“…Ayckbourn’s painfully precious lyrics—‘I know this night can’t be in vain/The stars hang in God’s daisy chain/And even Mr. Moon’s begun to snore…” (Michael Walsh, Andrew Lloyd Webber: His Life and Works)
Misleading quotation to support argument is a thing every critic is guilty of to some degree, myself included, but this may be the most blatant and egregious example of it I’ve ever encountered in a professional publication. What this out-of-context quote fails to mention is that these words are meant as a joke, intended to establish the character in question (Madeline Bassett) as a sentimental ninny. The answering line is in fact Bertie’s“Good grief! No more!” This is also exactly the way Madeline talks in Wodehouse’s original novels (and in fact the ‘God’s daisy chain’ quote is taken directly from a scene in Right Ho, Jeeves). Alan Ayckbourne lyrics to the Jeevesmusical do have a bit of a cutesy edge, but it’s nowhere near as pronounced as this quote makes it sound.
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