This week sees the 50th anniversary of Rogers And Hammersteins 'The Sound Of Music' having its world premiere on Broadway.
The show opened Nov 16th 1959 at the Lunt-Fontanne theatre and ran for a record breaking, at the time, run of 1443. It eventually closed on 15th June 1963 after having moved to the Mark Hellinger theatre halfway through its run.
The UK premier was at London's Palace Theatre on 18th May 1961. Mary Martin again played Maria for a year to sellout English audiences. The London run was almost twice as long as that of the New York production chalking up an incredible 2385 performances.
'The Sound Of Music' has been revived twice since the original, at the the Apollo Victoria and recently at the London Palladium.
***Mary Martin was a great West End favorite in the 1950s and 60s. Besides appearing in 'The Sound Of Music in 1961 she opened the London transfers of two of the biggest Broadway shows of the time, 'South Pacific' at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1959 and in 1965 she opened in 'Hello Dolly'. Carol Channing wasn't to be seen in London until 1978 with Dolly.
Updated On: 11/18/09 at 07:45 PM