Description
Stage Door debut the original 1971 London Cast album of noted British theatre composer Sandy Wilson's ('The Boy Friend', 'Valmouth', 'Divorce Me, Darling') 'His Monkey Wife' on CD, accompanied with selections from Sandy Wilson's 'Aladdin'. The CD has been digitally remastered and features an extensive booklet with rare production photos and detailed sleeve notes by theatre archivist Stewart Nicholls.
In 1970, Sandy Wilson was commissioned to write a new musical for the Hampstead Theatre Club's 1971/1972 Christmas Season. The subject he chose was John Collier's novel 'His Monkey Wife or Married to a Chimp' and the new musical 'His Monkey Wife' opened on December 20th 1971, running for 28 performances. Writing book, music and lyrics, Wilson's adaptation remained faithful to the Collier novel telling the story of Alfred Fatigay, an English schoolteacher who returns to England from the Upper Congo with Emily, a chimpanzee who resolves to educate herself and become a rival for Fatigay's hand from his pretentious fiancée Fern Flint. The cast included June Ritchie, Robert Swann and Bridget Armstrong.
'Aladdin' was a production which was commissioned by the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith in 1979, and conceived by Wilson as a musical adaptation of the classic Arabian Nights Tale. The musical featured an all-star cast including Elisabeth Welch, Christine McKenna, Belinda Lang, Joe Melia and Aubrey Woods.