GOLDEN CITY
A musical romance of the South African gold rush
Written and composed by John Toré and Stephen Mitchell
Adelphi Theatre, London 15 June. 1950 (140 perfs)
Synopsis
Set in the South African Gold Rush days of the 1880s, with scenes set in a Cape Town music hall, a Johannesburg Saloon, and a “realistic” Zulu uprising, this was an extremely lavish spectacle. It was a love story about a young American telephone engineer and a local beauty, Danny Martin, and local beauty, Sarie van Selm, and the efforts of Mabel Page to establish herself in the Cape Town music-hall circuits.
(Characters in order of appearance)
- Sarie van Selm
- Tanta de Villiers - Guardian to the sisters.
- Anna van Selm
- Bokkie van Selm
- Ningi
- Piet van Niekerk
- Dirk Marais
- Mabel Page
- Danny Martin
- Tabooka
- Barney Delaney
- Katrina du Toit
- Captain of the Guard
- Oupa Smit
- The Witch Doctor
- Rickshaw Driver
AT THE TIVOLI
- Tivoli Girls
- Strong Man
- Seal Trainer
- Ballet Dancers
- Bearded Lady
- Madame Arabella Mont-Smith
- Girl in the Window
- The Boys
AT MABEL'S SALOON
- Little Flossie
- Ethel
- Barman
- Rosie Cordova
- Bill
- Mavis, the pianist
Fire-eater
CHORUS OF:
Diggers, Workmen, Malays, Coons, Zulus, Saloon Girls, Tivoli Girls, Farm boys and girls. Ladies and gentlemen of Cape Town, etc.
SYNOPSIS OF SCENES
ACT I
CAPE TOWN: MARCH, 1886
1. Green Market Square.
2. A Street in Cape Town.
3. Backstage at the Tivoli Theatre.
4. The Drawing Room in Tanta's House.
5. The Kat-Castle Courtyard.
ACT II
JOHANNESBURG: SEPTEMBER, 1886
1. Outside Mabel's Saloon.
2. The Road to the Farm.
3. Sarie's Farm.
4. The Grapevines on Sarie's Farm.
5. Mabel's Saloon.
6. The Road to the Farm.
7. Sarie's Farm.
Musical Numbers
Act I
- OVERTURE
- CONCERTED NUMBER (Leader, Old Malay, Tanta and Ensemble) Ali Bama
- CHORUS The telephone
- SONG (Danny and Chorus) It's a great occasion
- DANCE (Tabooka and Ningi) Dance of the Drumbeats
- DUET (Sarie and Danny) One white glove
- REPRISE AND Exit (Danny) One white glove
- MABEL'S ENTRANCE SONG (Mabel) What's a girl to do?
- DANCE (Mabel) Mabel's Samba
- OPENING SCENE 2
- SONG (Sarie) Moonlight on the river
- OPENING SCENE 3
- CHORUS OF GIRLS Tivoli Girls
- SONG (Madame Arabella) Jacaranda
- SONG (Mabel) What more is there to say?
- INTRODUCTION The girl in the window
- QUARTET AND DANCE (Four Soldiers) The girl in the window
- OPENING SCENE 5
- QUINTET (Tanta, Sarie, Anna, Dirk and Danny) When the candle burns low
- SONG (Danny) It's love, my darling, it's love
- ENSEMBLE Coons' carnival
- FINALE ACT 1
ACT II
- ENTR'ACTE
- OPENING ACT II
- SONG AND DANCE (Danny and Male Chorus) Mabel's saloon
- REPRISE (Mabel) What more is there to say?
- REPRISE (Sarie) It's love, my darling, it's love
- DUET (Anna and Dirk) If I were to marry you
- DUET (Anna and Dirk) and Chorus) BraaivIeis
- REPRISE (Chorus) Braaivleis
- REPRISE (Danny and Sarie) Moonlight on the river
- 2ND REPRISE (Chorus) Braaivleis
- SONG (Tanta) It will all come right
- SCENE CHANGE (Scene 3 to 4)
- SCENE CHANGE (Scene 4 to 5)
- SONG (Mabel) Gold-digging digger
- SONG (Danny and Male Chorus) The prettiest girl in the town
- GIRL'S HURRY MUSIC
- MEN'S HURRY MUSIC
- ZULU FIRE RITUAL
- FIGHT MUSIC
- DEATH OF PIET AND SCENE CHANGE MUSIC (Scene 7 to 8)
- REPRISE (Women's Chorus) It will all come right
- FINALE ACT II
- CURTAIN WALK-DOWN
- FINALE ULTIMO (Full Company)
- EPILOGUE