#dearest enemy

[il-predestinato]

“carissimo nemico” (dearest enemy)

Max: I am yours and you are mine, regrettably. Until death mercifully frees me from you.

Charles: I shall pray for your fast demise. I do look amazing in black mourning clothes.

Max: Imagine if you cracked your head open on your way to the altar, schatje. I’d have to laugh.

Charles: Imagine if you choked on our wedding cake, cheri. I’d totally let you.

[violettierre]

[acrossthewavesoftime]

I wonder what hobby playwright John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne would say when told that in 1925 someone decided to make an American Revolutionary War-themed musical and the two British generals featured as protagonists are Howe and Clinton.

I also wonder what Howe and Clinton would say to being featured, particularly the latter, star of the number Girls Do Not Tempt Me-- a statement that is not quite historically accurate...

[vankeppel]

HOWE AND CLINTON WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A DUET HOWE AND CLINTON WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A DUET

BUT IT WAS CUT

I FEEL R O B B E D

[arqueervist]

Historical musicals bingo card part 2

[acrossthewavesoftime]

Howe: I shall never forget the day we left England: all the wives and sweethearts and relatives where there to see us off-- ah, the morale of the troops was high, everybody thought the war would be over by Christmas... It was all very gay if you remember, gentlemen, and yet it was somehow rather sad. There was a song we all sang-- what was it, can you remember?

Cornwallis: Oh, yes, yes, yes! I-- I-- I think I know it-- it went ah-- went ahem [confidently hums Yankee Doodle]

Howe: Oh no Cornwallis, that was their song.

Now that explains a lot.

[acrossthewavesoftime]

📚 :-)

So, I've shared a great many story ideas, how about something a bit different now? I've dreamt about a 21st century stage adaption of Dearest Enemy (1925) for a long time (well, ever since @wmhowe introduced me to this joyful musical last year). I've posted about it before, but to give a quick summary, the musical is loosely based on true events when during the American Revolutionary War, a woman called Mary Lindley Murray who is said to have held up British General William Howe long enough at her residence to allow American forces to escape following their defeat in the action at Kip's Bay. In the musical, Mrs. Murray, her daughter, and above all, her Irish niece Betsy Burke and their friends decide to break the dull monotony of their lives as well-to-do ladies during wartime characterised by waiting for their male relatives, friends and love interests to come home from fighting with the Continental Army and come up with a plan to do their bit for the war effort. For one night, they're going to entertain General Howe's officers, thus help the American forces under General Putnam escape and, as an added bonus, get a night of partying and fun out of it all on the side. However, things don't go as planned as both both Jane Murray and her cousin Betsey genuinely fall in love with two dashing young redcoats, Governor Tryon's son Harry and Sir John Copeland. Betsy and Sir John are both as stubborn as they are proud and have many wonderful moments of fighting over being in love while openly disagreeing on politics. Sir John is later captured when a plan hatched by Betsy to let the Americans escape is set into motion, but all's well that ends well when George Washington himself comes to thank the Murray women and brings a special "gift" for Betsy: Sir John. Sadly, Dearest Enemy has not been performed on stage in the 21st century so far, and I would really love to see that changed. I am particularly fascinated by the 18th century setting coupled with 1920s music with a plethora of historical Easter eggs; the (sadly cut) number Girls Don't Tempt Me, sung by General Clinton, in its title alone hilariously accurately captures Clinton's very monogamous intentions towards a certain lady of the time; there's a big twist regarding the name of one of the main characters (more on that later) and Cheerio, a song about leaving Britain and going to war, sung by General Howe, eerily echoes WW1, as well as the similar, and documented worry of the latter's mother upon William going to war once again. If I were in charge of designing an adaption, I would love to have a revolving stage to allow for quick changes between different settings, one of which is the Murray house, which is shown in an open cross section, and the other an idyllic pastoral scene. The women's costumes are slightly exaggerated takes on the fashions of the 1770s, the men are all in contemporary uniforms. Big hair (wigs for everyone!), lots of bling and powder. Only Betsy is somewhat differently dressed than the others; she gets a 1920s robe de style, which are somewhat reminiscent of and deliberately play with evoking a slight semblance to 18th century gowns through their cut and sometimes decoration, and her hair is styled in water waves. Those sartorial differences are however never addressed by anybody.

Robe de style c. 1923, FIDM musem.

When the women anounce they're organising a ball, the costumes change; thanks to the modern marvels of zippers, push-buttons and velcro, the 18th century ladies transform into 1920s flappers.

Evening gown, c. 1925-28, Chertsey Museum; something I could picture Betsey wearing.

While the women change, the men remain in their 1770s attire. After the ball, the grand escape of American troops and Sir John's capture, Betsy is shown sitting at a table in the Murray residence, on which a grammophone sits, faintly playing Betsy and Sir John's recurring number Here In My Arms (bonus points if it's this original 1920s recording!).

When Washington brings Betsy her "gift", Sir John has transformed as well, and now wears 1920s mess dress.

Portrait of John Graves Simcoe, early 1770s, Riverbrink Art Museum; mess dress of a British officer of the Leicestershire Regiment, dated 1920, via Pinterest.

For some additional twists, and because I think that old plays can be adapted to pose new questions or challenge contemporary audiences by addressing contemporary issues, the name "Betsy Burke" was the alias used by Charles Edward Stuart on his flight to the Isle of Skye, disguised as a maid to Lady Flora MacDonald. Given the choice of this particular moniker, I am convinced it's hardly a coincidence. Why not use this piece of information to re-imagine Betsy as either trans or maybe a drag queen? I would be very excited to see such an interpretation, although I don't think that I'd be qualified of planning it beyond the basic idea.

I think I've been gushing for long enough now- I am sure I have only barely scratched the surface of how one could go about a modern adaption! :)

[acrossthewavesoftime]

TURN: Washington's Spies the Musical

Okay, so the title is clickbait. Cheap, dirty clickbait. There isn't a musical version of TURN: Washington's Spies, but there is an eerily similar, almost forgotten musical out there fans of the series or American Revolutionary War afictionados who need something new to supplement Hamilton and 1776 in general can turn to.

The fans of the Anna Strong/Edmund Hewlett sub-plot in particular will find the 1925 Broadway musical Dearest Enemy (music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart) eerily familiar.

The history

Essentially, the plot of Dearest Enemy is based on a real incident during the Revolutionary War; in 1776, following the American defeat at the Landing at Kip's Bay, Mary Lindley Murray entertained British General Howe and his officers at her house, allowing General Putnam's American troops to escape in the meantime.

The plot

Knowing the Continental Army to be in danger following the Landing at Kip's Bay, Mary and the young ladies of her household, among them her daughter Jane and her Irish niece Betsy Burke, plan to delay the British forces by inviting their officers to their home, thus giving General Putnam's forces precious time to escape.

The women of the Murray household decide to put on a ball for the British officers to distract them for the night. Despite their allegiances fascinated with the dashing officers, things get flirty between the women and the officers. Unexpectedly, Betsy Burke falls in love with Captain Sir John Copeland (who 'rescued' her earlier that day when she went for a swim and a dog stole her clothes by finding her something else to wear; the only thing he can find is an empty barrel, though). Reluctantly, she accepts her feelings (I'd Like to Hide It), but continues to remain true to her convictions. When her aunt's messenger is captured, Betsy volunteers to deliver a message to General Washington herself and is also put in charge of lighting a lantern in the evening as a signal for Putnam to indicate when it is safe to move. Copeland discovers what Betsy's up to fairly early on (Here In My Arms), causing him to doubt her feelings to him.

Sir John and Betsy talk it out however and decide that their love is bigger than their political differences (Here's a Kiss). Betsy's intervention causes Putnam to be able to escape (while the British are enjoying an anecdote of Peter Stuyvesant (Sweet Peter) and singing Yankee Doodle) and re-join Washington. Shortly after, Sir John is taken prisoner by the Americans.

Betsy grieves the loss of Sir John, thinking she will never see him again (Bye and Bye- Reprise). When General Washington comes to thank the Murrays in person after the war, praising the importance of the women's work and their bravery, he asks Betsy why she is so sad, in reply to which she hints at her broken heart. Washington tells her "My dear little lady, America owes you a great debt; she can never discharge it in full, but she can do something, and she is sending you a gift: a gift we hope you will always prize."

The "gift" is Sir John, released by Washington to be re-united with Betsy (Finale Ultimo).

The remake

To be honest, I didn't know about this fairly obscure gem until @burgoyned posted about it and got curious. Luckily, at least recordings of a 2012 concertante version are available on YouTube.

The parallels to TURN are plenty;

like Betsy, Anna Strong as portrayed on the show has a somewhat Irish-sounding accent

both Betsy and Anna are involved in intelligence-work; both are tasked with conveying secret messages and signalling

In season 1, when Selah escapes across the water and Anna decides to stay behind at the last moment, jumping into the water to swim back, it is Hewlett who gives orders to help Anna back on shore (he doesn't offer her a barrel to 'dress' herself in, though)

like Betsy, Anna initially tries to win Hewlett's trust to aid the rebel cause, then discovers she's genuinely in love with the British officer and is distraught when he is captured to the point she is ready to do almost anything to get him back safe and sound.

like Copeland, Hewlett is being released from captivity on Washington's orders (although he manages to escape before said orders arrive)

both Copeland and Hewlett do not reveal what the women they love are actually doing to their superiors despite knowing it will hurt their own side because they still want to protect them.

A bit of a coincidence, if you ask me....

In my opinion, Dearest Enemy beats TURN if we're looking at this one story line alone; Betsy and Sir John are open about their feelings for another and can accept their different political inclinations, resulting in a happy end. The old-timey music (that sounds even catchier in 1920s recordings) is delightful and although a 21st century audience might not find Betsy clad in a barrel as funny as an audience 100 years ago the message at the end, conveyed by Washington himself is a really good one, stressing the importance and bravery of the women who were involved in the American Revolution.

Despite the textbook-ending of marriage and happily-ever-after, the women are portrayed not as the 'bonny and blithe at bed and board'-type you often get in pieces with a historical setting, but openly interested in making the most of their mission by enjoying the company of their dashing house-guests and, given their overall objective, successful allies to their Cause and the men serving in the Continental Army, eventually even receiving recognition for their success in helping Putnam and his men escape from the c-in-c himself.

While, Dearest Enemy being a product of its time, it is always safe to add that anything historic needs to be approached with the context of the time of its creation in mind, it's a catchy, playful musical that should definitively be performed again.