An Evening at a British Music Hall, which was a legendary production at Bethlehem’s Godfrey Daniels, is back. Last performed there in 2014, it was done there almost every year since 1976, with a three year break when it was performed at Bethlehem’s Touchstone Theatre.
Music Hall lasted in Britain from about 1850 to the First World War. The Music Hall Evening is reproduced with meticulous historical accuracy by Chris Simmons. He made many trips to the New York Library for research, where he remembers seeing another student of old time songs, Herbert Khaury. Khaury was known by his stage name of Tiny Tim.
The show consists of songs, monologues, and sketches. Although they are charming, funny, and sometimes sentimental, you have probably not heard many of them unless you have seen previous Music Halls. One exception is “I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am,” expected to be in the show. Peter Noone sang his own shorter version as the lead singer of Herman’s Hermits.
Music Hall was seen occasionally in Hollywood films. In the film “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” the plot had Sherlock Holmes, played by Basil Rathbone, disguised as a music hall performer. Alfred Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps” featured “Mr. Memory,” a man who could answer any data based question and was based on an actual performer.
The closest type of thing we had in this country to music hall was vaudeville. But although vaudeville died here, music hall kept going in Britain in a similar form under the name of variety.
The Godfrey’s Music Hall is interactive, using traditions known long before that term was ever used. The master of ceremonies, known in music hall as the chairman, addresses the audience throughout, asking them many times to make a toast to the Queen. Godfrey’s is BYOB for beer and wine.
Chairman Bob Fahringer will also be telling his vintage jokes, some of which are so bad, they were rumored to be banned during wartime under the articles of the Geneva Convention for being cruel and unusual punishment.
Appearing in the British Music Hall will be Chris Simmons, Bob Fahringer, Paula Ferry, Neil Hever, Joe Birchak, and Bill George, with Lucille Kincaid on piano and John Lucas on percussion.
The show is May 23 8:00 p.m. and May 24 8 p.m. at Godfrey Daniels, 7 East Fourth Street, Bethlehem 610-867-2390.
