Gone with the Wind | |
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![]() Poster for Original London production | |
Music | Margaret Martin |
Lyrics | Margaret Martin |
Book | Margaret Martin |
Basis | |
Productions | 2008 West End |
Gone with the Wind is a musical written by Margaret Martin. It was adapted by Trevor Nunn from Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel of the same name and its 1939 film adaptation.
The production began previews on 5 April 2008 and officially opened at the New London Theatre in London's West End on 22 April 2008. [1] The production was directed by Nunn and featured sets by John Napier and costumes by Andreane Neofitu. Darius Danesh and Jill Paice starred as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara respectively. [2] The show was produced by Aldo Scrofani, Colin Ingram, Gary McAvay and the Nederlander Producing Company. The production closed on 14 June 2008, after 79 performances.
This was not the first musical version of Gone with the Wind . A musical adaptation by Harold Rome played a year at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1972, starring June Ritchie as Scarlett, and featuring Bonnie Langford. [3] Margaret Martin, a newcomer to songwriting and playwriting, contacted the Stephen Mitchell Trust, sending tapes of songs and a draft script, and the Trust eventually agreed to give her the rights to make an adaptation of Gone with the Wind. [3] At about the same time, Martin learned that Nunn was extremely interested in American history, and she sent him the materials as well. They collaborated on revisions over the next couple of years, which resulted in a workshop production in London in 2004. [4] With the support of the Mitchell Trust and producer Aldo Scrofani of Columbia Artists Theatricals, plans began forming for the West End production. [5] Plans for the production were officially confirmed in 2007. [6]
Producer Scrofani said in interviews that their hope was that "this theatrical adaptation will cause our audiences to rediscover this timeless and rich story, while also providing each of them a meaningful and memorable experience".[ citation needed ] Nunn said that "having now worked on adapting two vast novels for the stage, Nicholas Nickleby and Les Misérables , I am drawn to the challenge of telling Margaret Mitchell's epic story through words, music and the imaginative resources of the theatre." [5]
After opening to poor reviews and criticism of the length of the show, the producers announced that the show would be cut from its original running time of 3½ hours, [7] and they reduced the running time to 3 hours 10 minutes including interval. Producer Scrofani announced that the production would close on 14 June 2008, after 79 performances, adding that "plans for a New York production are currently on hold." [8]
In 1861 Atlanta, Georgia, 16-year-old Scarlett is the eldest of three daughters living a life of luxury on their father's plantation, Tara. The slaves are working ("Born to be Free"), and Scarlett discovers that Ashley Wilkes, who she secretly loves, is to marry his cousin, Melly Hamilton. Scarlett's father returns home ("On Your Land"), and the family hold evening prayers ("Ellen's Prayer").
Scarlett dresses for the barbecue at the Wilkes' plantation. The guests arrive ("Gentle People"), and they speculate about dashing Rhett Butler's past. Scarlett flirts with every man to try to get Ashley's attention. Charles Hamilton, Melly's brother, falls in love with Scarlett, while the women pass judgement on her ("She's No Lady"). The men talk about the War, and Rhett states his opinion. Ashley finds Scarlett in the library. She tells him that she loves him, he replies that he cares for her ("Softly"), but is to be married. As Ashley leaves, Scarlett sees that Rhett has been in the library and has overheard, telling her she's "no lady" ("She's No Lady" (reprise)). Outside, Charles Hamilton tells her that war has been declared, and as she cannot have Ashley, she agrees to marry him. The men are excited at the prospect of War ("Come Join the Troop"). The couples marry, and both Charles and Ashley join the War. She receives news of Charles' death, and in due time, their son Wade is born. Scarlett is upset to be a widow with a baby, and her family send her to Atlanta to the home of Aunt Pittypat.
In Atlanta, Scarlett is introduced to the society ladies ("The Very Best People"). The Hamilton ladies are still in mourning for Charles, but they help at the bazaar to raise war funds. Rhett arrives ("I'm Your Man"), and Dr. Meade proposes an auction, with the men bidding to lead the dances with the lady of their choice. Rhett bids for Scarlett and scandalises society as he dances with her while she is still in mourning. Mr. O'Hara hears about the scandal and wants to bring Scarlett home, but Scarlett blackmails her father into letting her stay; she wishes that she could be "Scarlett O'Hara Again".
In 1863, Rhett brings news from the War and gives out the casualty lists; there are many men dead, and the women of the city lament ("Can This Be All?") Ashley comes home on leave, and Scarlett promises him that she'll look after Melly; he kisses her as he leaves. At Mrs. Elsing's home, Rhett questions the War, and Melly defends him as he has the same opinion as Ashley. Melly is pregnant, but news arrives that Ashley is missing.
The fighting closes in on Atlanta, but Melly cannot be moved in her condition, and Scarlett has to stay with her. Prissy says that she can help out with the birth. Rhett asks Scarlett to be his mistress ("I'm Your Man" (reprise)), but she refuses. Melly goes into labour, but the doctor is busy with wounded soldiers. Prissy knows nothing about childbirth, so Scarlett is left to deliver the baby herself. The Yankee army is very near, so Prissy finds Rhett, and they all flee the burning city. Outside Atlanta, stung by Scarlett's words, Rhett goes off to join the army, kissing her as he leaves. Scarlett makes her way back to Tara, but discovers that her mother has died, and her father is mad with grief. She walks to Ashley's plantation, but finds it in ruins. The life she once knew is gone forever ("Gone With The Wind").
With the declaration that the slaves within the Confederacy are freed ("Born to be Free" (reprise)), everything is in scarce supply during 1864. Scarlett says that everyone must work the fields. She shoots and kills a Yankee thief at Tara before ransacking his belongings with Melly ("Desperate Times"). In 1865, the War is over and Ashley makes his way home. With Reconstruction after the War, the taxes on Tara have increased. Ashley tells Scarlett the world has passed him by, and only Rhett has money now. Scarlett says that they should run away together. Ashley refuses but admits that he loves her. Scarlett plans to find Rhett and get the money from him.
In Atlanta, Scarlett visits Rhett in gaol and tries to pretend that all is well, but he sees her rough hands and realises that she wants money. Scarlett offers to become his mistress, but Rhett refuses as he hasn't any money in Atlanta, and he knows her too well ("Nobody Knows You"). Scarlett thinks Tara is lost, but on her way home, she meets Frank Kennedy. He boasts of his business and wealth, and seeing him as a way to save Tara, Scarlett lies that Suellen is marrying another. Two weeks later, Scarlett marries Frank and pays the taxes for Tara. Scarlett runs Frank's businesses, but the gossips of Atlanta think her behaviour is wrong. Prissy opines that the world has changed since the War ("I'm Gonna Find My Own").
It is now 1866, and Scarlett hears that her father has died ("On Your Land" (reprise)). Ashley wants to leave Tara, but Scarlett persuades Melly that they must come to Atlanta instead. Scarlett bears Frank's daughter, Ella, and she still runs the businesses despite the danger of travelling alone. Scarlett is attacked while passing the shanty town; Ashley and Frank leave to exact revenge. Men come looking to arrest Ashley for the Klan raid, as Rhett arrives home with Ashley, apparently drunk, with a false alibi about spending the evening with a prostitute. Rhett tells Scarlett that her husband was killed, but Scarlett is more worried about Ashley being injured. As Frank lies in his coffin, Scarlett is drunk, and she agrees to marry Rhett. The slaves celebrate their freedom ("Wings of a Dove"), but they have misgivings about some of the changes.
Scarlett and Rhett return from their honeymoon with gifts, including a petticoat for Mammy, who declares she won't wear it as she does not like Captain Butler. Ashley cannot run Scarlett's mill at a profit, and she tells him he should use convict labour. Ashley cannot bear to see how brutal Scarlett has become, and he blames Rhett. Scarlett realises that Ashley still loves her, and she tells Rhett that she will no longer share a bedroom with him. Rhett says that this is no hardship to him; he is then seen with other women. Scarlett invites her old and new friends to her 'crush' ("Reconstruction Bounty"), but her old friends criticise her and leave. A drunken Rhett argues with Scarlett about Ashley, saying that tonight, instead of three people, there'll be "Just Two!" as he forcefully takes her to his bed. The next morning, Rhett has gone, but Scarlett realises that he loves her. Later, she is dismayed to find that she is pregnant again, but Rhett is delighted.
In 1867, Scarlett gives birth to a girl, Bonnie. Mammy finally accepts Captain Butler and wears the petticoat. Rhett restores his reputation with society for Bonnie's sake. Bonnie has nightmares and is afraid of the dark, so Rhett sings a lullaby ("Once Upon a Time"). Scarlett tells Mammy that she wants to love Bonnie, but the child only cares for her father ("Every Child"). By 1871, Bonnie is learning to ride her pony, but when she tries to take a jump, she is thrown to the ground. Bonnie dies, and Scarlett blames Rhett. In his grief, he refuses to bury her as she was afraid of the dark, and it takes kind words from Melly to comfort him. Rhett says a final goodbye to Bonnie ("Once Upon a Time" (reprise)). Scarlett feels all alone, and Rhett feels like a stranger ("Alone").
Despite apparent infertility due to the trauma of Beau's birth, Melly becomes pregnant again, but miscarries and becomes gravely ill. On her deathbed, she tells Scarlett to look after Ashley, and to be kind to Rhett as he helped her with money without Ashley knowing. Outside, Scarlett realises that Ashley loves Melly, and he never loved her. She runs home, telling Rhett that she must have loved him for years. But she is too late; he says it is over. Scarlett asks him what she will do if he goes, but as he leaves, he says that he doesn't "give a damn". Scarlett decides to return to Tara, knowing that she will win Rhett back somehow as tomorrow is another day ("Gone With The Wind" (reprise)).
The musical's story is generally more faithful to the novel than the film, with Scarlett's three children appearing, unlike the film, which portrayed only Bonnie. One character not included on stage is Belle Watling, the prostitute. The slaves have a greater voice, especially Prissy, whose character is different from the film or novel, as she sings of finding her own way in the world and teaching others.[ citation needed ]
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When the musical opened, it contained two additional songs in Act II: "Abundantly Present" and "This Time". These, and several reprises, were cut in May 2008.[ citation needed ]
Reviews of the musical were generally negative. Critics found fault with the work's structure and score, stating "the large ensemble combines dialogue with passages of narration from the novel. The songs seem constantly to interrupt the proceedings rather than deepening or advancing the narrative." [9] [10] However, Paul Taylor of The Independent noted that "the score is enriched with spirituals, blues and gospel music, spine-tinglingly well-sung by such cast members as Natasha Yvette Williams's loveably sassy Mammy and Jina Burrows' Prissy." [11] Taylor also praised Danesh and Paice: "The diabolically dashing Darius Danesh brings a seductively insolent charm, a dark velvet voice and a genuine, fugitive pathos to the cynical blockade runner. If Jill Paice hasn't quite nailed the comic, outrageously feline wiliness of Scarlett, she boasts the bright, soaring vocal quality to convey the heroine's indomitable survivor's drive." [11] Christopher Hart of The Sunday Times wrote, "Frankly, I fear, you won't give a damn." [12] [13]
Gone with the Wind is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman's destructive "March to the Sea". This historical novel features a coming-of-age story, with the title taken from the poem "Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae", written by Ernest Dowson.
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel Gone with the Wind, for which she won the National Book Award for Fiction for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937. Long after her death, a collection of Mitchell's girlhood writings and a novella she wrote as a teenager, titled Lost Laysen, were published. A collection of newspaper articles written by Mitchell for The Atlanta Journal was republished in book form.
Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the main character in the 1970 musical Scarlett and the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind that was written by Alexandra Ripley and adapted for a television mini-series in 1994. During early drafts of the original novel, Mitchell referred to her heroine as "Pansy", and did not decide on the name "Scarlett" until just before the novel went to print. PBS has called O'Hara "quite possibly the most famous female character in American history..."
George Ashley Wilkes is a fictional character in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and the 1939 film of the same name. The character also appears in the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind written by Alexandra Ripley, and in Rhett Butler's People (2007) by Donald McCaig.
Rhett Butler is a fictional character in the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and in the 1939 film adaptation of the same name. It is one of Clark Gable's most recognizable and significant roles.
Melanie Hamilton Wilkes is a fictional character first appearing in the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. In the 1939 film she was portrayed by Olivia de Havilland. Melanie is Scarlett O'Hara's sister-in-law and eventually her best friend. Mitchell likely based the character on her cousin Sister Mary Melanie Holliday.
The Wind Done Gone (2001) is the first novel written by Alice Randall. It is a bestselling historical novel that tells an alternative account of the story in the American novel Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell. While the story of Gone with the Wind focuses on the life of the daughter of a wealthy slave owner, Scarlett O'Hara, The Wind Done Gone tells the story of the life of slaves, Cynara, an enslaved woman during the same time period and events.
Nicole Frances Parker is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV, which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, a role that she reprised on tour across North America. She voiced Penelope Pitstop in the animated series Wacky Races (2017–2019) and has appeared in the parody films Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Parker currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast The Neighborhood Listen, along with comedian Paul F. Tompkins.
Scarlett is a 1991 novel by Alexandra Ripley, written as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel, Gone with the Wind. The book debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Tara is the name of a fictional plantation in the state of Georgia, in the historical novel Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell. In the story, Tara is located 5 miles (8 km) from Jonesboro, in Clayton County, on the east side of the Flint River about 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta.
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler.
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" is a line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. The line is spoken by Rhett Butler (Gable), as his last words to Scarlett O'Hara (Leigh), in response to her tearful question: "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" Scarlett clings to the hope that she can win him back. This line is slightly different in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, from which the film is derived: "My dear, I don't give a damn."
In Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, Twelve Oaks is the plantation home of the Wilkes family in Clayton County, Georgia named for the twelve great oak trees that surround the family mansion in an almost perfect circle. Twelve Oaks was described as a "beautiful white-columned house that crowned the hill like a Greek Temple," having true southern charm and whimsy. Margaret Mitchell came up with the idea for The Twelve Oaks, and modeled the home after an actual antebellum mansion located in the historic area of Covington, Georgia. The home that was portrayed as Margaret Mitchell's Twelve Oaks in the 1939 film has been renovated and is now open as a bed and breakfast and event facility in Covington, thirty minutes east of Atlanta.
Scarlett is a 1994 American six-hour television miniseries loosely based on the 1991 book of the same name written by Alexandra Ripley as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind. The series was filmed at 53 locations in the United States and abroad, and stars Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett O'Hara, Timothy Dalton as Rhett Butler, and Sean Bean as Lord Richard Fenton. The miniseries was broadcast in four parts on CBS on November 13, 15, 16, and 17, 1994.
Scarlett Aimee Vaigncourt-Strallen is an English stage actress, best known for her work in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway. She has received two Olivier Award nominations, in 2006 for her portrayal of Josephine in an adaptation of H.M.S. Pinafore, performed at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and in 2012 for her role in Singin' in the Rain. Strallen is also a former voice actress.
Jill Paice is an American actress best known for her musical theatre roles. She originated the roles of Laura Fairlie in the musical The Woman in White in the West End (2004) and on Broadway (2005); Niki in Curtains on Broadway (2006); Scarlett in London's Gone With The Wind (2008); and Grazia Off-Broadway in Death Takes a Holiday (2011). Among other roles, she appeared in the Broadway play The 39 Steps (2009).
The Scarlett O'Hara War is a 1980 American made-for-television drama film directed by John Erman. It is based on the 1979 novel Moviola by Garson Kanin. Set in late 1930s Hollywood, it is about the search for the actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in the much anticipated film adaptation of Gone with the Wind (1939). This film premiered as the finale of a three-night TV miniseries on NBC called Moviola: A Hollywood Saga.
Autant en emporte le vent is a French musical adaptation of the 1936 Margaret Mitchell novel Gone with the Wind produced by Dove Attia and Albert Cohen in 2003, with music and lyrics by Gérard Presgurvic and staging and choreography by Kamel Ouali. The production is said to be a "musical spectacular" that gives "the black characters greater voice, in song and dance, [to express] their desire for freedom."
"Went with the Wind!" is a comedy sketch featured on the eighth episode of the tenth season of The Carol Burnett Show. It originally aired in the United States on CBS on November 13, 1976, and is a parody of the 1939 American historical drama film Gone with the Wind. The sketch was written by two young writers, Rick Hawkins and Liz Sage. In 2009, TV Guide ranked the sketch #53 on its list of "Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
Savannah Stevenson is an English singer and actress. She is best known for her work in the theatre.