| My Fair Laddie
Calling all UK members...
Okay, it's time to put on a show.
How about a parody of My Fair Lady with the premise being the following:
A young, dirty-faced coal miner-by-day, cornet-playing street busker by night fellow is playing for twopence. A mature woman is able to tell him where he hails from and other musicians on the street just by hearing their style of playing and vibrato.
She boasts that in six months she could pass this fellow off as an experienced concert musician and get him to sub with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields ("Why Can't the English teach cornet players how to play?"). Another society lady takes him up on the boast.
The young cornet player, Ely Doolittle, is persuaded to move in with the teacher as he wishes to teach one day in a music shop off the Piccadilly. He exasperates the teacher with his lack of worldliness and apparent inabilty to understand symphonic style ("Let a Miner in your Life"). He is also angry at her condescending tone ("Just You Wait, Henrietta").
Finally, he understands the basics ("The Art of Most is Mostly 'Mostly Mozart'" and "Like Harry Glantz, You Played!") and is ready for a brief test at the local community orchestra made up of retired orchestra players (Gavotte from the 3rd Suite). After meeting the lovely Frieda Hill, it is time for the test at the Barbican Center where he is to meet Sir Neville Marriner as he subs in one evening with the Academy.
The test is a success even after meeting a busy-body who intends to expose him but instead "reveals" that he is actually a young Israeli virtuoso in hiding. All seem to get credit except for poor Ely who lashes out. Frieda waits for the sight of Ely after spending days looking for him
("How Discreet, Where you Live..."). Henrietta is flabbergasted by Ely's wrath (Why Can't the Brasses be more like the Strings?).
Henrietta admits to missing Ely ("I've Grown Accutomed to His Noise") and Ely returns in the end.
All right, there's the story....
You write the songs!
ML |