Show History & Awards

The history of ME AND MY GIRL spans over 60 years.

The original stage version, which opened in 1937 at London's Victoria Palace Theatre, was specifically commissioned and written for Lupino "Nipper" Lane, to highlight his comic talents. It was the sequel to TWENTY TO ONE, a musical from the previous year, in which Lupino Lane first appeared as Bill Snibson.  It was Lane's own idea to throw Bill into the midst of the aristocracy, having exhausted the theme of the gambling cockney layabout "on his own pitch" in the previous show.

Lane was so certain that the show would be a winner, he backed the venture himself.  But at the time of the opening, there was considerable dissent among the cast, who had none of Lane's faith in the project.

The 1937 show received good notices, but did not attract sufficient audiences to be financially viable.  Then Lane managed to get an excerpt of the show broadcast on radio. The audience reaction to the "Lambeth Walk" number during the broadcast brought immediate activity to the box office - to the extent that the show broke box office records. "Lambeth Walk" also crossed the Atlantic and became the biggest international dance craze of the era.

ME AND MY GIRL also holds the honor of being the first musical ever to be televised.  The 852nd performance was broadcast in its entirety.  Attending the performance that night were the King and Queen.  However, because their permission had not be sought beforehand, it was not possible to show their Majesties in the Royal Box.  Meanwhile, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret watched the first act on television.

The show was turned into a film in 1939 under the title LAMBETH WALK, but then fell into obscurity until 1982, when producer Richard Armitage (the son of the show’s composer, the pseudonymous Noel Gay) discovered a pre-rehearsal script in the British Museum after a long search.  Armitage updated the script into a workable musical comedy for a modern audience.
The revival of ME AND MY GIRL opened in 1985 in London's West End and garnered five Drama Desk Awards.
The Broadway version, directed by the late Michael Ockrent (husband of Wilmington native Susan Stroman), opened at the Marquis Theatre in August, 1986.  It ran for 1,420 performances, earned eleven Tony Award nominations, and won three.