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In response to the success of Lola Montez, Peter Stannard, Alan Burke, and Peter Benjamin were commissioned by ATN-7 and Shell to write a family-orientated musical for television. That production, Pardon Miss Westcott, was performed and broadcast live around Australia a few weeks before Christmas in 1959. Starring Wendy Blacklock and Michael Cole, it was orchestrated by ATN-7's musical director, Tommy Tycho, along with Julian Lee.
The musical begins in Sydney in 1809, just after Governor Bligh's departure and before Governor Macquarie's arrival, and tells the story of Elizabeth Westcott, a convict transported for serving a pompous magistrate at her father's inn in England his own lamb. She is assigned to work at Government House and quickly rules the roost. When she is granted a ticket of leave, Miss Westcott opens an inn in Pitt Street, with the help of an assortment of saints and sinners. A serving army officer, Richard, who was also on board the convict ship, is captivated by her and eventually overcomes the social gap between them by getting himself into trouble. All ends well.
Notes
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Television play.
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The songs (as included on the 1960 cast album) are 1. 'Overture' (Orchestra); 2. 'Heigh Ho, You'll Never Go Back' (male chorus); 3. 'Send For Me' (Elizabeth, Mansfield, Harbutt, and Snark); 4. 'You Walk By' (Richard); 5. 'The Whole Shebang' (Mansfield, Harbutt, and Snark); 6. 'I'm On My Way' (Elizabeth); 7. 'Grog Song' (chorus); 8. 'So Much More' (Elizabeth and Richard); 9. Our Own Bare Hands (Lydia); 10. 'The Argument' (Elizabeth, Richard, Mansfield, Harbutt, and Snark); 11. 'Sometimes' (Richard); 12. 'Finale' (Elizabeth, Richard, and Chorus).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn’t Realise Existed
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 23 December 2019; -
60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & ‘60s
2019
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 18 February 2019; -
Wendy Blacklock and the Transformation of Australian Theatre
2016
single work
biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016; 'Wendy Blacklock is an actor and comedienne who has worked on radio, stage and television. In the first half of her career, Blacklock appeared in revue theatre, pantomime and musical theatre. She played the leading lady in the first Australian musical television play, Pardon Miss Westcott, broadcast on ATN 7 in 1959, and later on, performed in new Australian plays by David Williamson and Dorothy Hewett during the New Wave period in which Australian theatre and drama were undergoing huge transformation. Television audiences also remember Blacklock playing Edie McDonald in Number 96. Later on in her career Blacklock moved into production and worked for the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. In 1982 she founded Performing Lines, an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to developing and producing new Australian works in order for them to tour in Australia and internationally. Blacklock’s innovative work with Performing Lines has enriched Australian theatre, extending its reach and empowering local performers and companies. Blacklock has worked with numerous contemporary arts companies. In particular Blacklock’s work has enabled a wide range of Indigenous Australian plays and performers to present their theatrical events to audiences all over the world.' (Introduction)
-
Wendy Blacklock and the Transformation of Australian Theatre
2016
single work
biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016; 'Wendy Blacklock is an actor and comedienne who has worked on radio, stage and television. In the first half of her career, Blacklock appeared in revue theatre, pantomime and musical theatre. She played the leading lady in the first Australian musical television play, Pardon Miss Westcott, broadcast on ATN 7 in 1959, and later on, performed in new Australian plays by David Williamson and Dorothy Hewett during the New Wave period in which Australian theatre and drama were undergoing huge transformation. Television audiences also remember Blacklock playing Edie McDonald in Number 96. Later on in her career Blacklock moved into production and worked for the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. In 1982 she founded Performing Lines, an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to developing and producing new Australian works in order for them to tour in Australia and internationally. Blacklock’s innovative work with Performing Lines has enriched Australian theatre, extending its reach and empowering local performers and companies. Blacklock has worked with numerous contemporary arts companies. In particular Blacklock’s work has enabled a wide range of Indigenous Australian plays and performers to present their theatrical events to audiences all over the world.' (Introduction) -
60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & ‘60s
2019
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 18 February 2019; -
Australian Film Musicals You Probably Didn’t Realise Existed
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 23 December 2019;
