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:''For the film adaptations, see ''Chu-Chin-Chow (1925 film)'' and ''Chu Chin Chow (1934 film)''. ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of ''Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. The piece premièred at His Majesty's Theatre in London on 3 August 1916 and ran for five years and a total of 2,238 performances (more than twice as many as any previous musical), an astonishing record that stood for nearly forty years until ''Salad Days''.〔(Compilation of longest-running plays in history )〕〔Although ''Salad Days'' was the first musical to break the ''Chu Chin Chow'' record, the first play to break its record was ''Abie's Irish Rose'' in 1927. See: "Abroad", ''The Manchester Guardian June 2, 1927, ProQuest Historical Newspapers, ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', p. 15〕 The show's first American production in New York, with additional lyrics by Arthur Anderson, played for 208 performances in 1917–1918.〔("Chu Chin Chow (1934): A Robust Operetta" ). ''The New York Times'', 22 September 1934, accessed 2 August, 2010〕 It subsequently had successful seasons elsewhere in America and Australia, including in 1920, 1921 and 1922. A silent film of the musical was produced in 1925 using some of the music. A talking film, with the score intact, was made by the Gainsborough Studios in 1934, with George Robey playing the part of Ali Baba, Fritz Kortner as Abu Hassan, Anna May Wong as Zahrat Al-Kulub and Laurence Hanray as Kasim.〔 The show toured the British provinces for many years. It returned to London in 1940 for 80 performances, when it was interrupted by the London bombing but then returned in 1941 for another 158 nights. In 1953, an ice version was produced at London’s Empire Pool, Wembley, which also toured the provinces. Occasional productions are still mounted, including one in July 2008 by the Finborough Theatre in London, England.〔( ''Chu Chin Chow'' (2008) ) at the Finborough Theatre, London, website archive, accessed 23 December 2010〕 ==Background== The success of the "Arabian Nights" adaptation ''Kismet'', a 1911 play by Edward Knoblock, inspired Oscar Asche to write and produce ''Chu Chin Chow''. Asche also played the lead role of Abu Hasan, leader of the forty thieves (the "Chu Chin Chow" of the title refers to the robber chief when impersonating one of his victims). Besides Asche, the production starred his wife, Lily Brayton, and Courtice Pounds. Costumes were by the designer Percy Anderson.〔("A Tonic to the Imagination" (Anderson's costume designs on display at the Harry Ransom Center collection) ), The University of Texas at Austin, accessed 26 May 2012〕 ''Chu Chin Chow'' was described as a combination of musical comedy and pantomime. It was a big budget spectacular costing £5,300, with over a dozen scene changes, fantastic sets, big dance routines, exotic costumes and Asche's well-known innovative lighting designs. The design for the show was influenced by the English taste for all things connected with Asia (known as "orientalism") which had originated with Diaghilev’s production of the ballet ''Scheherazade''. Theatre journal ''The Era'' said that Norton's music had "a touch of the East but for the most part it was on a level with the tender melody of musical comedy" and "hardly inspired". Nevertheless, many of the songs became hits, and "The Cobbler's Song" and "Any Time’s Kissing Time" in particular entered the repertoire of ballad singers for at least three or four decades. Tickets to see ''Chu Chin Chow'' were particularly eagerly sought by troops on leave from the Western Front. One of the attractions for the on-leave soldiers was the chorus of pretty slave girls who, for the period, were very scantily dressed. Complaints, not by the soldiers, resulted in the Lord Chamberlain (the British theatre censor) viewing the show and requiring "this naughtiness" to be stopped—at least for a while. The cast was large and included a camel, a donkey, poultry and snakes. 2.8 million tickets to the show were issued. The year following the premiere of the musical, a souvenir booklet was prepared, which included a novelized version of the play by Willam A. Page. He included additional background explanations to explain the scenery and physical attributes of the characters.〔Trutt, David (ed). (Introduction to "Chu Chin Chow" novelization ), p. 3, 2010, accessed 18 November 2010〕 ''Chu Chin Chow'' was one of three hit musical shows that are most associated with the London musical stage during World War I (the others being ''The Bing Boys Are Here'' and ''The Maid of the Mountains''), and music or scenes from these have been included as background in many films set in this period. Interestingly, the three shows were each very different from each other. ''The Bing Boys'' was a revue, ''The Maid'' was essentially an operetta, and ''Chu Chin Chow'' is often considered an adult pantomime. Other popular musicals of the period were ''Theodore & Co'' (1916), ''The Happy Day'' (1916), ''The Boy'' (1917) and ''Yes, Uncle! (1917)''. Audiences wanted light and uplifting entertainment during the war, and all these shows delivered it.〔(''Chu Chin Chow'' ), Musical Theatre Guided Tour (PeoplePlay UK), accessed October 3, 2008〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chu Chin Chow」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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