The first play at the theatre was a musical called "The Beauty of Bath" by Hicks and Cosmo Hamilton. "My Darling", another Hicks musical, followed in 1907, followed by the original London production of "Brewster's Millions", and the next year, the long-running London premiere production of the Straus operetta, "A Waltz Dream" . An astonishing event occurred midway through the run of the theatre's next major work, a musical titled "The Dashing Little Duke" (1909), which was produced by Hicks. Hicks' wife, Ellaline Terriss, played the title role (a woman playing a man). When she missed several performances due to illness, Hicks stepped into the role – possibly the only case in the history of musical theatre where a husband succeeded to his wife's role.