 April 1901 starring Katie Seymour and James E. Sullivan.
The show was mounted at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London from 11 July 1900 to 22 January 1901 for a run of 193 performances, again with Gilman in the title role. The production immediately ran into problems as Henry Lowenfield, the theatre's manager, assumed he had the right to rewrite the show and rename the characters, which brought him into conflict with Smith, the show's book writer. The two struck a deal, and Lowenfield purchased the rights to the show for £1,000.
The London production then undertook a tour of the British provinces in 1901–1902, produced by Ben Greet, with a cast led by Isa Bowman as Laura Lee and Gabrielle Ray as Dolly Twinkle. In 1902 it had a production at the Theatre Royal in Bolton in Greater Manchester in the UK. There was a revival at the Illinois Theatre in Chicago in 1906.
Synopsis
Act I – A Street in Cairo
Act II – The Pasha's Palace
Laura Lee, a former chorus girl from the Casino Theatre in New York, attempts to escape the amorous advances of Percy, an English earl, by going to Cairo in Egypt where she sets herself up as Mdlle. Estelle, a French milliner. Percy arrives in Egypt in pursuit of her. Laura Lee endures complications involving a comic Pasha and some clownish thieves before she realises that she loves Percy in return, and the two are united.
After a rewrite for the London production, the Khedive became the Pasha, and Percy became a New York doctor.
Roles and original cast
Pilsener Pasha (a Brewer, whose introduction of beer into Egypt won him his title) – James E. Sullivan / Frank Bernard J. Offenbach Gaggs (known as Signor Hasheemi, a grand opera tenor, who takes a company to Cairo) – Richard Carle / Eric Thorne Percy Harold Ethelbert Van Stuyvesant (an Earl) – Cyril Scott / Thomas Whiffen / Andrew Higginson Ben Muley (Chief of a gang of thieves, a deserter from the French Army) – Albert Hart Potage (his Lieutenant) – Samuel Collins 1st Officer – William Black 2nd Officer – Joseph Sullivan Laura Lee (formerly of the New York Casino Company, known in Cairo as Mdlle. Estelle, a French Milliner) – Mabelle Gilman / Marie George Dolly Twinkle (leading dancer of the Comic Opera Company, managed by J. Offenbach Gaggs) – Marie George / Eva M. Kelly Miss Roxana Rocks (an heiress from Chicago) – Ella Snyder Lotta Rocks (her Sister) – Eve M. Kelly Carrie Rocks – Dolly Wiggans / Nelly McNaughton / Ethel Norcross / Grace Milburn Mrs. H. Malaprop Rocks (a leader of Chicago society, better half of Rocks & Co., Pork Packers of the Western Metropolis – Carrie Perkins Selim (a Page) – Rose Krohe Fatima – Minnie Cline Odaliaka (the Pasha's Favourite) – Caecelia Rhoda Errand Boy – "Rastus" Wives, Slaves, etc