Neil Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 Don't know that Lucy and Gwen ever crossed paths, but a couple years before "Wildcat", Gwen did a show called "Redhead". I don't know much about it but by the title alone it would have seemed a natural choice for the Broadway musical vehicle Lucy was seeking. . "Redhead" won the tony as Best Musical in a very off year with little competition. "Gypsy" missed qualifying for this season's Tony Awards by a hair and it's too bad because it would have cleaned up (instead of losing to "Sound of Music" which tied with "Fiorello"-Merman lost to Mary Martin). No memorable songs came from the "Redhead" score. And though "Wildcat" was, by most accounts, not a great show, I'm glad she did that instead of "Redhead" or the other show she considered "Unsinkable Molly Brown". Gwen was Broadway's darling of the 1950s, winning 4 Tonys, then triumphed again in the 60s ("Sweet Charity") and once again in the 70s (the original "Chicago".), getting Tony nominations for both. She never made much of a mark outside of Broadway, but at least got to recreate her stage role in the movie version of "Damn Yankees". I'm only posting this because of a quote I read that was so simple and accurate (the best kind) I wanted to pass it along: "Gwen Verdon's singing has the sound of a little girl who smoked too many cigarettes." Some of you might remember her from a couple of MASH appearances as Harry Morgan's love interest. Or as one of the "old timers" in "Cocoon" though much younger than the other oldsters: Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy and jack Gilford. And just one more note about the original "Chicago" from 1975. Although a hit with a healthy run, the critical reaction wasn't uniformly positive. Nor was the peer-less score appreciated. It was over-shadowed by the ground-breaking "A Chorus Line" the same year. Both Gwen and Chita Rivera lost the Best LEAD Musical Actress award to Donna McKecknie, who's on-stage time as the main focus was minimal---which takes nothing away from her talent the the effectiveness of her scenes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 Great post! Lucy was indeed offered Redhead, however it was three years before the show actually opened. Lucy was approached in 1956 just as season five of I Love Lucy was wrapped up. At that time the show was titled The Works (as in "wax works" since the show was set in a wax museum). Bea Lillie was first choice, but she had demands that couldn't be met. Then Lucy was approached. Gwen came after that and I think there were some major rewrites to tailor the material to Gwen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upperco Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 REDHEAD has a surprisingly delightful score, and Verdon is sublime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mot Morenzi Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 I can't say I've ever heard of the show. Are there any recordings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upperco Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Yes. The original cast album. This is not my link, but you should be able to download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/1ogimv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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