THE VAGABOND KING Book and Lyrics by W.H. Post and Brian Hooker from Justin Huntly McCarthy's romance If I Were King. Music by Rudolf Friml Casino Theatre, Broadway - 21 September, 1925 (511 perfs) Produced at the Winter Garden Theatre, London, 19 April, 1927 (480 perfs) SYNOPSIS Cut-throat and drunkard, pickpocket and braggart - François Villon is all of these. But he is also a poet and a Romantic, and he is adored by the rabble of Louis XI's Paris, which is ringed by the armies of the rebellious Burgundians. Katherine de Vaucelles has received romantic poems from Villon, not knowing his identity. She has rejected the advances of Louis, and has gone to an inn to discover, if she can, more about her unknown admirer. Villon boasts what he would do if he were king, not knowing that Louis is also there spying on Katherine. To revenge himself on Katherine the King brings Villon to Court and offers him twenty-four hours in which to prove himself. By the following dawn he must have won the hand of Katherine, or the hangman's noose will be round his neck. Huguette, a harlot who habitually dresses as a man, and Guy Taberie, a fat fool, are among those who join in Villon's subsequent adventures. Both are to offer their lives in his place, and one of them is to die before Burgundy is routed, and Villon reprieved on the very steps of the gallows. For the Chorus From verminous rabble to exquisite courtiers and back again, this musical is an unrivalled training ground for principals of the future, for everyone on stage must act. The score, solid and effectively harmonized, brilliantly mirrors the story's varying moods and locations. The work was originally designed on a spectacularly massive scale and the script plots every move for 36 girls, 24 men and 9 girl dancers in addition to the 15 major principals. The chorus appear as assorted riff-raff of the Paris underworld, and as members of the King's Court. Singing Principals • Katherine • Huguette • Lady Mary, a courtier • Villon • Taberie • Nodl, a Court popinjay • Oliver, Keeper of the Royal Bath • Captain of the Scotch Archers • Rene, a rogue • The Herald of Burgundy. Straight Roles • Fat Margot, keeper of a tavern-brothel • King Louis • Tristan, his trusted adviser • Thibaut, his traitorous Grand Marshal. Smaller Roles • Isabeau and Jehanneton, harlots • The Queen. • Casin, Rogati and Jelian, thieves. • An astrologer. MUSICAL NUMBERS 1. Overture 2. Opening Chorus - Ensemble - "Life is like a bubblein our glasses" 3. Love for Sale - Huguette and Chorus - "Here's your dream of happiness"
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