Book and lyrics by Rida Johnson Young, Music by Victor Herbert
SYNOPSIS AND CAST
Countess Marietta, the young daughter of a noble Italian family residing in France, being unhappy at home, runs away and disguises herself as one of a number of marriageable ‘casquette’ girls sent by the King of France to the French settlement of New Orleans.
Upon her arrival, Marietta is befriended by an American frontiersman, Captain Richard Warrington, and falls in love with him. She also arouses the affection of the Acting Governor’s son, Etienne Grandet, a polished young villain also known as ‘Bras Piqué’, the leader of a movement to establish Louisiana as an autonomous territory, separate from both France and the burgeoning United States of America. He has recognized Marietta as the missing Countess and is anxious to win her hand, but he has troubles of his own in getting rid of a former attachment, the quadroon Adah.
Marietta, in order to escape detection, with the connivance of Captain Warrington, disguises herself as the daughter of Rudolfo, keeper of a theatre. Here Etienne visits her and she is persuaded by him to attend a masked ball, where she is on the point of accepting his hand in marriage when Captain Warrington arrives on the scene with his men, reveals Etienne as the notorious ‘Bras Piqué’, and wins Marietta.
Producer: Norma Evans
Musical Director: Christopher Slater
Choreographer: Gillian Rides
CAST
| Felice | Pauline Howell |
| Nanette | Elizabeth Partridge |
| Fanchon | Nancy Lang |
| Etienne | Jeremy Page |
| Adah | Ann Tugwell |
| Captain Richard Warrington | Christopher Evans |
| Sir Harry Blake | Dennis Hilliard |
| Silas Slick | Philip Wilcox |
| Lizatte | Jane Wilcox |
| Lt Govenor Grandet | Peter Evans |
| Florenz | Cyril Morrisey |
| Marietta | Theresa Booth |
| Rudolfo | Peter Harrison |
| Graziella | Peggy Harrison |
| CHORUS OF: | Street-Sellers, Street-Sweepers, Soliders, Pirates, Flower-Girls, Covent Girls, Quadroon Belles, Italians |
| Ladies: | Dee Baylis, Marie Bennett, Kathy Burditt, Pat Coombs, Eileen Daryl-Joseph, Connie Easy, Barbara Flemming, Peggy Harrison, Karnitza Karoujian, Cheryl Laverty, Katharine McDonnell, Yvonne Morris, Irene Newsome, Marilyn Page, Jill Riddell, Pamela Roe, Marion Stewart, Susan Talbert, Peggy Thomson, Lilian Woods |
| Gentlemen: | Roger Chapman, Peter Clarke, Ian Coy, Andrew Ducker, Alex Field, John Gray, Howard Kiduff, Norman Lewington, Percy Morgan, David Morris, Les Slatter, John Talbert, Ken Warner, Joseph Williams |
| Dancers: | Patricia Dodd, Mary Gibson, Valerie Gill, Marilyn Page, Katy Roberts, Linzi Stevens |
| Convent Girls: | Rachel Booth, Victoria Booth, Suzanne Cross, Karen Rox, Victoria Godwin, Denis Lang, Gabrielle Simpson, Carole Slater |