One-man show telling story of much-loved entertainer to launch New York run

Lauder - which was adapted by Scottish Opera in 2017 from an original script by iconic comedian, actor and impresario Jimmy Logan, who toured his own production for almost 30 years tells the story of legendary entertainer Sir Harry Lauder.

Scottish tenor Jamie MacDougall, who is to perform the show at New York’s 59E59 theatre for a three week run from next month, said he went to see the Jimmy Logan version of the “play with tunes” as a young child at Glasgow’s King’s Theatre with his family.

The Scottish Opera version is shorter, without an interval, cutting the story back to finish at the point where Sir Harry becomes the first “knight of the music hall”.

“It makes it punchier and I think it holds together really well like that,” he said. “This show was something I’ve always wanted to do and I was very happy when Scottish Opera came on board and co-produced it.

He added: “I’m very excited. This will be the first time I’ve treaded the boards in New York.”

Harry Lauder, from Portobello, near Edinburgh, became the highest-paid performer in the world by 1911. An international star of music hall and vaudeville, he was also the first UK artist to sell over a million recordings.

The show has been renamed Lauder: Scotland's Kilted King of Broadway for an American audience.

“We just had to jazz up the title a bit to give it a little bit more of a flavour because not many people over there will know Harry Lauder at all,” Mr MacDougall said. “It’s a story which connects on so many levels with so many people, whether you know Lauder or you don’t, there is something human about this story, what happened in his life and what he achieved.”

The show, billed as an exploration into the public and private personas of Sir Harry, Lauder was originally presented by Scottish Opera in 2017 as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Theatre Royal Glasgow.

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Sir Harry premiered his classic song I Love a Lassie on stage at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal in 1905 when he appeared in his first pantomime, Aladdin, and in Red Riding Hood in 1910 he performed Roamin’ in the Gloamin. Featuring these well-known songs and other favourites, Lauder includes news footage of Sir Harry’s funeral and film reel from the trenches, where he entertained the troops, but where his son also died at the Battle of the Somme in 1917.

Mr MacDougall, who has starred in Scottish Opera productions including Il trittico, Marx in London! and the double-bill of Trial by Jury and A Matter of Misconduct!, conducted a short tour of the show last year to mark Sir Harry’s 155th birthday, performing at Hoxton Music Hall, Buxton International Festival and Portobello’s Town Hall.

The New York run is part of the Brits Off Broadway festival, which features eight productions spanning genres from new musicals and solo storytelling to classic literary adaptations and contemporary dramas.

Val Day, artistic director of 59E59 Theaters, said: “Every production in Brits Off Broadway reflects the curiosity and creative risk-taking that defines independent UK theatre. We are proud to provide a space where artists can collaborate and present work that challenges, entertains and inspires.”

Mr MacDougall is also to perform a one-off show of Lauder at Pitlochry Festival Theatre later this year.