Liza Redfield (born Betty Weisman; 11 August 1924, Philadelphia - 23 December 2018, Manhattan) was an American conductor, pianist, and composer who is chiefly remembered for being the first woman to be the full-time conductor of a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

pit orchestra; a feat she achieved in 1960 when she was appointed music director of ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

'' during its initial run.

Early life and education

Born to Issac Weisman, a tailor, and Sophie (Becker) Weisman, a homemaker, Liza Redfield was a piano prodigy who was performing recitals by age 8. She graduated from the

Philadelphia High School for Girls The Philadelphia High School for Girls, also known as Girls' High, is a public college preparatory magnet high school for girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As its name suggests, the school's enrollment is all female. Established in 1848, it ...

and earned a music degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. She planned a career as a classical pianist, but after graduating from university at age 19 she decided that she didn't enjoy the constant practice and performing. By her own account she "ran off and got married and went to live in New York," where she switched to popular

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. The marriage to Ira Leff was over quickly, but Redfield found work doing orchestrations for recording companies. Her stage name was supposedly inspired by her red hair.

Conducting career

Redfield's first experience as a conductor was in recording sessions of the songs from ''The Amazing Adele'', a forgotten musical of the mid-1950s with

Tammy Grimes Tammy Lee Grimes (January 30, 1934 – October 30, 2016) was an American film and stage actress. Grimes won two Tony Awards in her career, the first for originating the role of Molly Tobin in the musical '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' and the ...

that never made it to Broadway. Later she studied conducting with Vladimir Brailowsky, who also encouraged her to continue her piano studies. Redfield took a job as a conductor in a Detroit summer theater, on productions including ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during ...

'', ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' and ''South Pacific''. Her work in regional theater eventually led to conducting jobs with two

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musicals in 1960, ''Miss Emily Adams'' and ''

Ernest in Love ''Ernest in Love'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Anne Croswell and music by Lee Pockriss. It is based on ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', Oscar Wilde's classic 1895 comedy of manners. Background The two-act musical is an expanded ver ...

''. Redfield's big break came when she was appointed orchestra director for ''Music Man''. She later recalled: "Women seemed more surprised and pleased than men. Female members of the audience would come up to me after the show and tell me how pleased they were that I was conducting." An amusing sidelight of her conducting career was her appearance on panel

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' in 1960. The panel failed to guess her occupation, though

Dorothy Kilgallen Dorothy Mae Kilgallen (July 3, 1913 – November 8, 1965) was an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist. After spending two semesters at the College of New Rochelle, she started her career shortly before her 18th birth ...

asked if she was one of the

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

s in ''Gypsy''. After ''Music Man'', Redfield was the conductor for Broadway shows ''Sophie'', ''Good News'', and ''

Charlie and Algernon ''Charlie and Algernon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by David Rogers and music by Charles Strouse. It is based on the 1966 novel ''Flowers for Algernon'' by Daniel Keyes. It received its premiere on December 21, 1978, at The Citadel Theat ...

'', none of which lasted more than a few weeks. She worked through the 1980s with touring Broadway shows and pre-Broadway tryouts. She was also a composer and created music for the reopening of

Ford's Theater Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box ...

in Washington, D.C. in 1968.

Death

Liza Redfield's death in 2018 at the Amsterdam Nursing Home in Manhattan was announced by Barbara Sandler, her longtime friend and caregiver. She left no immediate survivors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redfield, Liza 1924 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) American women conductors (music) 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century classical pianists American classical pianists American women composers Philadelphia High School for Girls alumni American women classical pianists University of Pennsylvania alumni 21st-century American women