The Cingalee

rdf:langString The Cingalee

rdf:langString The Cingalee

rdf:langString The Cingalee

rdf:langString Wright and Leigh

rdf:langString or Sunny Ceylon

rdf:langString The Cingalee, or Sunny Ceylon is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with music by Lionel Monckton, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and additional material by Paul Rubens. It opened at Daly's Theatre in London, managed by George Edwardes, on 5 March 1904 and ran until 11 March 1905 for a total of 365 performances. The musical had a short Broadway run, opening at the original Daly's Theatre in New York on 24 October 1904 and running for 33 performances. The Cingalee is set in Ceylon and concerns colonial tea planters (one of the most popular songs in the score is called simply "Tea, tea, tea") in an era before this island paradise became the more troubled Sri Lanka. It was given a showy production and was a success in London. The fashion there for shows set in exotic Asian locales had been started by The Mikado and was continued by The Geisha, San Toy, The Nautch Girl, A Chinese Honeymoon and others. There is little in the music to give The Cingalee an Eastern flavour. However, Monckton's catchy sextet, "The Island of Gay Ceylon", his "Pearl of Sweet Ceylon" and Ruben's "White and Brown Girl", "Sloe Eyes", "Monkeys" and "You and I" are highlights of the musical score. The London cast included Hayden Coffin, Rutland Barrington, Huntley Wright and Isabel Jay. A young Lily Elsie also appeared in the show, as did Topsy Sinden.