most popular comic of the day, George Wallace, to play the comic support role of Dandy Dan. Wallace's presence in the cast meant his part was expanded and he was given as many songs as Glady Moncrieff; in addition, parts were found for his regular collaborators, Marshall Crosby and John Dobbie. Extra lures to the theatre-going audience was a revolving stage, the first of its kind used in Australia, and the performance of an aboriginal corroboree at the beginning of Act Two. The resulting production debuted in December 1933. It was a widely publicised occasion, attended by the state premier and lord mayor and the first act was broadcast live on Radio 3KZ. "All this excitement over an Australian show with an all-Australian cast", wrote Thring's biographer, Peter Fitzpatrick. "Nothing like it had happened before. Frank [Thring]... must have felt like a king... It was certainly the most triumphant night of his life." The show was a big success, receiving excellent reviews and playing for sixteen weeks and over a hundred performances at the Princess. It went to Sydney for eight weeks, then had a three-week return season in Melbourne in October 1934. The success of the musical encouraged Thring to expand his theatrical productions. Thring commissioned Monk to write a sequel, The Cedar Tree and also revived The Beloved Vagabond. Cast of 1933 Princess Theatre production Gladys Moncrieff as Mary Collits Marshall Crosby as Pierce Collits Robert Chisholm as John Lake Claude Flemming as Robert Keane George Wallace as Dandy Dick Phyllis Baker as Sandy John Dobbie as Toby Proposed film version Thring intended to make a movie out of the play but died in 1936 before he had the chance to shoot little more than sound tests. A six-minute sound test of Gladys Moncrieff and Robert Chisolm singing 'While the Stars Are Shining', with a spoken introduction by Frank Harvey survives. Harvey had reportedly written a screenplay. Legacy In the words of theatre historian John Thompson: Collits’ Inn was hailed as a unique Australian musical. It was not the first theatrical production to use Australian settings, nor was it, as is commonly claimed, the first Australian musical... [It] was not The Great Australian Musical many hoped it would be. But it proved that Australian creativity and talent could produce an original work that Australian audiences wanted to see and was judged worthy of a place on the world stage. References Fitzpatrick, Peter, The Two Frank Thrings, Monash University Press 2012 External links Article on Collits' Inn, the play It's Australian and It's Good article on history of the show by John Thompson at National Library of Australia News Collits Inn at AusStage Category:Australian musicals Category:1932 musicals