The Forty Thieves

Considered one of the best Gaiety Theatre musical burlesques, Robert Reece's "The Forty Thieves" merged the popular appeal of the music hall with the sophistication of the Savory operettas into a new form of musical comedy. With this libretto, Reece expanded the musical entertainment into three acts, and with its unified score by Meyer Lutz and its coherent plot, "Forty Thieves" paved the way for musical comedy. Robert Reece was a highly successful librettist of the Victorian stage and is considered one of the forefathers of musical theatre. His adaptation of Les Cloches de Corneville was the longest running musical up to that time. He was produced by London's leading theaters including the Olympic Theatre, Strand Theatre and the Gaiety.