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Revusical.
Ike Cohen (Bert Le Blanc) and Morris Levi (Jake Mack) run a far-from-successful pawnshop that an't help being a place of riotous fun, singing, dancing, and joking. One of the comic incidents in the story involves the selling, for 1s.6d., of an old waistcoat that has £1,000 in one of the pockets. The other characters include Mr Bailey (a theatrical manager), a prima donna of a burlesque company, a show girl, Klondike Mike, Rose Cohen, and a 'lost son and heir' (Age 7 Oct. 1918, p.9).
The musicals numbers inserted into the narrative for the 1917 Brisbane season included 'What a Wonderful Love that Would Be' (sung by Ivy Moore), 'Sailing on the Nancy Lee' and 'The Lights of My Home Town' (Carlton Chase), and 'A Million Dollars Worth of Love' (Queenie Paul).
For the 1918 Brisbane production the songs presented included 'Sailing on the Nancy Lee' and 'My Old Lady' (sung by Mike Connors), 'They're all Good Australian Names' (Mack, Le Blanc, and Connors), 'Gillee Gallah Galloo' (Olga Ray), and 'There's a Garden in Old Italy'.
Production Details
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1917: Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, 21-27 April.
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer Fullers Theatres Ltd.
- Troupe Bert Le Blanc Revue Company.
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc (Ike Cohen), Jake Mack (Morris Levi), Carlton Chase, Winnie Knight [aka Mrs Bert Le Blanc], Mike Connors, Queenie Paul, Ivy Moore, Clym Edgares, and the Pony ballet (Kitty McGuire, Trixie Wilson, Marie Lannan, Dot Bellion, Lily Clarke, Annie Henry).
1917: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 8-14 December (return season: 19-25 January 1918).
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer Fullers Theatres Ltd; Proprietor Holland and St John.
- Troupe Bert Le Blanc's Travesty Stars.
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Queenie Paul, Ivy Moore, Clym Edgares, Carlton Chase, Mike Connors, Fred Witt, Winnie Knight [aka Mrs Bert Le Blanc], and the Pony Ballet.
1918: Bijou Theatre, Melbourne; 2-8 February (as Cohen and Levi as Pawnbrokers).
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer Fullers Theatres Ltd.
- Troupe Bert Le Blanc's Revue Stars.
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Queenie Paul, Ivy Moore, Clym Edgares, Carlton Chase, Mike Connors, Fred Witt, Winnie Knight [aka Mrs Bert Le Blanc], Dot Bellion, Olga Ray, Will Raynor, Nellie Fallon, Durham Marcel, Maud Miles, and the Pony Ballet.
1918: Bijou Theatre, Melboure, 5-11 October.
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer Fullers Theatres Ltd.
- Troupe Bert Le Blanc's Revue Stars.
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Harry McDonna (Klondike Mike), Mike Connors (Mr Bailey), Queenie Paul (the prima donna), Lillian Colenzo (Rose Cohen), Winnie Knight [aka Mrs Bert Le Blanc] (the show girl), Sid Garti, Leslie Jephcott (the son and heir), and the Pony Ballet.
- The season, which was an unusually short four weeks (21 September-18 October), may have been a fill-in engagement between the previous Adelaide season and the company's forthcoming engagement in Brisbane (beginning 2 November).
1918: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 30 November - 6 December.
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer/Lessee Fullers Theatres Ltd.
- Troupe Bert Le Blanc's Musical Travesty Stars.
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Harry McDonna (Klondike Mike), Mike Connors (Mr Bailey), Queenie Paul (the prima donna), Lillian Colenzo (Rose Cohen), Winnie Knight [aka Mrs Bert Le Blanc] (the show girl), Sid Garti, Leslie Jephcott (the son and heir), and the Pony Ballet (Violet Penson, Rita Penson, Vera Tandy, Rose Brennan, Hilda Lynn, Annie Henry).
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1919: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 15-23 March.
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer Fullers Theatres Ltd.
- Troupe Bert Le Blanc's Musical Travesty Stars.
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Mike Connors, Queenie Paul, Lance Vane, Winnie Knight [aka Mrs Bert Le Blanc], Jim Gerald, Essie Jennings, Lillian Colenzo, Nellie Fallon, Darcy Kellway, Neville Royal, and the Pony Ballet (Lucy Cliff, Annie Henry, Hilda Lynn, Rosie Downie, Thelma Gourley, Bertha Rush, Alma Hilson, Alice Lewis, Vera Tandy, Essie Davis).
1921: Lyric Theatre, St Kilda (Melbourne), 29 October - 4 November.
- Director Bert Le Blanc; Producer William Anderson; Lessee Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Music Director George Powell.
- Troupe The Who's Who Costume Revue Entertainers (aka Travesty Stars).
- Cast incl. Bert Le Blanc, Jake Mack, Sydney Hollister, Dan Weldon, Frank Graham, Clarice Norman, Jean Maynard, Alice Walton, Winnie Knight, Fred Deal, Harry Vernon, Mary Anderson, Nora Marrs, Sylvie Millers, May Down.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Empire Theatre
1918
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 21 January 1918; (p. 9)
— Review of What's the Use 1917 single work musical theatre -
Empire Theatre
1917
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 10 December 1917; (p. 5)
— Review of What's the Use 1917 single work musical theatre
-
Empire Theatre
1917
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 10 December 1917; (p. 5)
— Review of What's the Use 1917 single work musical theatre -
Empire Theatre
1918
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 21 January 1918; (p. 9)
— Review of What's the Use 1917 single work musical theatre
