Can you imagine if BWW message boards were around when...

Lani Kazan being fired out of town and replaced by her best friend Michele Lee for "Seesaw."

Big film star, Jean Arthur, being fired out of town as Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday" and being replaced by newcomer Judy Holliday.

All the Ethel Merman stage-door experiences. And how she stopped a show and threw a guy out of the theatre during "Call Me Madam."

When the two leading actors in the original Broadway production of "The Crucible" switched roles after the show had already opened.

Show Boat's casting of a white woman as Julie Laverne, in a role that is all about mixed race. The use of the "N" word in the original opening number lyrics, which has never been used since.

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When Music Man beat out West Side Story.


When The Sound of Music AND Fiorello! tied for best musical ... beating out a third-place (at best) "Gypsy."

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While most of these are currently discussed, I would have LOVED to have viewed the initial reactions as they occurred:

Side Show double nomination of Alice & Emily and all of Side Show's subsequent Tony losses.

The Titanic tryout period through the Tony awards.

Carrie.

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I'll bet we would have found out who was dubbed and who wasn't, back in the day. We all would have heard the name "Marni Nixon" a lot sooner.

How about when the Broadway hit Brigadoon was bought by MGM and cast with dancing stars Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse (dubbed) in the singing roles of Tommy and Fiona?

Or when Channing beat out Streisand for the Best Actress Tony?

Or when ALL of the songs were dropped except "Night and Day" from Cole Porter's film version of "The Gay Divorce" and the name was changed to "The Gay Divorcee?"

Or when ALL of the songs were stripped away and used only as underscoring in the non-musical film adaptation of the musical "Fanny?"

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When Madeline Kahn was replaced by understudy Judy Kaye in On the Twentieth Century.

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La Cage beating Sunday in the Park with George for several Tonys. Especially Jerry Herman's comment about the hummable showtune.

Patti LuPone's alleged reaction to Joanna Gleason winning the Tony for Into the Woods.

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When Cats opened and later won the Tony

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Ragtime vs. Lion King was my first thought, also.

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Ok.

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...Ethel Merman and Carol Channing were not cast in the film versions of their most famous roles.

...Jennifer Holliday started missing all of those performances of Dreamirls.

...Liza filled in for Gwen Verdon in Chicago.

And not necessarily BWW, but BwaySecrets: if it were around back i the 50's/60's, Mary Martin would have been the Kendra Kassebaum of the day.

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...when Annie (Granny) Get Your Gun was revived with Merman.

...when Streisand 'stole' movie roles that should have gone to Channing and Harris.

...when the movie version of A Chorus Line was made.

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When:

Streetcar Named Desire lost the Tony to Mister Roberts for Best Play;
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof lost the Tony to The Deperate Hours for Best Play;
Elizabeth Taylor was cast in Virginia Woolf;
The Iceman Commeth lost the Best Revival Tony to Death of a Salesman;
Sweet Bird of Youth and/or Raisin in the Sun lost out Best Tony to J.B.;
Ethel Merman lost Best Musical Actress for Gypsy to Mary Martin for Sound of Music (40 years later, it's still being discussed);
The dreadful movie versions of Paint Your Wagon; Chorus Line, Rent, The Producers and Phantom of the Opera;
Bette Davis walked out of Night of the Iguana;
Tallulah Bankhead did revival of Streetcar Named Desire;
Anything about Carrie or Moose Murders; and
Dolores Gray slugged Michael Kidd during rehearsals of Destry Rides Again.

The list goes on and on.

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Updated On: 10/29/09 at 03:00 PM