Babes in Toyland is a holiday classic in America, but is not as well know here in England. ‘Babes’ was first performed in New York in 1903 in an attempt to capitalise on the huge success enjoyed by the musical extravaganza, the Wizard of Oz which opened earlier in the year, just as the current crop of sword and sorcery movies out in the cinema today are cashing in on the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Babes in Toylandwas an spectacle in itself with a cast of over 100, extravagant sets, effects, and costumes.
Our production promises to maintain the true spirit of the original with many of the great songs including, the March of the Toys, I Can’t Do The Sum, Toyland, and Sleep, Slumber, Sleep.
We look forward to the opportunity of bringing Herbert’s holiday classic to a new audience and keeping the memory of this great composer alive.
February 1st, 2009, marks the 150th birthday of the reknown composer, cellist and conductor Victor Herbert. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1859, Herbert went to live with his grandparents in Kent, England at the age of three and a half after the death of his father. He received his early musical training in Stuttgart where he became an outstanding cellist. He met and married the Viennese soprano Therese Förster, and traveled with her to New York when she was hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company, where he was also engaged as the principal cellist.
Herbert has been called America’s first superstar, largely due to the success of his 43 operettas. Naughty Marietta, Babes in Toyland, Mlle. Modiste and the Red Mill are just four of his better known operettas which contributed to his popularity. 
In 1976 WLOS performed Hebert’s Naughty Marietta, which features the classic songs, Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life at Last I’ve Found You, and Tramp, Tramp, Tramp Along the Highway, at the Wimbledon Theatre(see flyer, right).
WLOS plans to celebrate Herbert’s 150th birthday throughout the upcoming year with a segment of the Associates Evening being dedicated to the cause, as well as part of our annual appearance at the Wimbledon Village Fair, and most importantly, with a full scale production in November 2009 of Babes in Toyland at the Secombe Theatre in Sutton.