Scarlett

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Exploring "Scarlett" on the West End

"Scarlett" is a musical that made its mark on London’s West End under the revised title Gone with the Wind, premiering at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on April 18, 1972, and running until September 2, 1972, for 141 performances. Originally a 1970 Tokyo production with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a Japanese book by Kazuo Kikuta, it was adapted for the West End by Horton Foote. Directed by Joe Layton and produced by Harold Fielding, this ambitious staging of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind starred June Ritchie as Scarlett O’Hara and Harve Presnell as Rhett Butler, tracing their turbulent romance through the American Civil War and Reconstruction with a lush, operatic score.

A Southern Saga Unfolds

The musical follows Scarlett O’Hara, a headstrong Southern belle, as she navigates love and loss in pre-war Georgia. Smitten with Ashley Wilkes, who marries Melanie Hamilton, Scarlett weds Charles Hamilton out of spite, only to be widowed when war breaks out. Enter Rhett Butler, a dashing blockade runner whose fiery chemistry with Scarlett ignites a passionate yet stormy relationship. As Atlanta burns and the South crumbles, Scarlett’s resilience shines marrying twice more for survival until Rhett’s departure leaves her vowing to reclaim him, a cliffhanger echoing the novel’s enduring ambiguity.

A Transatlantic Transformation

Harold Rome’s score, originally crafted for Tokyo’s epic two-part, eight-hour production, was paired with Foote’s English adaptation, trimming the runtime to nearly four hours still lengthy for Western tastes. Joe Layton, fresh from choreographing the Japanese premiere, directed with flair, while Fielding aimed for grandeur. The cast, including Patricia Michael as Melanie and Robert Swann as Ashley, brought Mitchell’s characters to life, though critics found Foote’s book relied heavily on audience familiarity with the novel, leaving some plot points sketchy. Despite revisions, its West End run couldn’t match the source material’s fame.

The Theatre Royal Triumph and Trial

Opening at the storied Theatre Royal Drury Lane, "Scarlett" retitled Gone with the Wind drew praise for Ritchie’s spirited Scarlett and Layton’s inventive staging, like a swirling ballroom waltz symbolizing the South’s collapse. Yet reviews were mixed: The Times admired the spectacle but noted a “second-hand” feel, and its length tested patience. Fielding’s Broadway dreams for April 1974 fizzled after a poorly received 1973 U.S. tour in Los Angeles and San Francisco, starring Lesley Ann Warren and Pernell Roberts, leaving the West End as its English-language pinnacle.

Melodies of a Bygone Era

Rome’s score blends operatic sweep with musical theatre flair: “Two of a Kind” captures Scarlett and Rhett’s sparring, “Blissful Christmas” sets a tender pre-war tone, and “Bazaar Hymn” reflects wartime grit. Numbers like “Bonnie Gone” mourn loss, while “Scarlett” herself belts defiance. Though not chart-toppers, these songs performed with a full orchestra evoke the Old South’s romance and ruin. No West End recording survives, but the Tokyo original and U.S. tour snippets hint at its ambitious sound, a lush backdrop to the drama.

A Fleeting Southern Star

After its 1972 West End bow, Gone with the Wind saw a brief 1976 U.S. revival in Dallas and beyond, directed by Lucia Victor, but never hit Broadway as Fielding hoped. Its Tokyo origins two six-month runs outshone its Western life, where critical pans and runtime woes dimmed its glow. Still, it remains a curiosity: a bold attempt to musicalize a literary titan, bridging cultures with Rome’s melodies. Later adaptations, like a 2008 London fringe show by Margaret Martin, took different paths, but this version holds a singular place in Theatreland’s history.

Why "Scarlett" Lingers

"Scarlett," as Gone with the Wind, captivates with its grand sweep and flawed ambition a Southern epic that dared to sing. Its West End run was a fleeting affair, yet it offered a spectacle of love and war that mirrored its heroine’s tenacity. For audiences, it was a chance to see a classic reborn in song, even if imperfectly. Today, it’s a testament to theatre’s reach across borders and time, a melody of magnolias that, like Scarlett herself, refuses to fade entirely from memory.