Maggie May
Music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, book by Alun Owen Adelphi Theatre, London - September 22, 1964 (501 perfs)Synopsis
This hard-hitting story of life in Liverpool's dock-land centres on Patrick Casey, son of the legendary union-martyr, initially reluctant but finally proud, to assume his father's mantle, and Maggie May Duffy, young and vibrant, who abandons 'the game' for Casey, only to believe she has lost him to his union dreams. Around them is a gallery of strongly-drawn characters: Willie Morgan, the corrupt demagogue, Cogger the 'fixer' and traitor, Old Dooley, remembering past union struggles, Norah the toadying publican, all caught up in a fast-moving drama with a tragic climax, and filled with the strong, earthy songs for which Lionel Bart is renowned.
Musical Numbers:
- Ballad of the Liver Bird - Balladeer, Chorus, Off-stage sopranos
- Lullaby - Young Maggie May, off-stage sopranos
- I Love A Man - Maggie May
- Casey - (Maggie May, Maureen, Chorus
- Shine You Swine - Milkman
- Dey Don't Do Dat T'Day - T.C., Dockers
- I Told You So - Maggie May, Maureen
- Right Of Way - Gang 3, Dockers
- Stroll On - Casey, Gang 3
- Away From Home - Willie Morgan, Company
- Maggie, Maggie May - Casey, Company
- D'Land of Promises - Maggie May
- Carrying On - Beat Group
- Union Cha-cha - Maggie May, Maureen, Gang 3
- It's Yourself - Casey, Maggie May
- The World's A Lovely Place - Willie, Maggie May, Company
- I'm Me - Casey
- D'Same Size Boots - Eric, T.C., Fred, Gene
Cast of Characters
(In order of appearance) - Principals:
3 female, 8 male, 2 children
The language the majority of the people speak is the dialect of Liverpool.
The accent, according to one definition, is part Irish, part Welsh and part
catarrh.
- A Balladeer
- Young Priest - a chubby-faced young country Irish priest, aged about 35
- Mrs Casey - A 40-ish Liverpool Irish woman. Small, very determined
- Mother Monica - A 50-ish motherly looking, sharp-tongued Irish nun
- Sister Mary - A meek and mild nun
- Maggie May as a child
- Patrick Casey as a child
- Maggie May (Margaret Mary Duffy) - Is a proud whore. She has vivid colouring and gives the impression if enormous physical health, coupled with strong sexual attraction. She has a capacity for throwing away all the coarsening characteristics of the whore and becoming almost childlike in her enthusiasms. She has loved Patrick Casey all her lifeand she always will.
- Maureen O'Neill - A whore. Maggie May's greatest friend. She is loud, full of life and very attractive. She loves T.C.
- Milkman - A lugubrious, middle-aged young man. A grumbler.
- Old Dooley - About 55. Small, wiry, with a deep-lined face and a voice like a frog.
- Eric Dooley - His son. About 27, but a man who is already preparing for middle age. A strong man.
- T.C. (Terry Collins) - About 22. Resilient. Refusing to take life at all seriously. His life and his hobby have fused into an endless pursuit of girls.
- Gene Kierman - Is enormous and very strong. He adores T.C. almost as much as he adores drinking. Not overloaded with brains but immensely good humoured
- Judder Johnson - Is almost of Latin appearance, with very pale grey eyes. He is persuasive and fluent and he has a habit of touching people when he talks to them. The thing about Judder is that nobody really likes him but somehow or other they fear him which they mistake for respect.
- Patrick Casey - Is a hero. Six-foot and fair, with all of Ireland's charm and physical beauty. He has about him an air of preoccupation but a sweetness of nature that disarms everyone and draws people to him.
- A Crane Driver -
- Nora Mulqueen - A 50-ish Liverpool Irish publican with a toadying manner that in the wrong set of circumstances turns into querulous bullying.
- Willie Morgan - Big Willie Morgan is a six-footer. He is about 50 and good living has covered his large frame with a layer of fat, but within the man is still hard. He has a magnificent head of white hair with black Welsh eyebrows; a deep and resonant voice which he fully exploits. Willie is dedicated to the proposition that the whole world is bent. He believes this and acts accordingly. He is cynical and shyall too plausible.
- Ned - One of Willie's cronies. A tiny man
- Knock-Off Nolan - A shifty, cheerful villain
- Stevedore - An unpleasant foreman
Instrumentation:
Reed 1 (flute, piccolo) Reed II (flute, tenor sax), Reed III (oboe, cor anglais), Reed IV (clarinet, alto sax), Reed V (clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone sax), horn (opt.), 3 trumpets (3rd opt.), 2 trombones, 2 percussion (2nd opt.), keyboard/synthesizer, cello (opt.), bass
Vocal Score, Vocal Book and Libretto available on hire only
Synopsis of Scenes:
Act I
- Prologue - Outside a parish hall, 20 years earlier, Palm Sunday
- Scene 1 - A street outside a Chinese restaurant, 20 years later
- Scene 2 - A terrace of small houses outside the dock gates incorporating the interior of Maggie May's room
- Scene 3 - The unloading bay at the dockside
- Scene 4 - Nora Mulqueen's pub
- Scene 5 - By the riverside with the New Brighton Fairground on the far Mersey bank
- Scene 6 - The warehouse at the dockside
ACT II
- Scene 1 - The Catacomb Club
- Scene 2 - A terrace of small houses outside the dock gates
- Scene 3 - The Pier Head - meeting place outside the Liver Building
- Scene 4 - The New Brighton fairground
- Scene 5 - A deserted place
- Scene 6 - Maggie May's room and the street below
- Scene 7 - The unloading bay at the dockside
Discography
OLC Recording That's Entertainment - TER 1046