Cole Porter's Nymph Errant

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:30pm

I just saw a summer stock production of Nymph Errant with 7 in the cast, 6 women and 1 guy plays all the male parts similar to "Little Me."

Has anyone seen this before?
Is it usually done this way or with a large cast?

Evangeline keeps running into the british horticulturalist everywhere and at one point quips, "As often as I run into you, you would think there are only 7 people in the whole world." And wondered if that was in the original script. The only CD I can find is of a very large concert cast.

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:39pm

It was nicely presented earlier this summer on Theatre Row with a similarly small cast. Cady Huffman starred.

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:41pm

I saw the Off-Broadway Cady Huffman production. I think there were two males in the cast instead of one in the summer stock production ErinDillyFan saw. Also, is that concert recording the only recording? Is it available on iTunes?

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:44pm

I can recall at least three men in the cast.

[dry2olives]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 12:21am

Nymph Errant was originally a large cast West End musical with different actors playing all the men.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:09am

Thank you dry2olives.

Listening to the concert cast recording, there is a lot missing without a big chorus and orchestra. The pit was piano, drum set and violin, which sounded surprisingly full, but still not nearly as rich a sound as it should be.

[trinbgvsu2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 6:00pm

The script produced at Tibbits was in fact written for the cast (and orchestrations) you heard. This is a revised script. The original did in fact have a large cast and full orchestra.

The recent NYC revival - produced by Prospect Theatre Company - used a new libretto.

[bookwriter2]

Posted: 8/24/12 at 10:00am

Hi,

The version of Nymph Errant that you saw was different from the Prospect Theatre production. It features a completely original book based on the novel by James Laver and was published by Samuel French in 2001. This version, like Little Me, has one actor playing all the male roles. This new book, with a small cast (6 women, 1 man) was approved by the Cole Porter Estate. It had a developmental workshop production at the Village Theatre near Seattle in 1999. And then had a 5-week sold out run at the Chichester Festival Theatre in England, also in 1999. It received great, even rave reviews from all the London papers. I, along with my late co-writer, Michael Whaley, had high hopes for our version. But the stars never did seem to qute align. After the run in England, Samuel French made a licensing deal with Michael and myself and the Cole Porter Estate, and our orginal libretto was published by French. It's still available from them and is produced from time to time by regional theatres, as with the Tibbets Summer Theatre productions that you saw.

Apparently, the Cole Porter Estate also authorized the version that was done at the Prospect, which I understand received very mixed reviews. I still hold out hopes for the version Michael and I did, becasue it is a completely orginal book and a great
tour de force vehicle for a versatile male actor along the lines of Hugh Jackman, Jason Alexander, Martin Short, etc.

Hope this clarifies for you.

Best,

Steve Mackes
bookwriter2



Tibbets version of Nymph Errant

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/24/12 at 10:54am

Thanks for the info! I'm a big fan of multi-role comic tour de force shows.