Description
I'm currently listing a large number of playbills from out-of-town tryouts prior to the Broadway runs. Many are from early performances when revisions were common and include song titles that were cut before opening in New York. (See cut songs below.) ....... This is a rare December 22nd, 1965 OPENING NIGHT "Stage" program from the Pre-Broadway engagement of the new CY COLEMAN, DOROTHY FIELDS and NEIL SIMON musical comedy "SWEET CHARITY" at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. (The production would open January 29th, 1966 at the newly refurbished Palace Theatre in New York City and run for 608 performances.) ..... The musical starred GWEN VERDON and featured JOHN McMARTIN, HELEN GALLAGHER, THELMA OLIVER, JAMES LUISI, ARNOLD SOBOLOFF, RUTH BUZZI, JOHN WHEELER, SHARON RITCHIE and BARBARA SHARMA ..... CREDITS: Music by CY COLEMAN ("Wildcat", "Little Me", "Seesaw", "I Love My Wife", "On the Twentieth Century", "Barnum", "City of Angels", "The Will Rogers Follies"); Book by NEIL SIMON based upon an original screenplay by FREDERICO FELLINI; Lyrics by DOROTHY FIELDS; Sets designed by ROBERT RANDOLPH; Costumes designed by IRENE SHARAFF; Conceived, Staged and Choreographed by BOB FOSSE (the only Tony Award presented to the production); Produced by FRYER, CARR and HARRIS ..... DETAILS: The 34 page playbill measures 8" X 8" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers, bios of each of the leading actors and members of the creative team and individual photos of the three leading stars. Also includes an ad for the Original Broadway Cast recording of "SWEET CHARITY" (coming soon) on Columbia Records. Includes a gold foil "Opening Night" sticker on the front cover ..... CUT SONGS: The list of musical numbers includes "Give Me A Raincheck" and "You Wanna Bet" which were cut out-of-town ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light soiling along the top edge, this rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
