BETTY
One of the early hits of World War I, Betty opened at Daly's Theatre in London on 24 April 1915. In an effort to vary the London musical theatre's normal fare of European operetta, the American librettist Gladys B. Ungar was engaged to write the book with England's own Frederick Lonsdale. It dealt with the young, high-born, wild and irresponsible Gerald, the Earl of Beverly (Donald Calthrop), who, to spite his ducal father, marries Betty, a kitchen maid (Winifred Barnes). His action causes a good deal of trouble up at the "big house", especially when the cad neglects the poor girl and carries on as before. Inevitably, with the help of severe paternal financial pressure, he learns the error of his ways, returns to Betty, and true love conquers in the end. Paul Rubens and Adrian Ross' score (with additional songs by Ernest Steffan and Merlin Morgan) contained several appealing ballads, including "Can It Be Love?", "The Duchess Of Dreams", "Cinderella", "If It Were True", "It's A Beautiful Day Today", and a charming duet, "Dance With Me", along with the amusing "I Love The Girls", "We Ought To Combine" and "Opposite The Ducks". Betty stayed in London for nearly a year, a total of 391 performances. A New York production opened in the autumn of 1916, but was not nearly so successful.
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