As the treasures of Tutankhamen's burial tomb were revealed to the world in the early 1920s, stories and motifs harking back to the days of the Pharaoh King and ancient Egypt became the height of fashion. Given the public's fascination with King Tut's tomb, people soon realised that references to ancient Egypt made goods and services topical and exotic and more appealing to consumers.
For example, L. P. Leary, an Auckland lawyer who had written several musical revues, thought that a musical set in the age of the Pharaohs would be just the thing to intrigue and attract Aucklanders to the theatre.
Leary, encouraged by friends, began writing an Egyptian skit for the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society. Leary's skit was about an American, George Washington Blatant, and his English wife, Lady Veronica Blatant, who were transported back to the court of Tutankhamen. The 'skit' however, soon grew into a regal spectacle that was more that just a curtainraiser...
Eric Waters, a musician friend of Leary (and also a reluctant composer), was persuaded to write the music for the expanding piece.
Tutankhamen: A Lyrical Echo of Ancient Egypt, the result of Leary and waters' collaboration, was performed at His Majesty's Theatre by the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society in September 1923. Tutankhamen's cast included many well-known Auckland amateur performers. Mr Maurice Ballance, a bass of forceful delivery, played the Pharaoh to full and regal effect and, according to Leary, sang the 'Song of Tutankhamen' with authority.
H. T. Goldie, the Honorary Secretary of the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society, attended one performance of Tutankhamen and noted in his scrapbook of theatre memorabilia that it was the best amateur show put on by this company'. Reports in newspapers and magazines agreed that the standard of the production rivalled that of professional companies from overseas which dominated the local entertainment scene.
Photographs of performers featured in the press. Some reports also described the scenery and costumes at length. Some of the businesses that placed advertisements in the accompanying theatre programme took advantage of the musical's exotic subject matter and setting.
 After its success in 1923, Tutankhamen was staged again in January 1924, this time in order to raise funds for the Auckland War Memorial. The Governor-General and his wife attended one night during this season. The presence of the vice-regal couple and the production of an attractive, illustrated souvenir programme indicate that the revival was an important event in Auckland's cultural and social calendar.
Tutankhamen's third and final season was in September 1930. This run was less successful than earlier ones, perhaps because of either the depression or the growing competition that live entertainment was facing from the newly arrived talkies.
A fourth season of Tutankhamen - a fund-raiser for the Auckland Karitane Hospital - was discussed in the 1940s. However the idea was abandoned as the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society did not want to take on the financial burden of what was expected to be an expensive production. Seventy years have therefore passed since theatregoers and music lovers last had a chance to hear Leary and Waters' 'lyrical echo' of another time and place.
Further reading:
Peter Harcourt, Fantasy & Folly: The Lost World of New Zealand Musicals 1880-1940, Wellington 2002.
L. P. Leary, Not Entirely Legal, Christchurch 1977.
Auckland Amateur Operatic Society programmes from the NZ Ephemera Collection, the Freida Dickens Programme Collection and the Music Programme Collection.
T. H. Goldie (compiler), Scrapbooks of Theatre and Concert Programmes, 1911-1927, vol. 2.
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