1964 Tony awards — Page 2

Not that I was alive then... but Mary Martin opened the London production.

"I don't like the way she sings Before the Parade Passes By. And I prefer I Put My Hand In, to Just Leave Everything to Me."

Wow, I completely disagree with every syllable in that statement. Her take on Before The Parade Passes By is brilliant, and Just Leave Everything To Me exceeds I Put My Hand In in every respect.

As for Streisand, she was too young for the role, but the real problem was Matthau, and their total lack of chemistry.

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I don't think Martin was ever offered the original Broadway role; there is a story of how Gower Champion came to their farm and offered her the national touring role, however, which she accepted, and then of course opened it in London.

I'm sure you're right, although I've not been able to find that. In 'Mary Martin, Broadway Legend', by Ronald Davis, it talks of her being offered the lead in "Funny Girl" and turning it down, but only being offered the tour in "Hello, Dolly".

People are right to bring up Gower Champion's staging--it was HIM who got the best reviews. Funny Girl's production was plagued with problems (it's funny how many people were asked or very briefly connected to it in some capacity--including SOndheim and Fosse) and although Jerome Robbins came to the production which he was originally meant to stage late in the run to fix things, it's too bad he couldn't have done it start to finish. Still, I often get the feeling originally producers were almost hoping it would be a spiritual sequel to Gypsy. (Backstage musicals about "true stories", Styne score, Sondheim asked to do the lyric, a star female turn, Robbins connected, etc... )