The Cingalee

About the show

The Cingalee or Sunny Ceylon is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner, with music by Lionel Monckton, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and additional material by Paul Rubens. The story is set in the Edwardian era in the then-tranquil island of Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) and follows the story of British colonial tea planters (one of the most popular songs in the score is called "Tea, tea, tea"). The piece opened at Daly's Theatre in London, managed by George Edwardes, on 5 March 1904 and ran until 11 March 1905 for a total of 365 performances. The musical had a short Broadway run, opening at Daly's Theatre in New York on 24 October 1904, and running for 33 performances. A production in Sydney, Australia, in May 1905 by J C Williamson's Royal Comic Opera Company, opened on 6 May, starring Margaret Thomas as Nanoya.