 He had his first stage success with "Theodore & Co" in 1916, a production by George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward Laurillard with a score composed by Novello and the young Jerome Kern.In the same year, Novello contributed to André Charlot's revue "See-Saw".In 1917 he wrote for another Grossmith and Laurillard production, the operetta "Arlette", for which he contributed additional numbers to an existing French score by Jane Vieu and Guy le Feuvre.