BLETSOE'S TABLOID MUSICAL COMEDY COMPANY

aka Bletsoes' Musical Comedy Revue Co

Albert and Maud Bletsoes’ Tabloid Musical Comedy Company toured for Fullers Theatres between

1915 and 1916. Although short-lived, it nevertheless holds a significant place in Australian variety

history, being the troupe which later became better known as Nat Phillips Stiffy and Mo Company.

The troupe’s repertoire comprised at least five revusicals, with the lead characters being played by

Albert and Maude. The ensemble also included Roy Rene, Rosie Bowie, James Caldwell, Eileen

Barnsley, Ernest Lauri, and Charles Melvin.

1. Charles Melvin 2. Eileen Barnsley 3. Ernest Lawson 4. James Wilkinson 5. James Caldwell,

6. Ray Mack 7. George Melrose 8. Roy Rene 9. Albert and Maud Bletsoe

Theatre Magazine (Sydney) Apr. 1915, 35.

Albert and Maude Bletsoe returned to Australia February after a year-long tour of America and Canada and were

quickly signed by the Brennan-Fuller organisation. Given their experience in costume comedy it was soon afterwards

suggested by the Fullers, or one of their firm's senior managers, that the pair put together their own touring company.

Initially called Bletsoes' Tabloid Musical Comedy Company (later known as Bletsoes' Musical Comedy Revue Co.),

the troupe became one of the first in Australasia to stage a form of entertainment that was developing into the

Australian revusical genre. The troupe's repertoire comprised at least five productions, including In Vacation Time,

Fun in a Sanatorium, Be Beautiful, and Palmistry Up-to-Date. These were staged either as a first or second-part

entertainment in the advertised programme.

Although advertising in several New Zealand newspapers indicates that the productions were American in origin, the

published reviews of the shows indicates that the format, production values and structure of these one act musical

comedies was in line with industrial developments then being experimented with in Australia. Wellington's Evening

Post records for example that the 18 strong cast was presenting "a repertoire of the latest musical comedy successes

fresh from New York."1 To a great extent these Australian revusicals (the term initially used to describe them), were a

gradually-evolving stripped down version of the shows brought to Australian in 1913 by the American Burlesque

Company. The hybridised nature of these early productions also demonstrate the influence of minstrel farce, musical

comedy, and the vaudeville comedy/society sketch.

1 Evening Post (Wellington, NZ) 27 Jan. 1916, 2. Advert.

With Albert and Maud taking the leading roles, the troupe's other principal performers initially included established

industry names such as James Caldwell, Eileen Barnsley, Ernest Lauri, and Charles Melvin. Also in the troupe were

the emerging Hebrew comedian Roy Rene (best known from 1916 onwards as 'Mo') and Rosie Bowie, who went on to

choreograph the Stiffy and Mo ballets. By late 1915/early 1916 the troupe also included husband and wife partnerships

Caddie Franks and Horace Mann and Courtney Ford and Ivy Davis.

Sometime during their Queensland sojourn the Bletsoe's advised the Fullers of their decision to retire from the stage.

With the troupe already booked for a season in Sydney in mid-July the firm notified Nat Phillips, then playing

Brisbane's Empire Theatre with his wife Daisy Merritt, that he was to take over the reins of the company. He

subsequently returned to Sydney with some of the troupe, notably Roy Rene, Mann and Franks, Rosie Bowie and

Freda Helston, and debuted the new company with little more than a week's rehearsal. Renamed Nat Phillips' Tabloid

Musical Comedy Company, it made its debut at Sydney's Princess Theatre in What Oh Tonight (loosely based on the

Bletsoe's Be Beautiful). The ensemble is now best remembered as the Stiffy and Mo Revue Company.

SEE ALSO

• Albert and Maude Bletsoe • Roy Rene • Nat Phillips' Stiffy and Mo Revue Co

TROUPE PERSONNEL

1. Principal performers: Incl. Eileen Barnsley, Albert Bletsoe, Maud Bletsoe, James Caldwell, Charles Callow, Ivy

Davis, Courtney Ford, Caddie Franks, Charles Holt, Harry Kenny, Horace Mann, Jolly Marie, Ernest Lauri, Ray

Mack, George Melrose, Charles Melvin, Jack Nicholson, Roy Rene, James Wilkinson.

2. Members of the chorus: Bess Blackwell, Rosie Bowie, Iris Foy, May Foy, Freda Helston, May Sharpe, Biddie

Hawthorne.

3. Additional notes and/or historical clarification:

• Bess Blackwell: Her Christian name has sometimes been referred to as Belle.

• May Foy / Iris Foy: It is unclear whether these are the same person (with Christian names erroneously

recorded or sisters who appeared with the troupe at different times.

• Freda Helston: Her surname is sometimes spelled Hellston.

Courtney Ford Australian Variety (Sydney)

4 Aug. 1915, n. pag.

Mercury (Hobart) 23 Oct. 1915, 6.

Evening Post (Wellington, NZ)

29 Jan. 1916, 2.

Ivy Davis Theatre Magazine (Sydney) Sept. 1915, n. pag.

ENGAGEMENTS CHRONOLOGY

1915: BRENNAN-FULLER Newcastle (Victoria Theatre; 23 Mar. - 30 Apr.) • Melbourne (Bijou Theatre; 8

May - 18 June) • Adelaide (King's Theatre; 26 June - 16 July) • Perth (31 July -) • Hobart (Theatre Royal;

23-29 Oct.) • Sydney (National Theatre; ca. 20 Nov. - 10 Dec.) • Dunedin, NZ (Princess Theatre; 26-31

Dec.).

1916: BRENNAN-FULLER Dunedin, NZ (Princess Theatre; 1-22 Jan.) • Wellington, NZ (His Majesty's; 31 Jan.

- 26 Feb.) • Auckland, NZ (Opera House; 28 Feb. - 27 Mar.) • Christchurch, NZ (Opera House; 3-29 Apr.)

• Brisbane (Empire Theatre; 13 May - ca. 9 June) • Rockhampton (Theatre Royal; 17-24 June)

FURTHER REFERENCE

"Busker's Budget." Truth (Perth) 7 Aug. 1915, 5.

Djubal, Clay. "Bletsoe's Tabloid Musical Comedy Company." AustLit (2006).

"Man in Front." "Beyond the Footlights." Daily News (Perth) 31 July 1915, 10.

"Month in Vaudeville, The." Theatre Magazine (Sydney) Dec. 1915, 41.

Otago Witness (Dunedin, NZ) 5 Jan. 1916, 43

(Supp).

Horace Mann Theatre Magazine (Sydney)

Sept. 1918, 29.

Last updated: 9/02/2013 • Last updated: 15/08/2018 Expanded and updated from the 2006 AustLit entry

NB: The URL for this PDF will change each time it is updated. If you wish to cite or link to this record please use the following:

Australian Variety Theatre Archive • http://ozvta.com/troupes-a-f/

Caddie Franks Australian Variety (Sydney)

6 Sept. 1916, n. pag.

Rosie Bowie Fuller News (Sydney)

15 July 1922, 11.

Fremantle Herald (WA) 3 Sept. 1915, 2.