Zip Goes A Million

The History of the show from Stewart Nicholls

Zip Goes A Million was initially written as a vehicle for the immensely popular film and variety performer George Formby. Although the 'Lancashire Lad' had not made a film for many years, he was still 'Box-office Gold' in the live variety theatre - and he had never performed in a musical.

Sheet music of one of the show's most popular numbers

Wilfrid Caithness presenting our George with a fistful of trouble in Zip Goes a Million

Based on a book called Brewsters Millions by B.G. McCutchon and a play by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongly, the piece had been widely used throughout the years in many incantations - mainly turning up as films, but also as another musical - also called Zip Goes A Million, by Jerome Kern, which closed out of town in 1919.

It was well-known writer Eric Maschwitz who came up with the idea of adapting Brewster's Million's into a star piece for Formby.

Eric Maschwitz (left) with the composer George Posford (right) looking at their material with an unidentified third man

According to his autobiography No Chip On My Shoulder, Maschwitz had been working on the show for a while when he discovered that the impresario Emile Littler had the same idea. What could have proved a battle for rights turned into an amicable agreement that Littler would produce the show with Maschwitz writing book and lyrics to George Posford's music. This writing team had already had great success with Balalaika, Goodnight Vienna and Magyar Melody and they were both keen to work with one another again.

Barbara Perry and the chorus girls in a moment from the show within the show, 'The Garter Girl'

Formby was very keen to play the role of Percy Piggott, the innocent Lancashire window cleaner who in order to inherit eight million dollars is obliged to spend one million in a double-quick time. Sara Gregory was cast as his sweetheart Sally with Wallas Eton as her father Motty. As the show is set in America, two U.S. performers were bought over to boost interest in the show: Warde Donovan as Buddy and Barbara Perry as Lilac. It is interesting to remember that American musicals were all the rage and the influence is very strong in Zip Goes A Million. The show was directed by Charles Hickman, with choreography by Pauline Grant, and orchestrations and musical direction by the talented Debroy Somers.

George Formby surrounded by exotic chorus girls on the South Sea island of Raratonga, at the opening of Act II

The show commenced its try-out at the Hippodrome, Coventry, 4 September 1951. It nearly did not open due to the fact that Barbara Perry had not paid her 'Equity premium for foreign performers' (she belonged to the Variety Artistes Federation which she felt was sufficient) and all the actors were called out on strike by Equity. After a hearing, Eric Maschwitz paid the fee himself! This is a most interesting story but it does reek of a publicity scam.

The show then played the Palace Theatre, Manchester - where the first half hour was broadcast by BBC Radio. During the weeks of try-out, the show was trimmed and tightened. Three unused songs appear in the George Posford archive, (including a substitute title song) but it is unknown if these were cut in tryout.

The London opening was at the Palace Theatre on 20th October 1951 - a Saturday - somewhat unusual for an opening night, but Emile Littler thought that he would entice ordinary people into the theatre rather the professional first-nighters. The reception was excellent, but the reviews were somewhat mixed.

The show settled into a long run, but after eight months, George Formby had a heart-attack and had to withdraw from the show. As it is a star-vehicle, the show could have closed overnight, but Reg Dixon (another popular variety entertainer) took over the role and the show ran for another seven months. Altogether the show survived 544 performances, closing on 7 February, 1953.

Sara Gregory spoilt for choice in Zip Goes a Million. On the left she shares the duet 'I Owe You' with George Formby, and on the right she is coping with Wallas Eaton and a rather more appealing Warde Donovan at the end of Act I.

Following the London production a tour was presented with Reg Dixon followed by Charlie Chester. This tour lasted for two years. The show was subsequently produced abroad where it found much success. It did not have a run on Broadway.

Various songs were recorded by HMV on 78 records (recently scratchily re-issued on an American CD on the label: Box-Office Records). Unfortunately some of the songs went unrecorded, including the delightful duet 'I Owe You' - this is quite surprising considering it was one of Formby's songs. When Reg Dixon came into the production, he recorded the most popular song from the show, 'Ordinary People'.

Warde Donovan trying to impress some sailors during a South Pacific-like moment during the number 'Running Away To Land'

The same team later produced Happy Holiday - a musical of Arnold Ridley's play The Ghost Train - although the score was strong the production did not meet with any success and the script is now lost. I am still searching for it!

The girls going crazy for goofy George on the music sheet of one of the lesser known songs from the score

The success of Zip Goes a Million proved that it did not need Formby to keep it running and that the basic material and songs work extremely well, albeit in what now seems an old fashioned form. I strongly feel that with the right casting, the right production and with careful revision it could be the next Me and My Girl.

The Theatre Museum Production - 2001

We presented Zip Goes A Million because it is a well-crafted piece, it is immensely entertaining, the piece deserved an airing, it was a good contrast to Vanity Fair and because it is the Eric Maschwitz centenary.

I thought it would be an easy show to research because the script and score are published by Samuel French Ltd. On closer inspection, it was clear that something was wrong - the script and score do not match. Songs are in the wrong order, lyrics are missing, there are two short songs in the score that do not appear in the script and there is one song (that is also reprised) in the script but not in the score. I mentioned this fact to Samuel French Ltd, who were unaware of the differences.

I used the published script and inserted the two little songs from the score in the right places - this is relatively easy. The song that is missing from the score, 'Trouble With My Heart', was a great problem. It was never published as a separate piece of sheet music and does not appear in the piano selection. I had been searching for the George Posford archive for years - but to no avail. I managed to track down the Eric Maschwitz family, who were extremely helpful, but they could not find a manuscript copy of the song. They did have a contact for George Posford's son - but they had not spoken to him for years. Fortunately George's son, Simon, still had the same number and put me in touch with George's niece, Veronica, who housed the archive. I went to visit Veronica and not only did we find all the music for most of the George Posford shows, we also found the manuscript to 'Trouble With My Heart.' We also discovered the cut songs from the show.

Both families of the writers were thrilled that the show is being revived and I was most excited about the piece which has a funny story, great roles and a beautiful score that ranges from tender ballads to big production numbers.

The production of "Zip Goes A Million" took place at the Theatre Museum on 29th, April, 1St & 2nd May, 2001 with the following cast:

Percy Piggott Gavin Lee
Sally Whittle Zoe Curlett
Buddy Delaney Andrew Halliday
Lilac Delaney Louise Davidson
Motty Whittle Richard Owens
Paula Van Norden Alison Carter
James Van Norden Brian Greene
George Connelly Richard Gofton Ensemble:
Sebastian Bates, Holly Boothby, Andrew Charles, Aileen Donohoe, Richard Moody, Jennifer Morton, John Payton, Martin Ramsdin, Karen Rush & Ashley Vallance.

The first performance was preceded by interviews with original cast members: including: Pamela Charles (of the London cast and tour), Judith Shergold (of London cast) Peter Lewis (of London cast and tour) and Mary Mitchell (of tour). We also had correspondence with the following cast members who could not make it to the performance: Sara Gregory (Sally Whittle in London cast), Barabara Perry (Lilac Delaney in London cast) Audrey Freeman (principal dancer in London cast), Joanna Rigby (of London cast) and Gerry Atkins (of tour).

Members of both the families of the writers were also present at the production who were immensely pleased with the reaction the show received from the audiences.

The production received excellent notices and has started interest in the piece from both amateur and professional theatre companies.

Recording of the 2001 London cast

Following the production in the Theatre Museum, the cast were taken to the recording studio and a cast album was made. The recording is the first complete recording of the score. It is good to think that this score'can at last now be appreciated by a wider audience.

The CD was made by Bayview recordings and is available in Dress Circle and HMV (UK), Footlight, Colony (New York), Tower, NMV and Borders (US). On-line at www.wnazon.com and www.bgyviewrecords.com

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