Red Shoes Blues Lyrics - Wizard Of Oz, The

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Original Wicked Witch showcase written for the 2011 London Palladium staging by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
2. Premiered with Hannah Waddingham, whose take was widely singled out by critics; the number later recurs as a reprise in Act 2.
3. Released on the London cast album dated May 9, 2011 in the UK; the CD landed in the US later that June.
4. Stylistic blend: slinky theatre-blues groove, sharp patter, and a villain’s patina of glamour.
5. On record it functions as a character set-piece and a cue that unleashes the flying monkeys.

Creation History

The new Wizard of Oz score kept the 1939 film songs and added fresh material where the stage book needed propulsion. One of the most effective injections is this Wicked Witch feature, crafted by Lloyd Webber with Rice’s razor-edged text. Waddingham introduced it at the London Palladium as part of the show’s March 2011 opening; press notices repeatedly pointed to this number as a jolt of theatrical voltage. Video excerpts circulated from early in the run to showcase the addition. The cast album followed swiftly, preserving Waddingham’s swaggering delivery and the pit’s punch.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Inside the Witch’s lair, the antagonist lays out her thesis: the ruby footwear will crown her power. She orders an all-out hunt, whips her minions into motion, and hexes the landscape into a forced dance. The song snaps the show from pursuit into siege.

Song Meaning

This is greed sung as strategy. The Witch frames the slippers as destiny and brand, a shortcut to control. The groove struts rather than rages, making the threat feel calculated. It’s the score’s clearest look at how envy dresses itself up as necessity, and how a leader rallies followers with rhythm and barked commands.

Annotations

"I want those shoes to establish just who's number one"

Mission statement with a market logic. Status objects become mandate. The tight rhyme and clipped rhythm sell certainty.

"The shoes are the key - To the making of me"

Self-mythmaking: the Witch treats the object as both tool and identity. In staging, this line typically gets a physical reach or gesture that locks the audience’s focus on the prize.

"You’ll dance till your very last gasp"

Power as compulsion. The orchestration usually leans on percussion accents here, underscoring the spell as command-and-control.

Style and engine

Genre fusion sits near theatre-blues with a wink of cabaret. Low brass punctures, reeds curl around the vocal line, and the drum book keeps a stalking backbeat. The emotional arc moves from sly amusement to open menace without losing its feline glide.

Key Facts

• Artist: Hannah Waddingham, Nigel Wright, Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Featured: Wicked Witch of the West with company
• Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Lyricist: Tim Rice
• Producer: Nigel Wright; Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Release Date: May 9, 2011
• Genre: Pop, Musicals
• Instruments: Brass section, reeds, rhythm section, chorus
• Label: Polydor UK; later US retail via Decca Broadway
• Mood: Sly, charged, predatory
• Length: approx. 2:10 on many cast editions
• Track #: 16 on the 2011 London cast album; reprise appears later in Act 2
• Language: English
• Album: The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording)
• Music style: Theatre-blues showpiece
• Poetic meter: Predominantly trochaic drive with patter bursts

Canonical Entities & Relations

Questions and Answers

What gap in the film score does this song fill on stage?

It gives the Witch a full-blown motive-and-orders number, tightening the run into the castle and setting up her reprise later.

Why did critics latch onto it?

It’s a tight showcase with a catchy prowl and barbed one-liners; reviewers repeatedly singled out Waddingham’s attack and the number’s punch.

How does the orchestration frame the character?

Low brass, snare pops, and curt woodwind figures make the threats feel stylish and inevitable, not chaotic.

Is there a definitive recording?

The London cast album preserves the originator in role; topic uploads and retail editions mirror that performance.

Does the number return later?

Yes - the reprise folds into the castle sequence as the Witch corners Dorothy and tightens the deadline.

Any prominent later interpreters?

Touring productions featured successors like Shani Hadjian; clips from those runs helped the song travel beyond the Palladium.

What does the lyric reveal about the Witch?

She’s a tactician who equates objects with identity; the slippers are power, status, and story control in one package.

Is the text comic or menacing?

Both. The swank phrasing keeps it fun, but the commands land with teeth.

Awards and Chart Positions

Production context: The 2011 London staging that introduced this number received a nomination for Best Musical Revival at the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards. No dedicated single or chart entry is documented for this specific track.

How to Sing Red Shoes Blues

At a glance: Often published in B flat minor, with common transpositions in G minor for audition material. Think prowling midtempo, clean diction, and a mix that can flip to a bite on the consonants without shredding the line.

1. Tempo: Set a swaggering march-blues in the mid-to-upper 80s to low 90s BPM range; keep the backbeat lazy, not draggy.
2. Key & tessitura: If you are using published charts, expect B flat minor as a baseline; transposed cuts in G minor circulate widely. Place the meat of the line around the middle voice and reserve top pops for command words.
3. Breath map: Plan quick, silent sniffs before each command cluster. You need runway for the hex sequence so the text stays legible.
4. Diction: Pop initial consonants on “find,” “bring,” “dance,” but ride the vowels. Avoid chewing “shoes” and “slippers.”
5. Groove & accents: Sit behind the beat, then jab on threats. Think cat-and-mouse rather than steamroller.
6. Character frame: Smile with the eyes; the menace lands harder when the voice sounds entertained by its own plan.
7. Mic craft: If handheld, keep a steady distance; step in for the whispered aside before the monkeys cue, then back off for the barked orders.
8. Pitfalls: Over-belting every sentence, flattening the swing, and rushing the spell section. Let the band do some of the stalking.

Additional Info

According to Playbill, this was one of the headline additions for the 2011 run, introduced on video to spotlight the fresh material. The Hollywood Reporter called it a rousing show-stopper for the Witch. The Guardian’s review flagged its “pounding intensity,” and Variety praised the feature as the chief gain of the new numbers. For the album release trail, retailer listings show the UK date in early May 2011 and a US street date late June. Sheet outlets and accompaniment services commonly offer the piece in B flat minor, with popular alternates in G minor for auditions.

Sources: Playbill; The Guardian; Variety; The Hollywood Reporter; Discogs; Barnes & Noble; YouTube; PianoTrax; Sheet Music Now; CastAlbums Database; Wikipedia.