THE GEISHA A Story of a Tea House, a Japanese Musical in 2 Acts by Owen Hall. Book by Owen Hall, Lyrics by Harry Greenbank, Music by Sidney Jones Daly's Theatre, Leicester Square, London - 25 April, 1896 (760 perfs) Daly's Theatre, Broadway - 9 September, 1896 (161 perfs) The story tells of the love of a naval officer and a geisha at a tea house. The lovers are parted at the end but not tragically. The Englishman weds an English girl and O Mimosa San weds an Oriental. STORY ACT I It is early morning at the Tea House of Ten Thousand Joys, an establishment run by the shifty little Chinaman, Wun-hi. Wun-hi hurries in to tell the geisha who staff the Tea House that business is approaching in the shape of a shipload of English naval officers, all far from home and clearly longing for a nice cup of tea, not to mention the company of a pretty Japanese maiden. Over the little Japanese bridge come Lieutenant Reggie Fairfax and his friends. Reggie has been here before and has come back expressly to spend some time with O Mimosa San, the lovely and talented head girl of the house, but the other sailors are delighted to disport themselves with the other geisha. The busy season for the Wun-hi establishment is clearly under way for, to the Chinaman's embarrassment, while Mimosa is entertaining Reggie, over the Japanese bridge comes the Marquis Imari, a pompous example of minor nobility, sheltered under the state umbrella carried by his minion, Takemine. Imari announces that he has applied to the Emperor for permission to marry Mimosa and Wun-hi, seeing the main attraction of his business being nationalised without compensation, is in despair. As he plots to save his livelihood, he finds an unexpected ally in his pretty French in-house interpreter, Juliette Diamant. Juliette would love to he a Japanese Marquise and she sets her cap determinedly at the Marquis who is susceptible enough to admit that, while he intends to wed Mimosa tomorrow, Juliette may walk half way home with him today... 'the other half 's engaged'. The next party to arrive is an English one led by Lady Constance Wynne, a society lady who has called into Japan whilst cruising the Orient with a party of suitable young ladies. Lady Constance sees Reggie and Mimosa together, and she finds it necessary to remind Reggie that he is engaged back home to be married to Miss Molly Seamore. But Reggie believes in spreading the great British way of life and as soon as Lady Constance is gone he begins to instruct the Japanese girl in the occidental custom of kissing with every evidence of enjoyment on both sides. No sooner has Reggie gone hack to his friends than a Japanese soldier emerges from the shadows. It is Mimosa's lover, Captain Katana, who is not at all happy about the requisites of her job and the attentions so dutifully lavished on so many strangers. She reminds him that his job is killing people—one is not obliged to enjoy one's work—and promises him that as soon as she is freed from her indentures they will be wed. Wun-hi shoos the interfering Captain away as the geisha prepare tea for their British guests but Imari, returning to make sure that his intended bride has been withdrawn from active service, is furious to find her consorting with the British navy. Neither the senior service nor the Japanese nobility is prepared to stand down in this conflict and Imari vents his rage by invoking a convenient by-law and commanding the whole Tea House to be disbanded and the girls' indentures sold off. The geisha are distraught but the sailors and the
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