"Babes in the Wood" was a triumph: the theatre reported record attendance, and the run was extended until 27 April 1889. Leno considerably reduced his music-hall engagements as a consequence. Nevertheless, between April and October 1889, Leno appeared simultaneously at the Empire Theatre and the Oxford Music Hall, performing his one-man show. By this time, Leno was much in demand and had bookings for the next three years. On 9 May 1889 he starred for George P. Hawtrey in a matinee of "Penelope", a musical version of a famous farce "The Area Belle", to benefit the Holborn Lodge for Shop Girls. In this benefit, he played the role of Pitcher opposite the seasoned Gilbert and Sullivan performer Rutland Barrington. "The Times" considered that his performance treated the piece "too much in the manner of pantomime". During Leno's long association with the Drury Lane pantomimes, he appeared chiefly as the dame. After Harris died in 1896, Arthur Collins became the manager of the theatre and oversaw (and often helped to write) the pantomimes.