321:. Peter kills the yellow dwarf who is guarding the Oak, and the group descends into the frightening cavern. After 300 years of sleep, the Sleepy King has grown old. Bluebell awakens him by ringing the bells, and he vows to distribute his wealth to the poor. They all head for the Palace, where the big party is still in progress. Everyone enters, and Bluebell introduces the Sleepy King, who is revealed as the rightful King. The reigning King and Queen are dethroned, and the King is transformed into a handsome young man, who asks Bluebell to be his queen. Bluebell sadly refuses, as the Christmas bells chime, because she must return to her two sisters, so she flees back to the garret.
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300:, among her friends, a group of flower girls and boot blacks. He gives some money to Bluebell and sends her home. In a garret in Drury Lane, Bluebell's sisters and her faithful black cat, Peter, are preparing for Christmas. Bluebell arrives and reads to her sisters the story of the rich but miserly Sleepy King, who has been condemned to sleep until he should be awakened by a good girl with the peal of bells. The three girls soon fall asleep.
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292:, Bluebell, a poor London flower girl, is dismayed that she has not sold enough flowers to purchase Christmas gifts for her little sisters, Mab and Winnie. Mr. Joplin, a wealthy merchant, who is struck by her beauty, has long wished to adopt Bluebell. She loiters in front of his house, but a policeman sends Bluebell away from Mr. Joplin's house and then lies about it. Dicky, a
231:, reviewing the 1901 premiere, called the piece "really a charming and beautiful thing, of a simple, reminiscent kind, with capital music by Walter Slaughter and fine scenery.... Ellaline Terriss acts with exquisite simplicity ... while Hicks himself bears a large share of the work with his accustomed energy and confidence."
221:. The play was a critical and financial hit; it was revived regularly in London over the next four decades and played in other theatres throughout Britain and elsewhere in the English-speaking world. When Hicks built the Aldwych Theatre, he opened the house in 1905 with a long-running revival of the work under the name
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and the fairies step out of the fireplace and ask
Bluebell to come to the Palace where the reigning King of Fairyland has usurped the throne in the Sleepy King's absence. Bluebell and Peter soon meet two schoolboys, Blib and Blob, who are to escort them from the Palace to the dungeon where the Sleepy
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Bluebell meets Will o'the Wisp, who will help her. They then meet the Fairy
Waterlilly, who leads them through creepy bogs and thickets to the Enchanted Glade, where they find the Magic Oak, which grows above the Sleepy King's dungeon. They witness the tragedy of the murder of
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King is being held prisoner. Once at the Palace, however, she sees the reigning King and Queen. They are giving a children's party. Bluebell asks to be admitted, but instead she is arrested. The fairy queen rescues her, however, and leads her to the Sleepy King.
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It is morning, and as
Bluebell and her sisters awaken, Mr. Joplin, his footmen and Dicky arrive. Mr. Joplin wants to adopt all three girls, to Dicky's great alarm. But Bluebell and Dicky become engaged, and all ends happily.
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in London on 18 December 1901 and played for two performances daily until it closed on 26 June 1902, running for 300 performances. It starred Hicks as Dicky and his wife, Terriss, as the title character.
121:. The story concerns a flower girl, Bluebell, who on Christmas Eve goes to fairyland in search of the "Sleeping King", seeking to restore him to his throne, which has been usurped by the "Reigning King".
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were so taken with the play that Barrie began to think about writing his own fairy play, and so it provided inspiration for the Peter Pan segment in his book
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said that the piece "wears quite well". It praised the cast, particularly
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190:(1904). Hicks and Terriss were so successful with these shows that they were able to build two theatres with the profits, the
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Chorus of
Fairies – "Blue-bell, 'tis you whom the fairies have bidden; seek out the cave where the king lies asleep"
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Trio – Blue-Bell, Blib and Blob – "I'm old Mother
Hubbard who went to the cupboard to fetch the poor dog a bone"
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is a
Christmas-season children's entertainment described as "a musical dream play", in two acts, with a book by
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Chorus of Flower Girls and
Shoeblacks – "It's Christmas time, it's Christmas time, the best in all the year"
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Opening and Carol – "Hour by hour the dying year tolls its solemn warning; hour by hour the new draws near"
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Gavotte – Blue-Bell – "Point your toe as you trip it lightly, raise your paw and smooth your fur"
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Song – Queen and Regent, with Chorus – "A sense of humour is a thing that isn't wanted in a king"
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Quartette – Girls and Cats – "Two little cats on the cold, cold leads – miaou, miaou, miaou"
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Trio – Will, Won't and Joplin – "Now, what you think that he meant when he said, 'Tut-tut!'"
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Will and Won't (Mr. Joplin's footmen; also Blib and Blob) – Murray King and Sidney
Harcourt
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Chorus – "Peal, golden bells; let your music ring, from Fairyland's spells to waken a King"
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Chorus, with Dove, Sparrow, Fish, Beetle, Kite, Thrush, and Bull – "Who killed Cock Robin?"
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Song – Water Lily and Chorus – "When the stars begin to twinkle in the silent summer skies"
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Song – Blue-Bell – "Night by night in dark December, while the wintry winds blow chill"
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Duet – Blue-Bell and Dicky – "Suppose we try a music-hall, there's always lots of fun"
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Finale Act I – "I'll ask the king if we may stay, I'm sure we shan't be turned away"
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Duet – Blib and Blob – "That all that glitters is not gold, the copy-books instill"
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was a hit, running for 300 performances. The piece provided inspiration for
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was a writer-producer-actor in London who, with his singer-actress wife,
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Bluebell's Good Fairy (also The Spirit of the Cup) – Margaret Fraser
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and many other actors began their careers as children in the piece.
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Video of "The Honeysuckle and the Bee" a song interpolated into
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at the Arthur Lloyd theatre site, accessed 26 February 2010
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Flower girls, maids, boot blacks, schoolboys, fairies, etc.
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Vocal Polka – "Brightly, brightly our party has now begun"
253:. In its review of the 1923 revival at the Aldwych,
585:, 22 December 1901, p. 7, accessed 26 February 2010
419:Dicky (a crossing sweeper; also The Sleepy King) –
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263:as the Reigning King, and the children's chorus.
452:Winnie (Bluebell's little sister) – Winifred Hall
622:Programme cover for a production in New Zealand
425:Mr. Joplin (a city merchant; also The Owl) –
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617:Theatre programme from a production in 1923
250:Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up
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512:, pp. 92–93, Yale University Press, 2003
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627:Review of a New Zealand production
612:Midi files for the musical numbers
465:Will o'the Wisp – Dorothy Frostick
124:First produced in 1901 in London,
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462:The Yellow Dwarf – Charles Trevor
446:Mab (Bluebell's little sister) –
641:List of several productions of
544:"Sir Seymour Hicks (1871–1949)"
509:J.M. Barrie & the Lost Boys
455:The Reigning King and Queen –
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434:Peter the Cat – George Hersee
531:The Penny Illustrated Paper
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534:, 23 November 1901, p. 321
204:was first produced at the
594:"Bluebell in Fairyland",
303:Bluebell dreams that the
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598:, 27 December 1923, p. 5
391:Dance – Will o' the Wisp
247:and the subsequent play
674:Musicals set in palaces
492:"Bluebell in Fairyland"
414:Roles and original cast
187:The Catch of the Season
679:Musicals set in London
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394:Dance – Autumn Leaves
244:The Little White Bird
202:Bluebell in Fairyland
181:The Earl and the Girl
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126:Bluebell in Fairyland
113:. It was produced by
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24:Bluebell in Fairyland
400:Entrance of Bluebell
239:Llewelyn Davies boys
237:and his friends the
217:. Costumes were by
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198:(now the Gielgud).
684:Christmas musicals
583:The New York Times
557:, 14 February 2010
550:2001-12-11 at the
528:"The Vaudeville",
459:and Florence Lloyd
228:The New York Times
206:Vaudeville Theatre
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636:for Terriss
409:Yacht Dance
406:Sabot Dance
305:fairy queen
184:(1903) and
76:Productions
653:Categories
476:References
319:Cock Robin
219:C. Wilhelm
140:Background
596:The Times
256:The Times
223:Blue-Bell
134:Peter Pan
119:pantomime
643:Bluebell
634:Bluebell
548:Archived
279:Synopsis
194:and the
178:(1902),
172:(1902),
164:Bluebell
81:West End
385:Opening
213:played
16:Musical
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380:Act II
312:Act II
298:Strand
50:Lyrics
334:Act I
284:Act I
166:were
79:1901
40:Music
514:ISBN
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65:Book
56:and
288:On
215:Mab
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