Percy Greenbank

Percy Greenbank (24 January 1878 – 9 December 1968) was an English lyricist and librettist whose Broadway credits include The Cingalee, Arms and the Girl, The Moon Is Blue, The Belle of Brittany, and The Girl from Utah. Born in London to Richard and Mary Greenbank, he was the younger brother of dramatist Harry Greenbank, whose career in the 1890s ended with his death at age 33. Percy had studied law before turning to journalism, contributing to publications including Punch, The Sketch, and The Tatler, and eventually to the theatre.

Following Harry's death, producer George Edwardes invited the younger Greenbank to collaborate with Adrian Ross on the lyrics for The Messenger Boy. Edwardes also had two of Greenbank's lyrics — "Somebody" and "All I Want is a Little Bit of Fun" — interpolated into a revised version of San Toy. These early assignments established working relationships with composers Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton, lyricist Adrian Ross, and plot deviser James T. Tanner.

For the next fourteen years of the Edwardes era, Greenbank contributed lyrics — sometimes extensively, sometimes sparingly — to productions at the Gaiety Theatre, Daly's Theatre, and the Adelphi Theatre in London. Among the shows from this period were The Toreador (1901), A Country Girl (1902), The Orchid (1903), The Earl and the Girl (1903), Lady Madcap (1904), Véronique (1904), The Cingalee (1904), The Little Michus (1905), The Spring Chicken (1905), The Girl Behind the Counter (1906), The New Aladdin (1906), The Three Kisses (1907), Our Miss Gibbs (1909), The Quaker Girl (1910), The Dancing Mistress (1912), and The Girl from Utah (1913). Alongside his work for Edwardes, Greenbank also contributed to productions at other theatres, including Three Little Maids (1902), My Lady Molly (1902), The Blue Moon (1905), See-See (1906), The Belle of Brittany (1908), A Persian Princess (1909), The Mousmé (1911), Princess Caprice (1912), and To-Night's the Night, which opened in New York in 1914.

After Edwardes died in 1915, Greenbank continued supplying lyrics and occasional libretti to the musical stage for roughly another decade. His work during this period included Houp La! (1916) and the hit musical The Boy (1917), as well as limited forays into revue with Half Past Eight and Vanity Fair. His final significant West End contribution was an adaptation from the German that became the book for the Jean Gilbert and Vernon Duke musical Yvonne. Through the 1920s he took on occasional work as a play doctor, including El Dorado, and as an adapter. In 1931 he collaborated with Percy J. Barrow to modernize San Toy for a revival, after which he moved into a lengthy retirement.

Greenbank died in Rickmansworth, northwest of London, on 9 December 1968 at the age of 90. Because of his longevity, the Edwardian musical comedies to which he contributed remain under copyright protection in the United Kingdom until 2039.