The Crooked Mile

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The Crooked Mile: A Soho Musical Experiment on the West End

The Crooked Mile, an avant-garde musical with music by Peter Greenwell, book and lyrics by Peter Wildeblood, premiered at London’s Cambridge Theatre in the West End on September 10, 1959. Directed by Kenneth Alwyn and produced by Players’ Ventures, it ran for 164 performances, closing on January 30, 1960. Based on Wildeblood’s 1958 novel *West End People*, this Soho-set tale starred Millicent Martin as Cora and Elisabeth Welch as Sweet Ginger, blending a gritty underworld with a melodic score. Hailed as a daring shift for British musicals, its jazz-infused sound and sharp narrative earned critical nods though its short run reflected a public not fully ready for its bold edge. A 1959 cast recording keeps its legacy alive, a quirky footnote in West End history.

Origins and West End Arrival

Commissioned by Players’ Ventures after *The Boy Friend*’s success, *The Crooked Mile* teamed Greenwell known for *Twenty Minutes South* with Wildeblood, a journalist fresh from a notorious trial that spurred gay law reform. Its journey began with tryouts at Manchester’s Opera House and Liverpool Empire in August 1959, refining its Soho grit before hitting the Cambridge Theatre. Orchestrated by Gordon Langford, it arrived post-*West Side Story*’s London debut, drawing comparisons for its raw energy. Starring Jack MacGowran as Jug Ears alongside Martin and Welch, its West End bow promised a new British musical voice yet its avant-garde leanings and Wildeblood’s polarizing name may have curbed its broader appeal.

The Plot: Soho’s Crooked Path

In a seedy Soho ironmongery, Jug Ears Jones and his gang mourn Gorganzola Joe, learning he left an orphan, Luigi, in Naples. Sweet Ginger, Jug’s long-time love, aims to adopt Luigi, needing an honest husband despite Jug’s criminal past. Cora, a streetwalker with a horticulture obsession, hoards gardening tools at Ginger’s shop, dreaming of retirement. Rival gang leader The Carver bombs the store, sparking Cora’s strike with fellow street-girls over gang warfare’s toll. Jug’s lottery flops, but his barrel-organ gig at a debutantes’ ball turns a profit. Luigi arrives not a child, but an Italian cop prompting Jug to ditch crime for virtue. It’s a quirky tale of redemption and resilience, set to an offbeat beat.

Standout Performances and Staging

Millicent Martin’s Cora dazzled with sly charm, her “Horticulture” a wry standout, while Elisabeth Welch’s Sweet Ginger brought soulful depth to “If I Ever Fall in Love Again” later revived by Sarah Brightman. Jack MacGowran’s Jug Ears mixed humor with pathos, anchoring the gangland vibe. Alwyn’s direction, with Reginald Woolley’s stark Soho sets, leaned into realism, a nod from Paris’s Comédie-Française via Jean Meyer’s pacing. The seven-piece band, led by Langford’s jazzy orchestrations, pulsed with Threepenny Opera-esque daring. Critics praised its “visual effect” (*Overtures*), though its intimate Cambridge staging favoring character over spectacle kept it a niche delight, not a mass draw.

Musical Score and Reception

Greenwell’s score stunned with its overture akin to *Anyone Can Whistle*’s jolt mixing jazz, musical hall, and daring dissonance in “The Crooked Mile” and “Strike!” Wildeblood’s lyrics, from “Spare a Penny” to “Other People’s Sins,” wove clever rhymes with Soho’s seamy pulse. *The Times* lauded its “beautifully melodic” shift from British whimsy, though *Playbill* noted its alien feel to American ears. “If I Ever Fall in Love Again” emerged as a gem, but the 164-performance run disappointed hopes of a *West Side Story*-like breakthrough. The 1959 Top Rank EP and later CD reissues reveal a score too bold for its time, a critical darling that didn’t catch fire commercially.

Legacy Beyond the West End

After its premature close, *The Crooked Mile* faded from major stages, its Soho grit out of step with 60s trends favoring *Oliver!*’s polish. A 2003 Must Close Saturday CD, with Greenwell’s piano medley, revived interest, spotlighting its obscurity absent even from Kurt Ganzl’s musical encyclopedia. Its cast album endures, a cult artifact for fans of British theatre’s edgier turns. No Broadway bid or major revival followed, but its influence echoes in later subculture musicals like *Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be*. By 2019, *Overtures* marked its 60th anniversary, hailing a score that “laid hidden” too long a West End experiment ahead of its audience, yet ripe for rediscovery.

Why The Crooked Mile Endures

*The Crooked Mile* lingers for its fearless plunge into Soho’s underbelly, a musical that dared to ditch Julian Slade’s nostalgia for raw, rhythmic bite. Greenwell’s innovative sound and Wildeblood’s outsider lens penned post-prison craft a Soho fable that’s both alien and alluring. Its West End run, though brief, signaled a British theatre itching to evolve, even if audiences lagged. Martin and Welch’s star turns, paired with a score that swings from tender to brash, keep it a hidden gem. In a Theatreland of safe bets, its crooked path unpolished, unapologetic offers a rare jolt, a reminder that flops can still sing truths worth hearing.