30-522: Lady Frederick is a comedy by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham , written early in his career. The play was first seen in London in 1907, and was very successful, running for 422 performances. The title role was played by Ethel Irving . In New York it was first performed in 1908, with Lady Frederick played by Ethel Barrymore , who reprised her role in the play's film adaptation, The Divorcee . In
60-711: A cheque for the money owed to Montgomerie; his gambling debts settled, Gerald can marry Rose. The Admiral asks Lady Frederick to marry him. When Montgomerie comes in for the money she owes him, she prevaricates, saying she has already sent it. Eventually Fouldes gives Montgomerie a cheque to settle the debt. Finally, Fouldes talks to Lady Frederick. He is glad she burnt the letters, which, he says, she did in spite of being provoked by his sister Lady Mereston; he says they should get married, and she consents. Maugham wrote that an American manager "asked me to write in some more epigrams. He said it wanted gingering up. I went away, and in two hours wrote as well as I could twenty-four." Among
90-576: A good deal of nudity . Shows also played up the "exoticness" of people and objects from other cultures, obliging the Parisian fascination with the négritude of the 1920s. In 1926 the facade of the theatre was given a complete make-over by the artist Maurice Pico [ fr ] . The facade was redone in Art Deco style, one of the many Parisian theatres of this period using the style. In 1936, Derval brought Baker from New York City to lead
120-531: A nearby street, Rue Bergère ("bergère" means "shepherdess"). In 1882, Édouard Manet painted his well-known painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère which depicts a bar-girl, one of the demimondaines , standing before a mirror. In 1886, Édouard Marchand conceived a new genre of entertainment for the Folies Bergère: the music-hall revue . Women would be the heart of Marchand's concept for
150-536: A sensation at the Folies Bergère in a new revue, La Folie du Jour , in which she danced a number Fatou wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas and little else, and Un Vent De Folie (1927). Her erotic dancing and near-nude performances were renowned. The Folies Bergère catered to popular taste. Shows featured elaborate costumes; the women's were frequently revealing, practically leaving them naked, and shows often contained
180-639: A singer at the Folies Bergère . She invites Paradine to burn them, but he declines, saying "It's not fair to take an advantage over me like that. You'd bind my hands with fetters." Captain Montgomerie asks Lady Frederick to marry him; Gerald later tells her that it was because he is in debt to Montgomerie. The same scene as Act I. Lady Frederick has found that her creditor has sold the debt, and does not know who now has it; this increases her anxiety. Fouldes suggests getting out of debt by selling him
210-424: A star part for an actress... I asked myself what sort of part would be most likely to tempt a leading lady.... The answer was obvious: the adventuress with a heart of gold; titled, for the sex is peculiarly susceptible to the glamour of romance; the charming spendthrift and the wanton of impeccable virtue; the clever manager who twists all and sundry round her little finger and the kindly and applauded wit.... The play
240-632: Is 15 years his senior, and in debt. Lady Frederick tells the Admiral that her brother Gerald wants to marry his daughter Rose. The Admiral, knowing that Gerald is a gambler, disapproves. Paradine Fouldes once had an affair with Lady Frederick. He has a long conversation with her about her possibly marrying Charles; saying "I'm going to play this game with my cards on the table," she replies "You're never so dangerous as when you pretend to be frank." Eventually Lady Frederick, saying "you've not seen my cards yet," produces love-letters from Charles's late father to
270-701: Is by nature not a comedy-writer: he has the mind dramatic.... Miss Ethel Irving, all mobility, impulse, emotion as the Irish widow, has never acted so well. She made the audience love Lady Frederick at first sight, she maintained the interest to the last moment...." Principal members of the cast on 26 October 1907 at the Royal Court Theatre: The scene is a drawing-room of the Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo . Lady Mereston wants her brother Paradine Fouldes to stop her son Charles's affair with Lady Frederick: she
300-413: Is just a conventional, tricky comedy, not quite clever enough at its own game.... One fancies that Mr. Maugham’s real hope was that Lady Frederick, as a buoyant, brilliant, large-hearted, impulsive Irishwoman, would, by sheer force of personality, carry everything before her and dazzle the audience into delight. It is to be feared, unfortunately, that this is not quite what Miss Ethel Irving’s interpretation
330-480: Is likely to do. Extremely intelligent and alert as she always is, but fearfully nervous, Miss Ethel Irving under-played nearly every scene, and seemed afraid of just the moments that she should have attacked.... A reviewer in The Sunday Times wrote: It is not quite a lifelike comedy, nor is it free from the artifice and calculation which was customary in the days of the ' well-made play '.... Mr. Maugham
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#1732794229026360-518: The 9th Arrondissement , and opened on 2 May 1869, the Folies Bergère, as the Folies Trévise , was built as an opera house , and patterned after the Alhambra music hall in London by the architect, Plumeret , who was a building inspector of the crown The term "folies" refers to pleasure houses, vacation homes built from the end of the 18th century near large cities to discreetly shelter
390-421: The 9th Arrondissement , the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trévise , with light entertainment including operettas , comic opera, popular songs, and gymnastics. It became the Folies Bergère on 13 September 1872, named after nearby Rue Bergère. The house was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s' Belle Époque through
420-891: The Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas , which opened in 1959, closed at the end of March 2009 after nearly 50 years in operation. In the 1930s and '40s the impresario Clifford C. Fischer staged several Folies Bergere productions in the United States. These included the Folies Bergère of 1939 at the Broadway Theater in New York and the Folies Bergère of 1944 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco . A recent example
450-485: The epigrams in the play: Ethel Irving Ethel Irving (born Frances Emily Irving ; 1869–1963) was a British stage actress . She also appeared in five films. Frances Emily Irving was born in England on 5 September 1869, the daughter of stage actor Joseph Irving (died 1870) and the wife of actor Gilbert Porteous (died 1928). She was initially billed as Birdie Irving, appearing in London productions such as
480-538: The 1885 pantomime A Frog He Would a Wooing Go and the burlesque The Vicar of Wideawakefield . She died in Bexhill-on-Sea on 3 May 1963. This article about a British actor is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Folies Berg%C3%A8re The Folies Bergère ( French pronunciation: [fɔli bɛʁʒɛʁ] ) is a cabaret music hall in Paris , France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in
510-510: The 1920s. Revues featured extravagant costumes, sets and effects, and often nude women. In 1926, Josephine Baker , an African-American expatriate singer, dancer and entertainer, caused a sensation at the Folies Bergère by dancing in a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas and little else. The institution is still in business, and is still a strong symbol of French and Parisian life. The métro stations are Cadet and Grands Boulevards . Located at 32 Rue Richer in
540-561: The Folies. In 30 November 1886, the Folies Bergère, staged the first revue-style music hall show Place au jeûne ! , featuring Alice Berthier [ fr ] and scantily clad chorus girls, was a tremendous success. In the early 1890s, the American dancer Loie Fuller starred at the Folies Bergère. In 1902, illness forced Marchand to leave after 16 years. In 1918, Paul Derval [ fr ] (1880–1966) made his mark on
570-399: The adulterous loves of the bourgeoisie and aristocrats. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trévise , with light entertainment including operettas , opéra comique (comic opera), popular songs, and gymnastics. The original name because of a street of that name by the stage door. However, the fr:Duc de Trevise objected. on 13 September 1872, It became the Folies Bergère, named after
600-483: The bills and Gerald's IOU. Charles tells Lady Mereston and Fouldes that he knows of Fouldes' affair with Lady Frederick – he thinks she did not really love him. When Lady Mereston produces a letter written by Lady Frederick which seems to show that she was someone's mistress. Charles believes her explanation of the letter, that there was no affair. Lady Frederick burns the love-letters (produced in Act I), so she never has
630-691: The continued existence of the last music hall which remained faithful to the tradition. Since 2006, the Folies Bergère has presented some musical productions with Stage Entertainment like Cabaret (2006–2008) or Zorro (2009–2010). The Folies Bergère inspired the Ziegfeld Follies in the United States and other similar shows, including the Teatro Follies in Mexico and a long-standing revue, The Las Vegas Folies Bergere , at
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#1732794229026660-410: The love-letters (produced in Act I). Lady Frederick's dressmaker, to whom she owes money, comes in. Lady Frederick tells her she regards her as one of her best friends; flattered, the dressmaker refuses to accept the cheque she starts to write. Montgomerie talks to Lady Frederick: it emerges that he has bought her debts. He says he wants to get into fashionable society; if she marries him, he will burn
690-485: The play, Lady Frederick is an Irish widow, seriously in debt; she must deal with suitors who have various motives for proposing marriage, and with the man with whom she once had an affair. Maugham's first play, A Man of Honour , was produced by the Stage Society in 1902, after being refused by several managers, and had some success. He was unable to get his next play Loaves and Fishes produced. Lady Frederick
720-400: The revue En Super Folies . Michel Gyarmathy [ de ] , a young Hungarian arrived from Balassagyarmat , his hometown, designed the poster for En Super Folies , a show starring Baker in 1936. This began a long love story between Michel Gyarmathy, Paris, the Folies Bergère and the public of the whole world which lasted 56 years. The funeral of Paul Derval was held on 20 May 1966. He
750-424: The revue. His revues featured extravagant costumes, sets and effects, and "small nude women". Derval's small nude women would become the hallmark of the Folies. During his 48 years at the Folies, he launched the careers of many French stars including Maurice Chevalier , Mistinguett , Josephine Baker , Fernandel and many others. In 1926, Baker, an African-American expatriate singer, dancer, and entertainer, caused
780-452: The temptation to use them. She says she wants nothing to do with Charles. But Charles asks her to marry him. The scene is Lady Frederick's dressing room. Charles arrives to hear Lady Frederick's answer, and is shown to her dressing room. She has her hair done by her maid, and makes up her face: this is her answer, she says, to his proposal; if she married him, she would have to continue trying to appear youthful. The Admiral has given Gerald
810-479: Was 86 and had reigned supreme over the most celebrated music hall in the world. His wife Antonia, supported by Michel Gyarmathy, succeeded him. In August 1974, the Folies Antonia Derval passed on the direction of the business to Hélène Martini , the empress of the night (25 years earlier she had been a showgirl in the revues). This new mistress of the house reverted to the original concept to maintain
840-876: Was first produced there on 26 October 1907, with Ethel Irving as Lady Frederick. It transferred to the Garrick Theatre , the Criterion Theatre , the New Theatre and the Haymarket Theatre ; it ran for 422 performances. In New York the play was first seen on 9 November 1908 at the Hudson Theatre ; it featured Ethel Barrymore as Lady Frederick and Bruce McRae as Paradine Fouldes. It ran for 96 performances. A reviewer in The Daily Chronicle wrote: Lady Frederick
870-512: Was refused by many managers. Maugham wrote: "... it had in the third act a scene in which the heroine had to appear dishevelled, with no make-up on, and have her hair done while she arranged her face before the audience. No actress would look at it...." Otho Stuart , at the Royal Court Theatre in London, had had an unexpected failure; needing a play during the time required to get another play ready, he accepted Lady Frederick . It
900-402: Was written in 1903. Maugham wrote about its origins: I reflected upon the qualities which the managers demanded in a play: evidently a comedy, for the public wished to laugh; with as much drama as it would carry, for the public liked a thrill; with a little sentiment, for the public liked to feel good; and a happy ending. I realised that I should have more chance to get a play accepted if I wrote
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