The Hansel and Gretel Duet – The Dollar Princess – The Play Pictorial – 1909
The Hansel and Gretel Duet
Lily Elsie was not considered difficult or temperamental behind the scenes. She never said anything unkind about anyone and would try to be helpful, but she knew she was to be the star of the show, that it would be difficult for her to be seen at such good advantage as before, and it was not to be wondered at that she became highly strung. When from the back of the stalls she watched Joe Coyne and Gabrielle Ray rehearsing an amusing “Hansel and Gretel” duet she decided that she must have the number, and not “Gabs” Ray. Before leaving the theatre she let her wishes be known to George Edwardes, and it was not until he had promised her the duet with Coyne that she reappeared for further rehearsal. Contrary to all expectations, The Dollar Princess was another triumph for George Edwardes. The King of Portugal, on a visit to Buckingham Palace, saw Lily Elsie perform twice in one week and rumours of a romance were circulated. Lloyd George a friend of Edwardes’s, made a habit of watching Elsie’s performance from the wings.
Beaton, C. “Lovely Lily Elsie”, cited in “The Rise and Fall of the Matinee Idol” Ed Curtis, A (1974), Weidenfeild and Nicholson, London. (P 9)
The Orchid (Tuck – Series 21 i)
The reverse tells us that “Dad and Mata” went to the Gaiety Theatre on 26th October 1903
Betty – The Play Pictorial – 1915
Miss Sealby is playing the role of Estelle before Miss Ray joined the production.