Backwards in High Heels Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide

BIOGRAPHY
on the Orpheum circuit, “Ginger and the Redheads,” was so popular that she stayed on
tour for another four years. During this time, she met her fi rst husband, circuit dancer Jack
Culpepper; the marriage was brief, only lasting from 1929-1931.
On tour, Rogers appeared in St. Louis with the Skouras Brothers and in Chicago’s
Oriental Theatre with Paul Ash before settling in New York to pursue her dreams of
Broadway. In 1929, her fi rst musical, Top Speed, played for a promising 20-week run,
getting her noticed by executives at Paramount. She had previously appeared in several
short fi lms, but Paramount provided her fi rst opportunity to appear in a full-length fi lm
with Young Man of Manhattan. Next, she starred with Ethel Merman on Broadway in
George and Ira Gershwin’s Girl Crazy
(one of the choreographers for this show
was an up-and-coming Fred Astaire).
The show was an overnight sensation,
and Ginger Rogers became a star.
Following her success with Girl Crazy
she made a large number of fi lms in a
short period of time, including The Sap
from Syracuse and Follow the Leader,
both in 1930; Honor Among Lovers in
1931; and The Tenderfoot and Hat Check
Anna Aimee White who plays
Girl in 1932. In 1933, she played Anytime
Ginger Rogers in ATC’s production
Annie in 42nd Street, solidifying her status
as an icon of the screen. She also sang
“We’re in the Money” and “Sitting Pretty” in Gold Diggers of 1933. By the time she
made her fi rst appearance with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio (1933), Rogers
had nineteen fi lms to her name.
The Rogers-Astaire combination lit up the screen and kept audiences cheering. Though
Rogers had never had any classical dance training, she found her own expressive style
that Americans embraced. She and Astaire starred together in nine additional musicals,
becoming a lasting symbol of elegance in American fi lm. Rogers eventually decided to
end her career with Astaire and try for serious acting roles. The decision ultimately paid
off; her dramatic role in the non-musical Kitty Foyle earned her the Academy Award for
Best Actress in 1941.
Throughout the rest of her life, Rogers continued her career in fi lm and theatre, though
she was never able to recapture the magic of her early career. Her starring role in Hello,
Dolly! helped revamp the show for a second Broadway run in 1965. In 1985, she
directed the movie Babes in Arms. She also appeared on TV and radio shows across
the country. Rogers was married fi ve times; all of her marriages ended in divorce. In
addition to Jack Culpepper, her husbands included star of All Quiet on the Western
Front Lew Ayres, comedian Jack Briggs, French lawyer and actor Jacques Bergerac and
Backwards in High Heels
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 5