Word: shows
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...NOVEMBER just such a show opened at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. The show, Dear World, had all the earmarks of a hit: a hot star (Angela Lansbury); a composer-lyricist who had never written for a flop (Jerry Herman, whose previous efforts included Hello Dolly and Mame); and a successful librettist team (Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, authors of Mame and Inherit the Wind). Dear World's five-week tryout engagement here was a virtual sellout before the opening night...
Unfortunately, the biggest advance sale in the world is no insurance against mediocre audience and critical response. In Dear World's case, the opening night audience at the Colonial was polite, but little more. The show's jokes got the mildest of laughs; the musical numbers merited only perfunctory applause. Much later, when the cast and creators were back in their hotel rooms, the reviews confirmed the audience reaction. Kelly said major revisions were in order, and Norton, usually enthusiastic about Broadways musicals and standard comedies, had only faint praise for Dear World...
...very next day, the show's producer and authors started to rewrite the show, practically from scratch. Within a week, the director, Peter Glenville, had been replaced (by Joe Layton). Within a month, a whole new first act was on stage. This is no small job, considering the complexities of putting together a Broadway musical...
...each new scene is written, it is passed on to the actors, who must learn their new lines in about 24 hours. As the new lines are learned, the scenes are put into rehearsal during the day. Meanwhile, the actors play the old show at night, knowing that what they are performing will be out of the show as soon as the new material is ready...
...only must each new song be composed and learned by the performers, but it must be orchestrated, copied into parts, and rehearsed by the orchestra. Joe Layton, the new director, also took over the job of choreographer, thereby necessitating the removal of all the dancing devised by the show's original choreographer, Donald Saddler. So, Layton had to divide his limited time between rehearsing the actors and the dancers. He also had to wait for the new sets to be designed, built in New York and shipped to Boston...