Imagine the Duchess’ Feelings

This chapter looks at the work of Noël Coward, and presents a list of his musicals. Perusing the list, we can note that Bitter Sweet (1929) is the only classic. This is so more for its superb score than its functional book, which was full of snobby folk fussing over etiquette. The elements that are most memorable about Coward's musicals, are the songs, especially the witty lyrics. This chapter argues that no one in the world of the West End theatre besides W. S. Gilbert rivals Coward for his lyrics. Ironically, there is little wit in the scripts of Coward's musicals, the wit is to be found only in the lyrics and some of the revue sketches. Coward's revue songs emphasize his musical-comedy side, while his story shows tilt toward operetta in whole or part. This irony could be a result of Coward's musical illiteracy: he composed but could not write anything down. For most of his career, he used hired secretaries to help organize the music.