I don't know if SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING needs to be revived but with a re-write of the book it would be fun to see and hear it. I remember trying to get opening night tickets back in 1961 but didn't succeed, and I never did see the show which only ran for 205 performances at the St. James Theatre. It has a great score IMO by Jule Styne and Comden & Green (available on CD) and was directed and choreographed by the talented Michael Kidd. Michael Bennett was a gypsy in the dancing chorus. Producer David Merrick kept it open by playing his most famous advertising trick: he found 7 people in the NYC area with the same names as the newspaper critics at that time,he wined and dined them, gave them house seats for the opening and asked them to give glowing reviews for the show--he then took out full page ads in the newspapers with their quotes raving about the show. Only one newspaper, the excellent NY Herald Tribune, accepted the ad, but the resulting publicity kept the show open. Most of the real critics didn't think much of the show. Maybe the Off-Broadway 42nd Street Moon Theatre which specializes in "Lost Shows" would be interested.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
Updated On: 11/6/06 at 08:34 PM
