"Ask Dad"?

[Joann Zimmerman]

On reading the JGCB, I note in one of the anatomically numerous appendices
that one of PGW's many 1918 musicals was originally called "Ask Dad."
Given that the J&W Granada episode set in New York in which a young
protege of Bertie's gets more than stagestruck featured a musical called
"Ask Dad," is it stretching things to wonder if any of the filmed music or
dialogue was from the original Wodehouse/Bolton/Louis Hirsch musical?

--

"I never understood people who don't have bookshelves."
--George Plimpton

Joann Zimmerman jz...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu

[Pat Hawkins Smith]

In Article <jzimm-14029...@faml-b4.fa.utexas.edu> "jz...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Joann Zimmerman)" says:
> On reading the JGCB, I note in one of the anatomically numerous appendices
> that one of PGW's many 1918 musicals was originally called "Ask Dad."
> Given that the J&W Granada episode set in New York in which a young
> protege of Bertie's gets more than stagestruck featured a musical called
> "Ask Dad," is it stretching things to wonder if any of the filmed music or
> dialogue was from the original Wodehouse/Bolton/Louis Hirsch musical?

Greetings!
I have hung onto this post for several days hoping someone would come
forward with an answer. As an American musical theatre enthusiast,
I would be extremely interested in knowing if any of the J&W Granda
episode production of "Ask Dad" was authentic Wodehouse.
Would anyone on the other side of the ocean care to ring up Granada and
ask them? I would be willing to write to the producers if someone
would provide me with their address.
Thanks awfully,
Psmith

[Carol Weiner]

Speaking of "Ask Dad," how come if the musical was being done in New York
the chorus had *that* accent? I spent the first half of the episode
wondering why they were singing about "Oscar"!

(I'm moving to Birmingham in 2 months, oh yeah, this is going to be *no*
adjustment problem whatever) :-)

[U41...@uicvm.uic.edu]

In article <3i40jp$m...@mailer.fsu.edu>, cwe...@garnet.acns.fsu.edu (Carol Weiner) says:
>
>Speaking of "Ask Dad," how come if the musical was being done in New York
>the chorus had *that* accent? I spent the first half of the episode
>wondering why they were singing about "Oscar"!

I kind of have the sense that the British use that accent as a way to
make fun of Americans. The accent seems to be an exagerated Nebraska
accent like we favor for the evening news, and it is possible that they
do not realize ther is any variation in accents in this country. I find
this unlikely. For one thing, in the Meaning of Life, Terry Gilliam does
the accent, and he is the American member of the troupe and so presumably
knows better.
My guess is that it is a kind of revenge the British have for having
to listen to American actors do English accents without regard to
whether the character is from London or Yorkshire etc. But that could
just be cynical thinking from having cringed through the New York
millianaire talking as if he had recorde in 45 and was being played on 33.
Lon

[Larry N Osborne]

In article <95050.213...@uicvm.uic.edu> <U41...@uicvm.uic.edu> writes:
> I kind of have the sense that the British use that accent as a way to
>make fun of Americans. The accent seems to be an exagerated Nebraska
>accent like we favor for the evening news, and it is possible that they
>do not realize ther is any variation in accents in this country.

{...}

Um, is this the same accent that Ian Carmichel uses when reading all
American Wodehouse characters (including the females)? And that Tony
Britton uses for Lord Baskerville (well, he was also Canadian, but the idea
is the same). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? As an American
it always struck me as just short of accurate; i.e., I always felt
there _should_ be some part of the US where English was spoken like
that (perhaps should some vast race migration move Nebraskans to North
Carolina).

-oz

[Zachary Lindenbaum]

Now that it's been 28 years since the question was asked, has anybody figured out if the music is indeed authentic? The Library of Congress has a copy of the score (see https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu021026&_start=10816&_lines=125), but I'd rather not cough up the $50 or so they charge to scan it.