12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
jimnysf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/05
#112/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:45am
The 2,844th and closing performance of the original David Merrick production of "Hello,Dolly!"
Original Dolly:
Pearl Bailey
Final Dolly
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#3re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 9:15am
Oh what a performance that was! Of course I was there. Gower Champion danced in the chorus of "I Put My Hand In". Channing as there, too!
With all the glum news in the world these days, we really need a revival of HELLO, DOLLY to brighten our lives again.
#4re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 9:43am
But Dollypop...
If Ms Channing isn't up to it...who can fill those shoes today and be both a critical and artistic success?
#5re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 10:11am
Wow, that long ago.
I think a Dolly revival is needed...
#6re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 12:47pm
It was significant because that kind of old-fashioned musical comedy faded from view replaced by edgier fare in the 1970s...COPMAPY, CHICAGO, A CHORUS LINE and SWEENEY TODD.
It also marked Miss Merman's final Broadway show. After DOLLY she preferred the less strenuous concert performances where she could work when she felt like it and not have to be there 8 X a week for a year or more. (Did she miss any performances in DOLLY? She never missed CALL ME MADAM or AGYG or HAPPY HUNTING. She was out for a week in GYPSY but only because she had burst a blood vessel in her throat and needed time to heal.) She had spent 40 years - aside from a few trips to Hollywood - on Broadway.
So the closing of DOLLY was much more than the end of a long successful run. It was the end of an era.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
keen on kean
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/06
#7re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:11pmI would have loved to have seen Merman in Call Me Madam - I actually like the film, but I never got to see her on Broadway in anything.
junglered
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#8re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:17pmStrongly agree that Jerry Herman needs to revive "Hello, Dolly!" on Broadway in the next couple of years.
Julian2
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/10/06
#9re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:28pmI'm always up for Herman, and as long as it comes at the right time, revive away!
jimnysf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/05
#10re: 12/27/1970....36 Years Ago Today!
Posted: 12/27/06 at 9:54pm
In the meantime, we have....
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