Author: Ian Louis Harris

Some months earlier, Mike Ward had, over dinner on one of his visits to London, raised the idea of Casablanca The Musical with me. He was working on the book and wanted me to write some silly lyrics to well known songs with him.

I quite rapidly wrote one lyric, I Only Have Heils For You…

I Only Have “Heils” For You, Casablanca the Musical, Actor’s Workshop Halifax, 27 July 2001

…which (to be fair without my having provided much context) led Janie to wonder whether I had taken leave of my senses.

In the end, I wrote a few lyrics (now all Ogblogged, between the dates 27 July and 8 August 2001), including one jointly with David Seidel, who knew a lot more about 30s and 40s music than I did, although perhaps not quite as much about the sort of silly lyrics that might work in Mike’s show.

I took the brief quite seriously considering what a silly brief it was. I remember tracking down and reading the movie script as well as Mike’s musical book to help me remember the story and think through the bits that might lend themselves best to musical interludes. The joke in the programme notes about me not having seen the book until the very last minute is…a joke.

I also wrote programme notes for that original production; a mixture of serious and silly – available here and below:

Casablanca The Musical, Timeline And Programme Notes For Original 2001 Production, Written By Yours Truly, 31 August 2001

The production was scheduled at fairly short notice for mid-September 2001. I had arranged to speak at a charity conference in Sheffield on the Monday (17th), so it seemed sensible for me to press further into Yorkshire on the Tuesday and see the show that second night, which I did.

My charity accountants conference talk is long-since forgotten, I hope. I do recall it was a double-act with Mary O’Callaghan and I expect I charitably let Mary deliver all the best jokes. You’ll simply have to imagine what those side-splitting, uproarious gags might have been and how those charity accountants must have laughed and laughed…

…but I digress.

Actually I do remember that I met a very pleasant woman from Norwood Ravenswood who connected me to their archivist who was extremely helpful in providing information on the orphaned (Krasey) side of my mother’s family…

…but that is even more of a digression.

Point is, on the Tuesday, mid to late morning, I headed north-west from Sheffield and checked in to the Imperial Crown. Janie, who had been up to the Actor’s Workshop for the Pausanias Affair earlier that summer, was unable to cancel out her work for such a one-nighter, so I braved Halifax alone on that occasion.

I don’t recall all the details of the afternoon and evening. I have a feeling that it was quite similar to my solo quick turnaround visit to see the revival in 2018; I think I went to the theatre to meet Mike. There was a sense of excitement as the show had been well previewed locally so was all-but sold out.

I’m pretty sure that Mike and I then went back to his house, where Lottie no doubt served up some splendid grub and good wine. Then we went back to the theatre to see the show.

I do remember enjoying the show. I recall the second half seeming to tail off a little – perhaps due to the book (which Mike subsequently edited for the revival to good effect I think) – more likely it is just an exhausting show for the cast. I remember that there were several girls playing the role of Ilsa, for reasons that weren’t explained in the script – I suppose Mike had written too few parts for women and wanted to give several young females a chance.

I do also recall feeling that, first time round, Ouagadougou Choo Choo had not quite been the rousing finale I had intended. That number certainly worked better (to my taste) in 2018.

In those days, The Evening Courier reviewed stuff for the Actor’s Workshop and this piece/production got a pretty darned hot review:

Tragically, the theatre was destroyed just a few week’s later, in an incident which seemed to be connected with the rioting in several Northern towns that autumn but in fact was later identified as to be youthful mischief that got seriously out of hand.

I couldn’t help wondering at the time whether my songs, in particular, Ouagadougou Choo Choo, had actually brought the house down.

Joking apart though, this show was a gargantuan effort for a tiny charitable youth theatre. But that effort was dwarfed by the efforts it must have needed to bring the Workshop back from the almost-dead after that tragic incident.

Looking back, Mike Ward just shrugs and says he can’t remember and sort-of wonders how he/they did it.

But back in September 2001, all of that was the future, while Casablanca The Musical took a highly irreverent look back at the past.