The Red Shoes (musical)
musical based on the 1948 film The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes is a musical with a book by Marsha Norman, lyrics by Norman and Bob Merrill (credited as Paul Stryker) and music by Jule Styne. Based on Powell and Pressburger's 1948 film, it tells the tale of a young ballerina who performs in an adaptation of the 1845 Hans Christian Andersen story.
History
Prior to the Broadway opening, the producer, Martin Starger, fired the original director, the male lead, featured performers, and the production manager. This resulted in a delay of the opening from December 2 to December 16. Starger, Styne and the eventual director, Stanley Donen, wanted the musical to essentially be a stage version of the 1948 film. However, the original director, Susan H. Schulman, Norman, choreographer Lar Lubovitch, and set designer Heidi Landesman felt that to follow the film closely would produce a "dull, dated show." Bob Merrill was brought in to assist in re-writing the lyrics. Norman had no desire to be credited for revised lyrics she didn't write, while Merrill felt the same way about the original lyrics he didn't write; the result was the show's lyrics were credited to Norman and the pseudonymous "Paul Stryker". The Broadway production, in 1993, was a failure, losing nearly $8 million.
Synopsis
In 1921-1922 the Russian Ballet Lermontov company performs in London, Paris and Monte Carlo. Victoria Page is a ballet dancer with the company, which is led by Boris Lermontov.
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