On January 19, 1967, the first New York revival of By Jupiter opened off-Broadway at the Theatre Four. Directed by Christopher Hewett with choreography and musical staging by Ellen Ray, the production starred Bob Dishy and featured Jackie Alloway and Sheila Sullivan. Featuring some new material by Fred Ebb, the production retained most of the original Rodgers & Hart score. … Read More
1942 Broadway
After previews in Boston (under the title All’s Fair), Rodgers & Hart’s last full-length musical opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on June 3, 1942. Directed by Joshua Logan, with choreography by Robert Alton, the production starred Ray Bolger as Sapiens, the comic hero. The supporting cast included Benay Venuta, Vera-Ellen, and Constance Moore, who was later replaced by … Read More
1926 Broadway
After the overwhelming success of The Garrick Gaieties in 1925, the Theatre Guild chose to produce another edition the following year. This new production, featuring a host of fresh songs and sketches, was again directed by Philip Loeb, with songs by Rodgers & Hart. Lee Strasberg, who had appeared in the cast of the inaugural edition, served as stage manager. … Read More
1925 Broadway
After a series of seven “special performances” in May and early June, The Garrick Gaieties began an open-ended run on Broadway at the Garrick Theatre on June 8, 1925. Billed as “a musical revue with sketches,” the show began as a fundraiser for the Theatre Guild, taking aim at various aspects of life in New York City, with a particular … Read More
1938 Broadway
After tryouts in Boston and Baltimore, I’d Rather Be Right opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on November 2, 1937. A timely social satire, the musical combined the talents of two great theatrical teams: songwriters Rodgers & Hart and playwrights Kaufman & Hart. Directed by co-author George S. Kaufman, the political send-up starred George M. Cohan in the plum … Read More
1942 Motion Picture
Released by MGM Studios on July 9, 1942, the film adaptation of I Married an Angel starred Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke II, the film only retained three Rodgers & Hart songs from the original Broadway production: “I’ll Tell the Man in the Street,” “Spring Is Here” and the title song. Bob Wright and Chet … Read More
1938 Broadway
After tryouts in New Haven and Boston, I Married an Angel opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on May 11, 1938. Directed by newcomer Joshua Logan – who would later team up with Rodgers & Hammerstein on South Pacific – the production featured Dennis King, Vivienne Segal, Walter Slezak, Charles Walters, Audrey Christie and Hungarian ballerina Vera Sorina as … Read More
1979 Broadway
After a tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia, the musical adaptation of I Remember Mama opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on May 31, 1979. Based on John Van Druten’s 1944 play, itself an adaptation of “Mama’s Bank Account” and other stories Kathryn Forbes, the musical explored the life of a Norwegian family in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Liv … Read More
1955 Television Broadcast
On March 12, 1955, NBC-TV broadcast a live 90-minute performance of A Connecticut Yankee starring Eddie Albert, Janet Blair and Gale Sherwood, with Boris Karloff as King Arthur. Produced and directed by Max Liebman, the show featured most of Rodgers & Hart’s score, with a new book adapted by four young masters of comedy: William Friedberg, Neil Simon, Will Glickman … Read More
1943 Broadway
Rodgers, Hart and Fields’ 1927 romp returned to the Broadway stage in 1943, in an acclaimed production starring Vivienne Segal, Dick Foran, Vera-Ellen and Robert Chisholm. Directed by John C. Wilson and choreographed by William Holbrook and Al White, Jr., the Broadway revival of A Connecticut Yankee featured a revised book and six new Rodgers & Hart tunes. Though Rodgers … Read More