World premiere of Powder and Paint coming to Devon

The world premiere of a musical which chronicles the life of Helena Rubinstein through two thousand of her letters and telegrams is to take place in Devon.

The carnage of the First World War, the emotional strains of a cheating husband, life in a world where women were not even allowed to vote, arch rivalry with Elizabeth Arden; it is all here, written by the hand of Helena, one of the founders of modern make-up.

The inspiration for ‘Powder and Paint’ came when the producer, James Bulmer, inherited, from his mother, a box full of correspondence between Helena and the manageress of her Mayfair salon, Rosa Bird.

It documents not only Helena’s own personal life – full of colour and emotion – but also the world around her, from just before the First World War to the time of the Great Depression. And it will be performed by Crediton’s amateur dramatic society from October 31 to November 3.

James Bulmer said: ‘It is the first time in history that there has been full correspondence; it is like a tennis match with letters from Helena to Rosa and from Rosa to Helena.

‘Helena wrote on anything. She would pick up a menu and write on the back of it. Sometimes it was legible, sometimes it was not. We even have recipes for her make-up; this correspondence is a timebomb of history.

‘It was a story just crying out to be turned in to a musical. And now that is what we have. This is popular, West End music which is light and catchy. These songs will become hits in their own right.’

The songs are a colourful mix, ranging from pastiche rag time to jazz and from Noel Coward to Cole Porter.
Rubinstein built an empire making women beautiful. She developed a world-wide beauty cosmetics business which dominated America, Australia, the United Kingdom and much of Europe. She established the business in 1899 after she borrowed £250 from a friend to set up her salon. She was a millionairess by 1907 and, in 1928, she sold the American side of her business for £7.5 million to the bankers, the Lehman Brothers. She bought it back two years later and in 1973 the whole company was sold to Colgate for $125 million. It was subsequently bought by L’Oreal in 1988, where it has remained as a highly successful international brand.

James originally wrote a film treatment but then, when he decided to turn the Rubinstein story in to a musical, he brought together a team to work on lyrics and music. Retired Brigadier, Ant Stevens, wrote the lyrics and the book of the musical, based on the film treatment. He is also director of the show. The majority of the music for Powder and Paint was composed by retired military Major General, Mike Heath.

Ant’s ambition throughout his working life was to write a musical when he retired, and he has managed to turn that in to a reality with Powder and Paint.

He said: ‘It has been a huge achievement. The real reward will be to see it on the stage and think ‘yes, I have done that’. It is a very topical story and it also has the glamour of a period piece. ‘

Mike said: ‘It is all really exciting. Before writing the music for Powder and Paint, I had only ever composed satirical songs for friends’ parties. But when I was asked to do this, I realised that I would never be given such an opportunity again, so I took it.

‘I do find it very easy to write music for lyrics. When my head is full of music, I start humming different melodies and keep thinking up new songs.’

Powder and Paint will be performed by CODS, Crediton’s amateur dramatic society, from October 31 until November 3. Most of the story-line is told through the songs, performed by a cast of 24, ranging in age from 13 to 60-plus. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.codsonline.com or www.powderandpaint-themusical.com

Picture caption: Helena Rubinstein and Edward Titus, as played by Cathie Poole and John Nash of Crediton’s amateur dramatics society.