The Music Cure, a Piece of Utter Nonsense (1913) is a short comedy sketch by George Bernard Shaw, satirising therapeutic fads of the era and the Marconi scandal of 1912.
Lord Reginald Fitzambey, Under-Secretary of State for War, is in a distressed state. He explains to his doctor that, knowing the British army would soon be put on a vegetarian diet, he bought shares in the Macaroni Trust. Brought before a parliamentary committee for profiteering, Fitzambey had tried to explain that macaroni was a normal investment. Now he is highly sensitised to anything distressing.
His doctor prescribes rest and offers him opium pills. A woman starts to play the piano, causing Reginald to scream. The woman turns out to be famous pianist Strega Thundridge, employed by Reginald's mother at considerable cost to play in the room for two hours to soothe Reginald's nerves. Although Strega can hear Reginald screaming, she continues to play.
Reginald finds himself powerfully attracted to her, but when he tries to make a pass at her, she starts playing Chopin, causing Reginald convulsions. She then restores his vitality with a stirring Polonaise. Reginald, who adores dominant women, is now hopelessly in love with Strega. He begs her to marry him so she can dominate him completely. She accepts, having always dreamed of meeting a man who was utterly in thrall to her.
Production and receptionedit
Shaw said that the piece was not intended as a 'serious play' but was rather 'what is called a variety turn for two musicians.'[1] It was first performed at the Little Theatre in London as curtain raiser to G. K. Chesterton's first play, Magic, on 28 January 1914.
Shaw had pushed Chesterton into writing a play. In Magic, a character comments on the Marconi Company, which is a reference to the fact that Chesterton's brother had been prosecuted for libel during the Marconi scandal after he criticised government ministers for making allegedly corrupt deals in Marconi shares.[2] Hence Shaw refers to 'Macaroni' [sic] shares in his own short play.
Shaw felt that the play was a disaster, saying in a letter to Lillah McCarthy that it was 'abominable trash' and 'simply unbearable' to watch in performance.[3] Critic Homer E. Woodbridge says that the play is one of Shaw's worst: '"The Fascinating Foundling" and "The Music Cure", another topical skit dealing with the Marconi scandal, vie in flatness with "Passion, Poison and Petrifaction" ; both are really beneath criticism.' [4]
In 2021, Misalliance Repertory Theatre, a Chicagp-based company, released a radio-play version of The Music Cure, which is available free to the public via the company's website, MisallianceRepertory.org.
Referencesedit
^Broad, C Lewis and Broad, Violet, Dictionary to the Plays and Novels of Bernard Shaw, A. & C. Black, London, 1929, pp.67.
^Langford, David, 'Introduction' to G.K. Chesterton, Magic, English Language Society, 1987.
^Holroyd, Michael, Bernard Shaw: 1898–1918: The pursuit of power, Chatto & Windus, 1989, p.269
^Homer E. Woodbridge, George Bernard Shaw: Creative Artist, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL., p.92.
^Stanford University Libraries (2019). "Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres - Philip Hagemann", accessed 14 April 2019.
November 23, 2023
music, cure, piece, utter, nonsense, 1913, short, comedy, sketch, george, bernard, shaw, satirising, therapeutic, fads, marconi, scandal, 1912, written, bygeorge, bernard, shawdate, premiered28, january, 1914place, premieredlittle, theatre, adelphi, londonorig. The Music Cure a Piece of Utter Nonsense 1913 is a short comedy sketch by George Bernard Shaw satirising therapeutic fads of the era and the Marconi scandal of 1912 The Music CureWritten byGeorge Bernard ShawDate premiered28 January 1914Place premieredLittle Theatre in the Adelphi LondonOriginal languageEnglishSubjectA weak willed politician falls in love with a domineering pianistGenresatireSetting A hotel drawing room Wikisource has original text related to this article The Music Cure Contents 1 Characters 2 Plot 3 Production and reception 4 ReferencesCharacters editLord Reginald Fitzambey Dr Dawkins Strega ThundridgePlot editLord Reginald Fitzambey Under Secretary of State for War is in a distressed state He explains to his doctor that knowing the British army would soon be put on a vegetarian diet he bought shares in the Macaroni Trust Brought before a parliamentary committee for profiteering Fitzambey had tried to explain that macaroni was a normal investment Now he is highly sensitised to anything distressing His doctor prescribes rest and offers him opium pills A woman starts to play the piano causing Reginald to scream The woman turns out to be famous pianist Strega Thundridge employed by Reginald s mother at considerable cost to play in the room for two hours to soothe Reginald s nerves Although Strega can hear Reginald screaming she continues to play Reginald finds himself powerfully attracted to her but when he tries to make a pass at her she starts playing Chopin causing Reginald convulsions She then restores his vitality with a stirring Polonaise Reginald who adores dominant women is now hopelessly in love with Strega He begs her to marry him so she can dominate him completely She accepts having always dreamed of meeting a man who was utterly in thrall to her Production and reception editShaw said that the piece was not intended as a serious play but was rather what is called a variety turn for two musicians 1 It was first performed at the Little Theatre in London as curtain raiser to G K Chesterton s first play Magic on 28 January 1914 Shaw had pushed Chesterton into writing a play In Magic a character comments on the Marconi Company which is a reference to the fact that Chesterton s brother had been prosecuted for libel during the Marconi scandal after he criticised government ministers for making allegedly corrupt deals in Marconi shares 2 Hence Shaw refers to Macaroni sic shares in his own short play Shaw felt that the play was a disaster saying in a letter to Lillah McCarthy that it was abominable trash and simply unbearable to watch in performance 3 Critic Homer E Woodbridge says that the play is one of Shaw s worst The Fascinating Foundling and The Music Cure another topical skit dealing with the Marconi scandal vie in flatness with Passion Poison and Petrifaction both are really beneath criticism 4 The play was made into an opera by Philip Hagemann 1984 5 In 2021 Misalliance Repertory Theatre a Chicagp based company released a radio play version of The Music Cure which is available free to the public via the company s website MisallianceRepertory org References edit Broad C Lewis and Broad Violet Dictionary to the Plays and Novels of Bernard Shaw A amp C Black London 1929 pp 67 Langford David Introduction to G K Chesterton Magic English Language Society 1987 Holroyd Michael Bernard Shaw 1898 1918 The pursuit of power Chatto amp Windus 1989 p 269 Homer E Woodbridge George Bernard Shaw Creative Artist Southern Illinois University Press Carbondale IL p 92 Stanford University Libraries 2019 Opening Night Opera amp Oratorio Premieres Philip Hagemann accessed 14 April 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Music Cure amp oldid 1082657999, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
