Mary Tyler Moore "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S" Richard Chamberlain 1966 FLOP Playbill

Description

I'm currently listing a large number of playbills from out-of-town tryouts prior to the Broadway runs. Many are from early performances when revisions were common and include song titles that were cut before opening in New York. (See cut songs below.) ....... This is a rare October 1966 playbill from the Pre-Broadway engagement of the BOB MERRILL and ABE BURROWS musical comedy flop "HOLLY GOLIGHTLY" at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia. (The production began tryouts in Philadelphia on October 10th, 1966 as "HOLLY GOLIGHTLY", but reverted back to its source's title, "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S" before the Broadway previews began at New York's Majestic Theatre. The show would close December 12th, 1966 during previews.) ..... The musical starred America's Sweetheart, MARY TYLER MOORE (in her only musical stage role) and RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN (both shown in the cover photo) and featured SALLY KELLERMAN, ART LUND, PAUL MICHAEL, MARTIN WOLFSON, CHARLES WELCH, BROOKS MORTON, MITCHELL GREGG, SID RAYMOND, J. FRANK LUCAS, PRISCILLA LOPEZ (who signed the playbill, shown in the last scanned image) and STEPHEN CHENG ..... Side Note: Despite advanced ticket sales that far exceeded those of "Cabaret", "The Apple Tree" and "I Do! I Do!", the other 1966 musical attractions, producer DAVID MERRICK posted closing notices two weeks prior to the scheduled December 26th Opening Night. He called a press conference to make the following unprecedented statement: "Rather than subject the drama critics and the theatregoing public - who invested over one million dollars in advance sales - to an excruciatingly boring evening, I have decided to close. Since the idea of adapting 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' for the musical stage was mine in the first place, the closing is entirely my fault and should not be attributed to the three top writers (Nunnally Johnson, Abe Burrows and Edward Albee) who had a go at it." ..... CREDITS: Music and Lyrics by BOB MERRILL ("Carnival", "Take Me Along", "New Girl in Town", "Funny Girl", "Henry, Sweet Henry", "Sugar", "The Prince of Grand Street"); Book by ABE BURROWS (who would be replaced by EDWARD ALBEE while in Boston) based upon TRUMAN CAPOTE's story "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S"; Sets designed by OLIVER SMITH; Costumes designed by FREDDY WITTOP; Choreographed by MICHAEL KIDD; Directed by ABE BURROWS (who would be replaced by JOSEPH ANTHONY while in Boston); Produced by DAVID MERRICK ..... DETAILS: The 54 page playbill measures 6" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers and bios of each of the leading actors and members of the creative team but with the exception of the front cover, no cast photos ..... CUT SONGS: The list of musical numbers includes "The Bachelor", "Bessie's Blues", "Holly Gollucci", "I've Got a Penny", "My Nice Ways", "Nothing is New in New York", "The Rose", "Scum-Dee-Dum", "So Here We Are Again" and "Travelling" which were cut out-of-town ..... CONDITION: With the exception of moderate creasing, a few light marks on the title page and a phone number written at the bottom of an inside page, this rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard ..... SHIPPING DISCOUNTS: Check my "Other Items" for additional rare Broadway playbills and other theatre related memorabilia. Shipping discounts are available for multiple purchases when all items are combined into a single payment. Please wait for a revised invoice before sending payment ..... THANKS !!!
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