Cox and Box

Before Gilbert and Sullivan, there was Cox and Box. In 1866, young Arthur Sullivan, a rising classical composer, wrote this one-act parlour entertainment with FC Burnard, future editor of Punch. William Gilbert wrote a review: “Mr. Sullivan’s music was charming throughout.” Years later these two became the famous “G&S.”

Fast forward to 2003. Leon Cole and Jacqui Good, back east after years at CBC as RSVP host and cultural journalist, started doing musicals in Halifax and met the talented actors/singers Duncan Miller and Tony Marshall (whose day jobs were Rear Admiral in the navy and Director General for Citizenship and Immigration). Leon (musical director and accompanist) and Jacqui (stage director and actor) always wanted to put on the three-person Victorian gem that is Cox and Box. They recruited Duncan and Tony for the other two parts, and their wives, Ann Miller and Roz Marshall, for production, under the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Nova Scotia.

Since then, this Cox and Box, by three couples who are also good friends, has been a hit of the 2004 Atlantic Fringe Festival and has been performed in various venues in Nova Scotia and Ontario - usually as a fundraiser for local theatre and heritage societies.

Now it comes to PEI as a fundraiser for Beaconsfield Historic House, an ideal setting, on September 19, at 7:30 pm. Along with a singalong from HMS Pinafore led by Carl Mathis, and Victorian refreshments by Lady Baker’s Tea Trolley, the performance takes place in Beaconsfield’s Carriage House at the corner of West and Kent Streets in Charlottetown. Seating is limited and reservations can be made by calling Beaconsfield at 368-6603.