Redhead

Redhead
Logo
Music	Albert Hague
Lyrics	Dorothy Fields
Book	Dorothy Fields Herbert Fields Sidney Sheldon David Shaw
Productions	1959 Broadway
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical

Redhead is a Broadway musical set in London in the 1880s, around the time of Jack the Ripper. It is a murder mystery in the setting of a waxworks museum. The music was composed by Albert Hague and the lyrics by Dorothy Fields, who with her brother, Herbert, along with Sidney Sheldon and David Shaw wrote the book/libretto.

Production

Redhead opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (then the 46th Street Theatre) on February 5, 1959, and closed on March 19, 1960, after 452 performances. The production was notable in that it marked the first musical directed by Bob Fosse, who was also the choreographer.

Original Broadway Cast

• Essie Whimple - Gwen Verdon
• Tom Baxter - Richard Kiley
• Ruth LaRue - Pat Ferrier
• Howard Cavanaugh - William LeMassena
• Maude Simpson - Cynthia Latham
• Sarah Simpson - Doris Rich
• George Poppett - Leonard Stone
• Inspector White - Ralph Sumpter
• May - Joy Nichols
• Tilly - Pat Perrier
• Alfy - Lee Krirger
• Sir Charles Willingham - Patrick Horgan

Songs

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award for Best Musical - (WINNER)
• Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Richard Kiley (WINNER)
• Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical - Gwen Verdon (WINNER)
• Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Leonard Stone (nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Costume Design - Production Designed by Rouben Ter-Arutunian (WINNER)
• Tony Award for Best Choreography - Bob Fosse (WINNER)
• Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director - Jay Blackton (nominee)

References

• Internet Broadway Database listing
• PBS article
• MTI shows synopsis
• Guinness Who's Who of Stage Musicals - editor Colin Larken ISBN 0-85112-756-8