Search - Beatrice Lillie, Reginald Gardiner :: An Evening with Beatrice Lillie (Original Cast) with Bonus Tracks

The Meaning of the Word, "Hilarious"

James Morris | Jackson Heights, NY United States | 07/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been in love with Bea Lillie since I acquired these hilarious tracks, most of which (and many more) were released on a two-record vinyl set from DRG records in the late 1970's, titled "Queen Bea".



Beatrice Lillie, for anyone who doesn't know, was a comedienne when the word actually meant something. An Evening with Beatrice Lillie ran on Broadway in 1952, toured throughout the US and Canada for over a year, and then ran in London for the 1955-56 season. On the stage, as well as on these recordings, Miss Lillie is accompanied by the husband and wife pianist team of Eadie and Rack. The liner notes from the Queen Bea LP exclaim:



"For anyone privileged to have seen her on stage, the mere mention of her name brings to mind so many vivid, hilarious images...



The snooty department-store customer, trying vainly not to mangle her order for a dozen double damask dinner napkins...



The flirtatious entertainer perched on a half-moon, dispensing garters to favored gentlemen in the audience as she is swung out over their heads...



The formally-gowned Grande Dame, hiking up her skirt and roller-skating into the wings...



The "mezzanine-soprano" ending her song by whirling a lengthy strand of pearls around her neck and letting it swing down to her feet...



The babbling latecomer at the theatre disrupting a performance of Hamlet and turning on anyone trying to silence her and snapping the word, "Communist!"



No less an authority than Noel Coward once pronounced her, "The Funniest Woman in the World".



In the early 1920's she married Sir Robert Peel, whose accession to his father's baronetcy made Queen Bea an officially titled Lady, a position she bore with both grace and humor. Once at a hairdresser's in Chicago, Mrs. Armour, the wife of the meat-packing magnate was causing a row at the reception desk because Beatrice Lillie, a mere actress, had been taken ahead of her. As Bea swept out of the salon, she grandly informed the manager, "You may tell that butcher's wife that Lady Peel has finished".



Another time, while riding in a London taxi, her pet Pekingese relieved itself on the leather seat. As the taxi pulled up in front of the Savoy hotel, the driver growled, "What do you mean by letting your dog mess up my taxi?" She eyed him regally, handed him a generous tip and said, "I did it". She then sailed into the lobby, skipping all the way.



The selections on this CD are guaranteed to have you smiling, whenever you are not literally busting a gut. Her opening number, Rhythm, a medley of tin-pan alley schlockers, will warm you up to her style. Her hilarious rendition of Nanette will never sound the same to anyone who knows it, not even to fans of Bette Midler, who performed it on her live album. I once told my brother that Bea Lillie was the funniest woman alive. "Even funnier than Lucille Ball?" he quizzed. "Just listen", I said. She was barely through the second song when he lost it. You will too.



Then there's her "Folk Song Cycle"; the mildly-naughty Noel Coward song, "Mrs. Wentworth Brewster" which Bea re-titles "The Bar on the Piccola Marina", then purposely mispronounces "Piccola" as "Piccolo". There's more - her WWI medley, her hilarious rendition of the nonsense song, Three Little Fishes, and my two favorites, Maud, a deliciously witty recitation written by her sister Muriel, and her most famous number, the 19th century parlor song There Are Faeries at the Bottom of Our Garden, which she turns into a plethora of double-entendre camp. I apologize if I've left out anyone's favorite - she's that funny.



All in all, one of the funniest musical comedy albums ever recorded, and a definitely delightful addition to any library."

Re-discover comedienne extraordinaire, Bea Lillie!

Steven Keller | Fairview Heights, Illinois, USA | 01/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Re-discover comedienne extraordinaire, Bea Lillie. What a welcome release by Sepia, a bold new music company dedicated to re-releasing all sorts of goodies from the good old days. London/Decca originally released an Evening with Beatrice Lillie on LP in 1959. This is such a welcome release - my old LP is so worn, but so loved for 50 years. Now I can retire it and enjoy Auntie Bea in wonderful digital sound. The album includes some of the most hilarious bits of Auntie Bea - Nanette, Maude, Rhythm, The Party's Over Now, Piccolo Marina (the laugh out loud story of Mrs. Wentworth Brewster) and the fall on the floor Folksong Cycle (replete with Bobbie socks and zither!). This is really top-notch entertainment and Sepia has again done a superb job in re-mastering a classic with marvelous notes and bonus tracks from Bea's later album Auntie Bea - who can forget Wind round my heart? So, remember don't forget her, although you've never met her, Auntie Bea, Auntie Bea, Auntie Bea. Trust me darlings, you will love this!"