The Blue House

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Libretto by Austen Hurgon 

Premiere:  Hippodrome, London, October 28, 1912 

A young aristocrat, The Hon. Chippendale St. Arch, owns The Blue House, a laundry in London’s Bond Street. For the most part, the work of the establishment is left in the hands of the manageress, Miss Toody. When she fails to show up for work one day, St. Arch himself takes over, but quickly demonstrates to the workers that he knows more about horses than about running a cleaning business. He is at the receiving end of a sentimental plea by the doorman for an increase in salary so that he can marry the cashier, Miss Smith. Although he is constantly given business tips by his military friend Major Claude E. Starkey, he has no interest in responding to an inquiry about a lost stocking and shirt, but instead focuses his attention on an attractive customer: Cornelia van Huyt, an American actress who has come to the shop with a complaint about her lingerie. She agrees to temporarily take over as the boss, but things quickly go from bad to worse (to eventually better) when the engine-room staff, at the command of their union, lay down their tools.