The success of A Gaiety Girl in 1893 confirmed to George Edwardes that the lighter "musical comedy" was the right path for musical theatre. The Shop Girl heralded a new era in musical comedy, and the critics were amazed at the coherent story, as there was hardly any narrative in burlesque. Over a dozen imitations followed at the Gaiety Theatre (including The Circus Girl and A Runaway Girl) over the next two decades, and the format was widely copied by other producers and playwriting teams. They also led to the next level of sophistication in integrated musical comedy at Daly's Theatre, and elsewhere in London.[2][3]
The Shop Girl was first produced by George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre in London, opening on 24 November 1894. The piece ran for an extremely successful 546 performances, transferring to Daly's Theatre.[1][4] It starred Seymour Hicks, George Grossmith Jr., Arthur Williams, Edmund Payne, Willie Warde and Ada Reeve, who (being pregnant) was replaced in the cast by Kate Cutler and then Hicks' wife, Ellaline Terriss. Topsy Sinden danced in the piece. Direction was by James T. Tanner, with choreography by Warde. Costumes were by C. Wilhelm.[1] The piece achieved immediate popularity and introduced to London audiences a cleaner, more respectable form of musical comedy than the previous "musical farces", which had been more closely related to burlesque.[5] Indeed, during the run of the show, some of the racier lines were removed, as Edwardes recognised that the future of musicals lay in appealing to the respectable Victorian audience. In addition, at Hicks' urging, the romantic couple was designed as less sentimental and more mischievous and light hearted. But it was not lacking in sex appeal. It was the first show to feature Edwardes' Gaiety Girls, who were to feature in all of his similar musical comedies.[1] Caryll, the music director at the Gaiety, conducted the performances of the piece himself. One of the most famous songs from the show was "Her golden hair was hanging down her back." As the run went on, songs were constantly changed and new business frequently introduced, especially when there were cast changes. This also began a pattern for musicals of the era.
Hicks and Grossmith transferred with the production to Broadway in 1895, under the management of Charles Frohman. Connie Ediss and Bertie Wright joined the cast. The New York production of The Shop Girl opened at Palmer's Theatre on October 28, 1895 and played for 72 performances. Hicks and Alfred Butt revived the piece in London in 1920, at the Gaiety, where it was again a hit, running for 327 performances. Hicks directed and Warde choreographed. The cast included Evelyn Laye and Roy Royston.[1]
An attractive and charming London shop girl, Bessie Brent, is in love with Charles Appleby, a poor, but lively medical student from a good family. She also meets a good-hearted millionaire, John Brown, who had gone out in the steerage of a liner, "to become a miner", and had struck it rich in Colorado. The millionaire has come back to London to look for the daughter of his mining chum, to whom a fortune of four million pounds was due. She is to be identified by a birthmark. The daughter, of course, turns out to be the shop girl and, after a few misunderstandings, she agrees to marry her sweetheart.
