London Musicals 1965-1969.pub - Over The Footlights

OLIVER (1 st Revival)
London run: Piccadilly Theatre, April 26 th (331 Performances)
Music, Lyrics, Book: Lionel Bart
Director: David Phethean
Musical Director: Michael Moores
Producer: Donald Albery
1967
12
Cast: Barry Humphries (Fagin), Marti Webb (Nancy), Martin Dell (Bill Sykes), Paul Bartlet (Oliver),
Leslie Stone (Artful Dodger), Tom de Ville (Mr Bumble), Pamela Pitchford (Widow Corney),
Glyn Worsnip (Mr Sowerberry)
Notes: See New Theatre, June 1960 for original London production.
THE DESERT SONG (5 th Revival)
London run: Palace Theatre, May 13 th (383 Performances)
Music: Sigmund Romberg
Lyrics: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein, & Frank Mandel
Director: Joan Davis
Choreographer: Virginia Courtney
Musical Director:
Cast: John Hanson (Pierre Birabeau), Patricia Michael (Margot Bonvalet),
Tony Hughes (Bennie Kidd), Lita Scott (Azuri), Dermod Gloster (Sid el Kar),
Raymond du Parc ( Capt Paul Fontaine), Carol Dorée (Clementina),
Doreen Key (Susan)
Songs: The Desert Song, The Riff Song, Romance, One Alone, One Flower Grows
Alone in Your Garden, I Want a Kiss, It, The French Marching Song.
Story: In North Africa the French occupying forces are striving to capture the Red Shadow, who is the leader
of the Riffs, an outlaw band of Moroccan tribesmen. The famous renegade is in love with Margot, but she is
infatuated with Pierre Birabeau, the handsome son of the French Governor. Margot is captured by the
mysterious Red Shadow and eventually falls in love with him,
although she does not know his identity – his face is always hidden
from her. However, the Red Shadow is himself captured and
imprisoned by the governor's soldiers, and only then does Margot
discover the Red Shadow is really Pierre in disguise. All ends
happily.
Notes: The original London production had been at Drury Lane in
1927, and due to its enormous popularity it was revived in the West
End in 1931, 1936, 1939 and 1943. From the late 1950s onwards the
actor-singer John Hanson had headed a semi-permanent UK touring
company presenting “The Desert Song” and other popular operettas.
He had played the Red Shadow over 600 times before finally
bringing his company into the West End.
Photo by Dezo Hoffmann Ltd
It was inevitable that the critics would sneer at the “provincial”
scenery, costumes and production, and a fair bet that more than one
of them would go for “No Great Sheikhs” as a title for the review,
but John Hanson was enormously popular with the coach-party trade,
and he succeeded in filling the vast Palace Theatre for the best part of
a year.
John Hanson