The Crooked Mile (musical) explained

The Crooked Mile is an avant-garde musical set in Soho, London with music by Peter Greenwell to book and lyrics by Peter Wildeblood.^[1] It was based on Wildeblood's 1958 novel, West End People. The play premiered at the Cambridge Theatre, London, in 1959, directed by Kenneth Alwyn and starring Millicent Martin and Elisabeth Welch. The music was orchestrated by Gordon Langford.

The show ran for 164 performances, closing prematurely on 30 January 1960, despite continuing mainly positive reviews.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The music

The cast recording was made in August 1959 and released on Top Rank UK JKP 2035 1959 EP^[5]

1. Crooked Mile
2. Someone Else's Baby
3. If I Ever Fall In Love Again
4. Lollybye
5. Down To Earth
6. Meet The Family
7. Luigi

• Sarah Brightman revived "If I Ever Fall in Love Again" on The Songs That Got Away.

Notes and References

1. Mel Atkey A Million Miles from Broadway 2013 0991695704 p.119 "The Crooked Mile (1959) with book and lyrics by Peter Wildeblood and music by sometime Noël Coward accompanist Peter Greenwell depicted Soho's gangs and prostitutes, albeit sweetened with sentimentality. Its score included the ballad ..."
2. Stephen Bourne Elisabeth Welch: Soft Lights and Sweet Music p.71 "After 164 performances, The Crooked Mile closed prematurely on January 30, 1960, in spite of enthusiastic reviews. ... In the programme, Seckerson, who described the show as a "musical masterpiece," interviewed Peter Greenwell, who ..."
3. Adrian Wright A Tanner's Worth of Tune: Rediscovering the Post-war ... 2010 1843835428 p.151 "A fury of discords by Peter Greenwell thrusts us into The Crooked Mile of Soho, a new 'musical' in which rival gangs present a pattern which threatens to become hackneyed. Many of Peter Wildeblood's characters have likeable human traits "
4. Adrian Wright West End Broadway: The Golden Age of the American Musical 2012 1843837919 "Peter Greenwell and Peter Wildeblood's successor to The Crooked Mile, House of Cards, was hustled quickly into the West End and speedily ejected."
5. Billboard - 4 July. 1960 p.15 "... Crooked Mile," which will debut on the German stage in August. Walter Brandin, well-known lyric ... Recently Top Rank released an EP with the most important pieces of the musical conducted by Peter Greenwell. "