Billee Taylor

Billee Taylor, or The Reward of Virtue is "a nautical comedy opera" by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens.

The piece was first produced at the Imperial Theatre in London on 30 October 1880, starring Arthur Williams as Sir Mincing Lane and Frederick Rivers as Billee. It played at the Standard Theatre in New York later that year, starring J. H. Ryley and Alice Burville. Billee Taylor was a strong success on both sides of the Atlantic and enjoyed many revivals both in Britain and in the United States. Early revivals included The Gaiety Theatre, London (1885, with Marion Hood as Phoebe and Arthur Roberts as Barnacle) and Toole's Theatre (1886).

The satiric, cynical risqué story is based on the nautical poem and song of the same title by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who is best known for "A School for Scandal." Strangely, a version of this adult-themed story was created for children and published in 1881.

The scene is laid in Southampton, England, in 1805.

The villagers gather at The Inn of the Royal George, which overlooks the harbor, to celebrate the approaching wedding of Billee Taylor, "a virtuous gardener," and the charming, beautiful and faithful, but poor, Phoebe. Kindly old Sir Mincing Lane has arranged the feast and has invited his friend, Captain Flapper of the Royal Navy. His daughter, Arabella, has fallen in love with Billee and offers her hand and fortune, but he refuses the tempting offer. Just as Billee and Phoebe are about to wed, Captain Flapper sees Phoebe and falls in love with her at first sight, vowing to marry her himself. A tutor, Christopher Crab is also in love with Phoebe. A sailor, Ben Barnacle, has gone to sea to forget about Eliza, whom he loves but who does not love him. To stop the marriage, Captain Flapper orders Ben to abduct Billee and impress him as a seaman, which he does. Phoebe and her classmates at the charity school all decide to disguise themselves as men and join the Navy.

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