#charley's aunt

[recycledmoviecostumes]

This elegant gown, masterfully crafted by the renowned designer Travis Banton, made its dazzling debut on Kay Francis, who portrayed Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez in the adaptation of Brandon Thomas’ beloved play, Charley’s Aunt. Although the audience saw it in black and white, its true color was revealed the following year when it graced Rita Hayworth as Sally Elliott in the film My Gal Sal.

Costume Credit: veryfancydoilies

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[hereissomething]

1976 🎟

god, imagine being able to see your faves live and on stage for less than $10😮 so damn awesome

[donfadrique]

For the movie ask: 2. Your most rewatched movie.

24. A film you wish you had seen on the big screen.

47. Movies that you think everyone should watch (not necessarily your favorites).

2. Your most rewatched movie.

I think they are two Soviet movies 'Hello, I'm Your Aunt!' (1975) and 'The Very Same Münchhausen' (1980).

Quoting Wiki (and I agree):

1) The comedy is loosely based on the 1892 play 'Charley's Aunt' by Brandon Thomas. The film was an immense hit; many lines of dialogue subsequently became catch phrases themselves.©

2) The film relays the story of the baron's life after the adventures portrayed in the Baron Münchausen stories, particularly his struggle to prove himself sane. Münchhausen is portrayed as a multi-dimensional, colourful, non-conformist man living in a grey, plain, dull and conformist society that ultimately tries to destroy his personality.©

I can add that these films have brilliant dialogues and they remain relevant in our time. 

24. A film you wish you had seen on the big screen.

Hmm… 'The Mark of Zorro' (1940) perhaps? 

To watch it in theater with the fandom will be nice :)

47. Movies that you think everyone should watch (not necessarily your favorites).

Most films by Luchino Visconti, Nagisa Oshima and Sergio Leone. They are really great and charismatic directors. And they are 'my' creators.

[papermoonloveslucy]

CURTAIN UP!

Lucy On Stage ~ Act 4

Lucille Ball’s dream was to be on Broadway. She achieved that goal in 1960, but along the way she found herself on various other stages.  Here’s a look at Lucille Ball, stage actress. 

In school, Lucille’s mother Dede encouraged her daughter to be active in the drama club. Lucille performed and directed with the group, staging a production of Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas, which opened on Broadway in 1893.  In the above photo, Lucille Ball is seated in the front row, second from the left. Her teacher was named Lillian Appleby. Lucille later honored her by naming a character on “I Love Lucy” after her. 

The Celoron, New York, grammar school Lucille attended (above) has long since been razed. But a formative moment in Lucille Ball’s life occurred on this site when her stepfather, Ed Peterson, brought her to see a performance by the renowned monologist Julius Tannen in the school auditorium. As Lucy remembered, “I don’t think a stage career ever occurred to me until that night.”  Lucille left school before graduating, going to New York City to attend drama school. The experiment was short-lived and Lucille returned home. 

In 1929, 18-year-old Lucille Ball was cast in a production of Within the Law by Bayard Veillier  – her first stage performance outside of school. Lucille played the supporting role of Agatha at Jamestown’s Shea Theatre. In 1991, the theater was formally renamed The Lucille Ball Little Theatre in a ceremony with Ball’s family in attendance.

Back in Manhattan, Lucille was cast (but quickly fired) from the chorus of two road shows of Broadway productions. Rio Rita was a New York hit produced by Flo Ziegfeld. 

In a 1963 epsiode of “The Lucy Show” Lucy Carmichael says that Thelma Green (Carole Cook) once appeared in the third road company of Rio Rita. The writers used Ball’s real-life history but attributed it to Thelma. 

She was also in the road company of The Stepping Stones, a musical fantasy about Raggedy Ann and Andy starring Fred and Dorothy Stone. Again, Lucille was quickly let go. 

In Hollywood, Lucille Ball was coached by Lela Rogers, Ginger’s mother, on the RKO lot. At the RKO Little Theatre (later the Desilu Workshop Playhouse) Lucille appeared in several plays. In 1936 she was in Fly Away Home, a play that had appeared on Broadway the year before starring Montgomery Clift and Sheldon Leonard. Agents, Managers, and members of the public could attend for twenty five cents.

Also in 1936, she appeared in Breakfast With Vanora by Fred Ballard, which received good notices in the press. Lucille played the leading role and Barbara Pepper was in the ensemble. Above, Lela instructs John Shelton how to hold a gun while Lucy looks on.  

In 1937, Lucille took a break from Hollywood to make (what she hoped) would be her Broadway debut in Hey Diddle Diddle, a play by Bartlett Cormack starring Conway Tearle. The play premiered at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, with a destination of the Vanderbilt Theatre on Broadway. In its second out-of-town stop in Washington DC, Tearle become gravely ill. That, combined with the fact that producers felt the script needed revisions, caused the production to be halted.  Lucille returned to Hollywood. In 1953, Tearle’s name was mentioned on “I Love Lucy.” He had died in 1938. 

In mid-1947, now married and a successful film star, Lucille Ball again began to think about her stage aspirations and left Hollywood for the boards. She toured in a tour of Dream Girl, a fantasy play by Elmer Rice that had played Broadway in 1945. 

The play’s fantasy sequences seemed tailor-made for Ball’s style and comic wit. In a way, Georgina was a prelude to the “Lucy” character on TV, who is dreaming her way out of her suburban life - and sometimes succeeding.

The play co-starred Scott McKay as the imaginative writer. McKay played the role of Wilbur in the 1958 pilot for TV’s “Mr. Ed” but was replaced on the series by Alan Young.

"I have seen other productions of this play, but the only actress whose performance really delighted me was Lucille Ball. She lacked… tender wistfulness, but her vivid personality and expert timing kept the play bright and alive." ~ Edgar Rice, Playwright

The tour was produced by Herbert Kenwirth who later directed 14 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”  It featured Barbara Morrison, Alan Hewitt, and Hayden Rorke, who would all later appear on Lucy sitcoms. 

In January 1948, Lucille got the opportunity to recreate the role in Los Angeles, but fell ill with a virus shortly after it opened and the show closed prematurely. It wasn’t long before Lucille was back in front of a live audience, but this time on radio, as the star of the sitcom “My Favorite Husband,” which led to her meteoric success on “I Love Lucy.”  

After the series came to an end in early 1960, Lucille again revived hopes of acting on Broadway. Wildcat, a new musical about by Richard Nash with songs by Cy Coleman was looking for a star. Nash had envisioned the main character of as a woman in her late 20s, and was forced to rewrite the role when 49 yearl-old Lucille Ball expressed interest not only in playing it but financing the project as well. Lucille personally chose her co-stars Keith Andes as her love interest and Pauls Stewart as her sister. Future sitcom star Valerie Harper was in the chorus (above right). 

Lucille played Wildcat ‘Wildy’ Jackson, who dreams of striking oil in 1912 Centavo City, California. The score included what would become her signature tune: “Hey, Look Me Over”.  

The Philadelphia tryout opened on October 29, 1960 to a glowing review from Variety, but local critics were less enthusiastic. The scheduled Broadway opening had to be postponed when trucks hauling the sets and costumes to New York were stranded on the New Jersey Turnpike by a major blizzard. After two previews, the show opened on December 16 at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon).

Ball quickly realized audiences had come expecting to see her Lucy Ricardo persona and began ad-libbing to bring her characterization closer to that of the zany housewife she had portrayed on television. But the rigors of singing and dancing in a Broadway musical eight times a week caught up with Ball. She got illl and demands for refunds ran high, the producers planned to close the show for a week to allow her to recover. The closure came sooner than planned when Ball, suffering from a virus and chronic fatigue, departed for Florida. She returned two weeks later, but collapsed on stage. It was decided the show would close for nine weeks at the end of May and reopen once its star had fully recovered but when the musicians' union insisted on members of the orchestra being paid during the shutdowns. Not even Lucille’s deep pockets could afford the cost, and the show closed permanently on June 3, 1961.  

Lucille returned to Hollywood, her dream realized, even if it was short-lived. Thereafter, she would incorporate her love for theatre into her television and film performances, starring in many ‘mini-musicals’ on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” and - in 1974 - tackling the full-scale Broadway musical Mame on film. 

CURTAIN DOWN on ACT 4

[murderandcoffee]

there was a room in the dungeon underneath my high school auditorium that had a gloryhole in the wall

we used that room to play cards against humanity after theatre rehearsals

[the-patchwork-girl-of-oz]

I’ve been thinking about uncle Henry and aunt Em a lot today. Uncle Henry’s reaction to Aunt Em yelling at Ms Gulch is so cute. He’s like “hehe that’s my wife” He’s literally falling in love with her again.

Her yelling at the government gets him giggling, kicking his feet, twirling his hair, etc. he’s such a simp for her.

They are one of the most underrated (canon) Oz ships and I will DIE on this hill.

[chaplinfortheages]

Charlie & brother Sydney on set of “The Gold Rush” - Sydney dressed in costume for his film “Charley’s Aunt” - both films released in 1925.

They were very close four years separated them, same mother different father, Sydney was more like a father to him.

Sydney was with London's Fred Karno Troupe first and very successful, he introduced Charlie to Karno and as favor to Syd Fred Karno took him on a trial run, when he first met Charlie in 1908 he saw a pale, skinny & shy boy 19 year old boy in front of him, did not know if he had the knack for his kind of knockabout comedy, he did and Charlie stayed with Karno touring the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. till 1913 he was signed by Keystone Studios, Syd followed a year later and appeared in 34 films from 1914-1928 (in many of his brothers First National films).

Syd eventually became Charlie’s manager and was able to negotiate his v financially lucrative contracts with Mutual Film Company and First National Distributors.

[thesobsister]

—That fan is an example of effective signage.

—The film is from 1959, so if it’s “ancient,” Mack Sennett shorts are the Lascaux cave paintings.

—The film is Charles’ tante, a Danish adaptation of Charley’s Aunt, a drag classic from 1892 that is best known to U.S. audiences in its Broadway/film adaptation Where’s Charley, starring Ray Bolger.

He brings an interesting energy to this number, which became his unofficial theme song after playing the role for two years on B’way. The singalong bit at the end was a staple of his live performances.

Watching ancient danish movies and found this gem

[willstafford]

Auntie Antics

CHARLEY’S AUNT The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Saturday 29th June 2024 I manage to catch the production’s last in-house performance in the Ron Barber Studio before it embarks on a tour of stately homes around the region.  First appearing in 1892, Brandon Thomas’s play is a quintessential old-school farce that basically involves two well-to-do cheps at Oxford recruiting a third to impersonate…

[do-you-know-this-play]

[nicole-ashwood]

I never really agreed with the idea that a work from the past that uses some form of racism or sexism should be given a pass simply because “it’s what was acceptable back then”. Because the fact is, it really wasn’t. It was normalized, yes, and most certainly pushed as what was to be expected, but that doesn’t mean it was acceptable.

Don’t get me wrong, many things our society pushes as morally good or just have some degree of ‘squishiness’ to them, but I’ve always held the maxim that, so long as the action isn’t harmful to others or oneself, then it rests on some foundation of morality. Argue Utilitarian vs Deontological philosophies all you want, but basic actions such as respect, understanding, and compassion are never subjective no matter the circumstance. Even if one takes a utilitarian position and harms another for what they believe is the greater good, that doesn’t mean that the harm they cause is morally just.

Plus, when someone usually brings this up as a defense, it’s mostly just a means to say “it was acceptable then so it’s fine”. Believe me, bigots love pulling this as a gateway argument to spread their hatred.

[astonishinglysane]

Movies I’ve Watched - 2023

44/?: Charley’s Aunt (1941) - watched 2/25/23

An adaptation of a 50-year-old (at the time) play, this is not really funny. The only thing I laughed at were the too-very-British cricket spectators in the first scene; after that all the hijinks play like a fifth-rate Oscar Wilde. The movie changed the ending of the play, and it didn’t really work because I could feel what the ending was supposed to be. Kay Francis is charming as always, but the standout is Laird Cregar, playing the 51-year-old father of a college student at age 28. He has a warmth and a presence that cuts through to the audience in a way none of the other actors do — it’s an eternal shame that he died so young (only three years after this film) because he should have had a great career.

Laird Cregar as Sir Francis Chesney in “Charley’s Aunt” (1941)

[recycledmoviecostumes]

This distinctive pearl necklace was designed by Joseff of Hollywood, who created jewelry for many films during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Because Joseff was not contracted to a particular studio, he was able to rent out his pieces to all of the film studios.

The above necklace first appeared on Kay Francis as Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez in the 1941 adaptation of Charley’s Aunt. In 1945 it appeared on Marsha Hunt as Constance Scott in The Valley of Decision. The following year saw it worn on the neck of Nella Walker as Mrs. Lawrence Tyburt Patterson Sr. in Two Sisters from Boston. 1947’s Northwest Outpost used it on Lenore Ulric as Baroness Kruposny. Ilona Massey was next to wear the piece as Madame Egelichi in the 1949 Love Happy. 

In the 1952 adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s novel My Cousin Rachel, Olivia de Havilland wore the necklace as Countess Rachel Sangalletti Ashley, and it features somewhat in the plot of the production. Richard Burton’s character gives the necklace to Rachel as a symbolic gesture that he wishes to marry her, which sets the remainder of the story into motion. The passage in the novel describing the necklace says:

There were four strands. They fastened around the neck like a band, with a single diamond clasp.

The description in the novel obviously does not match its representation on screen, but it is a beautiful necklace nonetheless. 

Finally, in 1987, the necklace was seen on Joan Collins’ character Alexis Carrington Colby in the episode of Dynasty entitled The Fair. 

The necklace eventually went up for auction at Julien’s Auctions in the 2017 Joseff of Hollywood: Treasures from the Vault. The action describes the piece as: 

A triple-strand, tiered necklace of alternating simulated diamonds and pearls with pearl drops. The necklace has four simulated mabe pearl medallions and is stamped on the back “Joseff Hollywood.”

To learn more about Joseff of Hollywood jewelry, you can visit their official website, or read Jewelry of the Stars: Creations from Joseff of Hollywood by Joanne Dubbs Ball.

Costume Credit: Dean, Eugene Joseff (Joseff of Hollywood), Veryfancydoilies, Katie S., Solidmoonlight

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[mellxncollie]

i bet edwin has been to every single production of charley's aunt that's been put on in london since they started the agency. doesn't matter how big or small. some random theatre club at a secondary school is putting it on? he's there.

at this point he can practically quote the whole thing but finds all the jokes funny every time. charles doesn't come with him most of the time but he'll tag along on occasion. he complains a bit about it but he secretly has come to enjoy it too, if only because he gets to see edwin laughing.

[3rdeyeblaque]

On September 26th we venerate Ancestor & Hoodoo Saint Aunt Caroline Dye on the 105th anniversary of her passing 🕊

Aunt Dye was a Seer, fortune teller, entrepreneur, & Hoodoo Woman who - without ever having picked up a mic or guitar - became one of the greatest Delta Blue's legends of all time.

Aunt Dye was born enslaved in Spartanburg, S.C around 1843 - where her parents died during her infancy. She first became aware of her gifts as a young child. She could see things that no one else could.  

One story recalls Aunt Dye at 10 yrs old (still enslaved on the plantation) when she was helping to set the table for Thanksgiving Dinner: She started insisting that they had not set enough plates, that Mister Charley was coming. Charley was the Plantation owner’s brother, who was thought to have been killed 4yra earlier during the Civil War. Sure enough, later that day Charley came walking in the door. The family couldn’t believe it! He relayed the fact that he had been wounded, taken prisoner, and had not had the chance to come home until that day. No one ever knew how she could have guessed such a thing. It was then that her "little coincidences" started to become noticed.

As a young woman, she migrated westward to Elgin, Jackson Co., Arkansas, where she married Martin Dye. They had one child, a girl, who passed at 11mo. Through the years, they to in several children, some of whom were Aunt Dye's kin.

Despite being labeled "uneducated"- unable to read or write, she amassed a small fortune as a wealthy landowner, rental property entrepreneur, & most of all, as a Hoodoo woman & fortune teller. Though she never claimed the latter title, it was given to her by her clients across the region. Black & White Folks came from all over the mid-south, with an especially devoted group of followers from Memphis,TN. So many people traveled into the region just to see her that a train going into Jackson Co. was named, the “Caroline Dye Special.”

Aunt Dye divined using only a deck of playing cards. She never gave readings relating to love or the outcome of World War I, but she did offer visions of the future & insight on various matters such as missing people, animals, & objects. Although payment was not required for her services, she received up to 30 letters in a single day, much of etch carried payment for service. Some White businessmen in the area reportedly would not make an important decision before consulting her first. All day long, folks crowded her home waiting for a reading. So she took advantage of their large numbers & sold meals from her kitchen.

“White and colored would go to her. You sick in bed, she raise the sick. … Had that much brains — smart lady. … That’s the kind of woman she was. Aunt Caroline Dye, she was the worst woman in the world. Had that much sense.” – Band Leader Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band.

Presently, Aunt Caroline Dye rests at the Gum Grove Cemetery in Newport, Jackson Co., Arkansas where she is forever remembered as the infamous Hoodoo Fortune Teller of the 19th Century.

Offering suggestions: playing cards, money/coins, Delta Blues songs that honor her memory 

‼️Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.‼️

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[ghoststyles]

Mother’s Day

A Fairway to Heaven Extra

Warnings: NONE, fluffy af

~

“Birdie.”

Briar can feel Harry’s hot breath on the back of her neck as she blinks her eyes open, regaining her consciousness. It’s just before 11am on a sunny, Sunday morning in May.

Harry kisses the back of her neck, nose poking her as he inhales a deep breath, lavishing in her nice shampoo. The sheets are luxurious, and the pillows and comforter have formed a comfy nest around her.

She stretches out, her calf just about to form the largest Charley horse cramp, to which she squeaks out in fear. Harry wraps his arms around her waist to shush her.

“Birdie, it’s time to get up.”

“Hm?” She muses before turning around to face him, her eyes meeting his green ones. “I don’t even know what planet I’m on right now.”

Harry chuckles, tracing one finger down her neck. She slams her chin to her shoulder, trapping his hand in the crook. He knows that’s her tickle spot. “It’s Mother’s Day, Birdie. Y’gotta get up.”

She huffs, eyebrows pinching. “Why? My mom is obviously not here, Aunt Meredith is on another ayahuasca retreat, and you already celebrated your mother and Camille on the UK’s fake Mother’s Day date in March.”

Harry bites down on his lip, unwilling to deal with her stubbornness right now. “I think your babies want to give you something.”

Eyes shooting open, she looks around, just realizing her two precious pups are not in their usual spot: snuggled as close to Briar as physically possible, laying horizontally so Harry has to contort around them to sleep.

Harry slides off the bed, grabbing her ankle and swiping her down to where her feet touch the floor and her ass nearly following.

“C’mon, I’ll carry you.”

She nods, reaching her arms out to connect with him. He lifts her, settling her feet around his waist so she doesn’t fall. They haphazardly make it down the stairs, Briar shrieking when he pretends to drop her.

Rounding the hall into the kitchen, Briar taps him to put her down, her eyes making their way to the three sets of big brown eyes staring back at her.

Oliver, Gus and Wynnie are sat on the kitchen floor, a big breakfast spread with beautiful bouquets of flowers behind them.

“Happy Mother’s Day!” Harry and Oliver say in unison.

Oliver is holding construction paper with 2 hand prints, and 2 paw prints in bright pink paint and blue paint. She can see where Harry’s handwriting labeled the hand prints. Papa, Oliver, Gus and Wynnie. Mother’s Day 2024.

“After breakfast, you’re gonna add your hand print,” Harry whispers, kissing her hair.

“Oh my goodness you guys,” she places her hand over her heart as she holds back tears. “Thank you so much.”

Oliver stands by her side, hugging her gently. She runs her fingers through his slight curls, and leans down to give him a gentle kiss.

“Mate, where is all the bacon I cooked?”

A look of fear washes over Oliver’s face as he points to the two dogs licking their lips.

“I tried to stop them, but Gus is too heavy for me to push over.”

Harry sighs, shaking his head. “We’ll be going out for breakfast on Father’s Day.”

“Anything for you, Daddy,” she whispers, biting his earlobe.