By Playbill Staff
Cedric Moncrieffe (Gregg Edelman)
Although his performing career started with smaller roles such as the page in Charles XII, the page in A Woman Never Vext and the page in Oberon or the Elf-King's Oath, his first great theatrical success came as the title character in The Little Match Seller. The Times of London wrote of a young Cedric Moncrieffe, "This young actor displays 2 of the 3 necessary assets for a long career in the theatre: He has great legs and he can die numerous times in a single scene without boring the audience."
Since that early effort, with his sweet singing voice, long legs, and lovely hands, Cedric has been called upon numerous times to assay the more feminine roles for his beloved Music Hall Royale delivering over and over again such classic tunes as "She's a Lassie From Lancashire," "Down At The Old Bull and Bush" and "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy." His efforts were culminated in his much-beloved and often-reprised performance of Little Bo Peep.
20 Dec 2012
Gregg Edelman as Cedric Moncrieffe
Photo by Kevin Thomas Garcia
For the last 62 years, ever since his father, Sebastian Moncrieffe and his mother, Adele Wintersmythe, met performing a duet version of "Stop Your Tickling Jock," there has been a Montcrieffe in the acting company of the Music Hall Royale. Cedric, always known for his superb timing, first displayed this skill when he was born during the intermission between the 6th and 7th acts of an all-day performance of The Crusades — A Musicale. Theatrical lore has it that the newborn was wrapped up in a copy of an unfavorable review of the company's efforts and brought out onstage at the end of the performance, where Cedric promptly produced a rather wet response on the reviewers work. He was an instant hit.
