Grab Me a Gondola may possibly be the most amusing title ever created for a Musical! Although instantly recognisable in Musical Theatre circles, this hugely successful international 1950s British Musical Comedy by James Gilbert and Julian More has all but been forgotten, until an acclaimed revival in 2025 by the Guildford School of Acting.

Stewart Nicholls, Associate Professor and Programme Leader of the Ba (Hons) Musical Theatre Course at Guildford School of Acting/University of Surrey comments:

"The original 1956 London cast recording is a complete delight, but due to restrictions of a long-playing vinyl disc, several songs were severely truncated and others remaining unrecorded, so we are thrilled and are proud to have recorded the complete score of Grab Me a Gondola with the 'Musical Theatre Stars of Tomorrow' from our BA Musical Theatre course. We are delighted to collaborate with Stage Door Records to release this disc and bring back this delightful British Musical to an international platform".

This professionally recorded cast album preserves the complete score of Grab Me a Gondola:

• Premiere recordings of 2 songs, 4 reprises, Finale, Bows and a Ballet

• 5 songs previously recorded in truncated form now recorded in their entirety

• Extensive sleeve notes and synopsis

• Multiple production photographs

The BA (Hons) Musical Theatre course at Guildford School of Acting is situated on the campus of University of Surrey and is arguably the leading Musical Theatre school in the world. Following its production of Grab Me a Gondola, the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre course collaborated with University of Surrey's world-famous Tonmeisterr BSc/BMus course to record and preserve the complete score of the Musical. The recording was made possible by generous donations from: ATG Productions and University of Surrey internal Arts and Humanities Impact Acceleration Account & Teaching and Learning Funds.

 
GRAB ME A GONDOLA
2025 CAST RECORDING

1 OVERTURE Grab Me A Gondola Band and Ensemble
2 GRAB ME A GONDOLA Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble 
3 MY BIOGRAPHY Bibi Simpson and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
4 MY BIOGRAPHY - REPRISE Bibi Simpson, Joe Manzi, Paulo Infante and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
5 PLAIN IN LOVE Olly Adams and Beth O'Donnell
6 THE MOTOR CAR IS TREACHEROUS Olly Adams, Beth O'Donnell and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
7 CRAVIN' FOR THE AVON Bibi Simpson and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
8 BID HIM A FOND GOODBYE Beth O'Donnell and Poppy Afolabi
9 LONELY IN A CROWD Paulo Infante and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
10 JIMMY'S BAR Joe Manzi, Harry Joshua Fox and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
11 MAN NOT A MOUSE Bibi Simpson, Olly Adams and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
12 STAR QUALITY Paulo Infante, Bibi Simpson and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
13 INTERMISSION MUSIC Grab Me A Gondola Band
14 CHIANTI Ewan Rutherford, Poppy Afolabi and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
15 NEW TO ME Beth O'Donnell and Paulo Infante
16 WHAT ARE THE FACTS? Olly Adams and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
17 SHOW PAGE BALLET Beth O'Donnell with Grab Me A Gondola Band
18 BID HER A FOND GOODBYE - REPRISE Olly Adams and Ewan Rutherford
19 RIG O' THE DAY Bibi Simpson, Joe Manzi, Harry Joshua Fox and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
20 THE WORST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME Bibi Simpson and Olly Adams
21 NEW TO ME - REPRISE Bibi Simpson
22 ROCKIN' AT THE CANNON BALL Geo Bailey, Lewis Stevenson and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
23 WHEN I FIND THAT GIRL Olly Adams
24 PLAIN IN LOVE - REPRISE Olly Adams and Beth O'Donnell
25 FINALE: CRAVIN' FOR THE AVON Bibi Simpson and Grab Me A Gondola Ensemble
26 BOWS Grab Me A Gondola Company
27 PLAYOUT Grab Me A Gondola Band

Recording Producer: Stewart Nicholls
Assistant Producer: Christopher Wiley
Engineered, Edited, Mixed and Mastered by Mark Hennessy

Production photos: Steve Gregson