King's Rhapsody
King's Rhapsody is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. The musical was first produced at the Palace Theatre, London, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances, surviving its author, who died in 1951. It starred Novello in the title role of the heir to the throne under pressure from his long-lived mother, Queen Elana, to abdicate in favour of his infant son, with Phyllis Dare as his mistress Marta Karillos, Zena Dare as Queen Elana, Vanessa Lee as Princess Cristiane, Robert Andrews as Vanescu, and  Olive Gilbert as Countess Vera. A 1955 film adaptation was made, starring Errol Flynn. Original Production. The production opened at the Palace Theatre, London, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances. It was directed by Murray MacDonald, with the following cast: The dancers were played by the Pauline Grant Ballet. Critical reception. In "The Observer", Ivor Brown was of the opinion that Novello, "can with his tranquility stand up to all the bounding "Oklahomans" and "Brigadoon"ers in the world"; and in "The Sunday Times", Harold Hobson considered it "a better musical than "South Pacific"." Adaptations. The 1955 British  film version was directed by Herbert Wilcox, and starred Errol Flynn in Novello's role, and Anna Neagle as his mistress. A television version of the play was broadcast in 1957 by the BBC, who (according to the "Radio Times") "ingeniously cut the three and a quarter hours of the original action to an hour and a half." Vanessa Lee reprised her role of Princess Cristiane from the original stage production, and Griffith Jones played Novello's role of Nikki, with Margot Grahame as his mistress.